The similarities and differences between humans and animals are a very interesting topic. After C. Darwin created his evolutionary theory, endless debate began over whether people really descended from monkeys or appeared in some other way. Until now, a definite answer to this question is impossible. However, in science today, quite a lot of facts have been accumulated that indicate that there are striking similarities between animal and human. This suggests that all living things have a common origin. In particular, their elemental composition is the same.
The elemental composition of living organisms
The bodies of the living organisms that inhabit the Earth have the same chemical elements. Similar nucleic acids and proteins are found in animal cells. They perform the same functions. The greatest similarity was established between monkeys and humans. For example, macaque and human DNA contains about 66% of similar genes. And if you compare the representative of the species Homo sapiens with chimpanzees, the similarity will be approximately 92%. Immunological properties of blood also do not differ significantly. Both anthropoid apes and humans have a Rhesus factor and blood types.
Parts of the body and organs of humans and animals
Very interesting, isn't it? However, the similarities between animal and human do not end there. Similar parts and organs of the body are distinguished in the structure of both of them. The similarity in general structure of animals and humans suggests that there is a kinship between them, that we can talk about a common origin. Moreover, the higher the animal is on the evolutionary ladder, the less differences from the species Homo sapiens can be observed. The front limbs of man, like all types of monkeys, are grabbing. They have a brush that can freely expand and bend. The other fingers are contrasted with a big one. Vaulted phalanges are equipped with vaulted nails. Clavicles are well developed in the shoulder girdle. They provide complex and diverse movements of the forelimbs. Large and in those and others is the skull. On the front of the skull are eye sockets. They are facing forward. As in most mammals, the fields of view of the eyes are not isolated, but overlap one another. This provides volumetric, binocular vision. However, this is far from all the similarities. And we have not yet considered the differences between man and animal. The topic of interest to us is quite voluminous, and it can be revealed for a very long time. Let's try to highlight the main thing.
Brain
Both primates and humans, unlike other mammals, have a highly developed brain. It stands out the occipital lobe and prominent frontal. The fact that the occipital lobes are well developed is associated with improved vision. And high intellectual abilities led to the presence of frontal lobes. In general, the whole complex - forelimbs capable of manipulation, the brain of monkeys and highly developed organs of vision - is a fundamental prerequisite for having the ability to work. However, one can speak about its implementation only in relation to a person (we will dwell on this in detail below).
Embryo development
The physiology of humans and animals has accumulated a lot of information so that it can be argued that the development of the embryos of species belonging to the same type is largely similar. For example, in the early stages of embryogenesis, a chord (axial skeleton) is laid in all chordates , a neural tube appears, and gill slits appear. As for man, the structure of the heart of his fetus resembles the structure of this organ in fish - one ventricle and one atrium. Scientists have investigated how various animals undergo embryonic development. They found out that a person in him goes through all stages of the evolution of his species. This feature was noted by German scientists E. Haeckel and F. Muller, who lived in the 2nd half of the 19th century. They formulated it as a biogenetic law, according to which phylogenesis is repeated in ontogenesis. Individual development, that is, ontogenesis, is a brief repetition of phylogenesis, which is the historical development of a particular species.
Communication system
We now turn to the consideration of behavior. Significant similarities between animals and humans are also observed here. Both of them have a developed communication system using appropriate signals. The single mechanisms of behavior of animals and humans as a biological species. The creators of the reflex theory of behavior are Russian scientists I.M.Sechenov and I.P. Pavlov. This theory is based on the diverse and complex manifestations of the nervous system. Its functional unit is the reflex.
These are the main similarities between animal and human. We now turn to the consideration of differences. You will see that the opposition "man - animal" has many reasons.
Homo erectus and features of human limbs
In the physiology and structure of people there are significant differences from animals. In particular, upright posture developed as a result of the formation of increasingly stronger muscles of the lower extremities, as well as the appearance of pronounced bends in the spine (sacrococcygeal, lumbar, thoracic, cervical), a change in the position of the pelvis, and the formation of a vaulted moan with a developed first finger. The location of the internal organs also changed as a result of the vertical position of the body.
