One of the oldest topics that many philosophers and thinkers have discussed is human activity. Unlike animal behavior, it is, above all, creative. For centuries, people have been asking questions of being and the meaning of life, the best minds of mankind have been discussing the destiny of man and his role in the history of our universe. So, let's systematize our knowledge of the differences between humans and animals.
What is human activity in terms of science?
Human activity, in contrast to animal behavior, can be considered as a conscious human activity, which has a certain meaning or purpose. In social science, it is generally accepted that all human activities have two different directions: creative and destructive. And the system of values and moral qualities of a person regulate his activities, it is they that provide some motivation to perform certain actions that have ultimate goals.
In human activity, 4 main types can be distinguished:
- Practical It implies an individual’s actions aimed at changing or improving something in accordance with his goals and ideas about the world around him.
- Cognitive. It involves regular studies, study and knowledge of new laws of the device of reality, as well as the development of existing skills.
- Aesthetic. It is connected with the field of art, music and poetry, in a word, with all that where a person expresses his aesthetic needs and expresses his feelings and thoughts with the help of art.
- And finally, the last subtype is managerial, which characterizes the organizational and leadership qualities of a person.
3 differences between human activity and animal behavior
Man and animals, although they have much in common (for example, instincts and the structure of some organs of the body), differ much more. Let's highlight the main differences between the first and second.
- First of all, it is worth noting that a person has articulate speech and can convey his thoughts through words.
- Human activity, in contrast to animal behavior, is under the control of the mind, not innate instincts. It is rationality, the ability to explore the world and the ability to think, create and create something that defines a person as the highest stage of evolution.
- A person is able to purposefully engage in one or another work, while applying all his theoretical and practical skills. Simply put, a person knows how to make plans and connect events in a logical chain.
Of course, these are not all the differences between human activities and animal behavior; in fact, all of them cannot be listed.
What other differences are there between us and animals?
People can say that some animals also have a mind, because they are able to learn, become attached to people (i.e. feel something like love), perform certain actions. Yes, indeed, many animals are fully trained, a vivid example of this is circuses, where even elephants and bears are taught to ride a bicycle. However, the main difference between them and a person is that a person is engaged in his activities not only because of instinctive needs, but thanks to his mind, and sometimes to his feelings.
We examined only three differences between human activity and animal behavior. Another difference can be called meaningful procreation. If animals copulate, then they do it solely because of the instinctive need for procreation. They don’t care what kind of individual to have offspring, the main thing is that the individual of the opposite sex is healthy.
Meanwhile, only a person is able to experience deep feelings. Without love, a person cannot be happy, therefore, he always tries to have a family and children only with his beloved.
And what do we have in common with animals?
It is not for nothing that we call animals "our smaller brothers", because in many ways they are very similar to people. Take at least our physiological structure and urgent needs. In general, the principles of the structure of our body are the same as in animals, although human activity, unlike the behavior of animals, clearly played a role in the course of evolution (which is why we are now not as physically developed as tetrapods).
Animals, like us, have a need for food, a healthy sleep, have self-preservation instincts, and also need to continue a kind.
No matter how many differences we have, we must remember that both humans and animals are representatives of living matter on our planet. Our duty is to protect the flora and fauna and take care of them.