It should be noted that a person has a functional separation of the lower and upper limbs. Our hands are well developed - this is a flexible movable hand, there are many small muscles, palms are opposed by the thumb, which allows a person to hold objects tightly. In addition, the hand is non-specific, that is, it can perform various movements, subtle and complex. All these and many other features have been described by such a science as biology. A man, animal, plant or microorganism - all this interests scientists who have devoted themselves to this field of knowledge. There are no species of living organisms that they do not study.
Animal and human nutrition
Between humans, predators and herbivores, there are a number of differences in nutrition. For example, we can use almost any product. This allows you to make the structure of the jaw. In herbivores, it moves mainly in the horizontal plane, which allows grinding vegetable food. As for predators, the jaw moves vertically. This is necessary to crush bones and gnaw meat. A man is endowed with both of these possibilities, but not fully. For example, if we move our jaw too far to the side or open our mouth too wide, a dislocation will occur. Our capabilities in this regard are limited to approximately half of those available to animals. Remember how the crocodile opens its mouth or how much the jaw moves around the cow, and you will understand what is meant.
An interesting feature can be found in the structure of the teeth. Both humans and animals use them to chew food and eat it. The set of teeth in herbivores consists mainly of molars (the so-called flat teeth, which grind food). The predators in the mouth are fangs and incisors. Nature has provided man with the opportunity to eat various kinds of food. However, an obvious advantage is observed in the direction of herbivores, because of the 32 teeth only 12 are related to predators. These are 4 small fangs and 8 incisors. Other teeth - 12 molars and 8 premolars, which indicates a person’s predisposition to eat plant foods.
Brain development
Perhaps the most important difference in the structure of animals and humans is precisely the development of the brain, which serves as the material basis of speech, consciousness, and thinking. In humans, it is not only significantly larger, but also much more complex in structure than in animals. This is due to the emergence of new structures, as well as ensembles of neurons that regulate thinking, speech, complex movements. In humans, the cerebral hemispheres are unequal. They are asymmetric functionally. Scientists have proven that the left hemisphere is associated with logical thinking, and the right is responsible for intuition and the emotional sphere.
Today we know, thanks to clinical studies, that the conscious behavior and conscious activities inherent in humans are determined to a large extent by the parietal and prefrontal fields of the cerebral cortex. For example, in the defeat of the anterobacteria, we lose the ability to intelligently and consciously manage our own activities, to subordinate our actions to more distant goals and motives. The defeat of the parietal fields leads to the fact that the idea of spatial and temporal relationships, logical connections are lost. Whereas in monkeys, the frontal fields occupy about 15% of the total area of the cerebral cortex, in humans - 30%. In addition, the lower dark and frontal areas in humans have certain nerve centers, which are absent in other species.
As a result of evolution, important biosocial differences of the species Homo sapiens appeared. They are formed already in the process of otogenesis, if a person lives in society, among other people. These features relate to behavior, physiology, and lifestyle. Thus, the psyche of animals and humans is significantly different. We now turn to the consideration of the mind.
Human mind
In this regard, there are both differences and similarities between humans and animals. The table and text below will help you understand them. First of all, we note that, in contrast to animals, a special form of thinking, called conceptual thinking, is characteristic of man. The most significant properties and signs are precisely in the concept. It is abstract. In animals, the reflection of reality always happens objectively, specifically. It is associated with certain objects of the world. Only human thinking is logical, abstract, has the ability to generalize. Animals, like humans, can perform very complex actions. However, they are always based on instincts, that is, inherited genetic programs. The set of these actions is strictly limited, their sequence is determined, with changing conditions remaining unchanged, even if this or that action is inappropriate. A person first sets a goal, forms a plan, which, if necessary, can change. Then he analyzes the results, and also draws certain conclusions.
Speech
In 1925, I.P. Pavlov, studying the features of human higher nervous activity, found that it had qualitative differences from that carried out by animals. A person has a second signaling system, which is speech. Both people and other species are capable of sensory organs to detect changes in the properties and qualities of surrounding phenomena and objects (color, sound, smell, light, temperature, taste, etc.). This shows the similarities between humans and animals. The operation of sensory mechanisms is the basis on which the 1st signaling system operates. It is common in animals and in humans. In humans, at the same time, the 2nd signaling system develops. In this case, the signals are words and speech, which is generalized and abstract, that is, separated from the subject itself. The word is a substitute for immediate stimuli. Observations showed that the development of the 2nd signaling system is possible only through communication. In other words, speech is social in nature.
Let us present in the form of a table some other similarities and differences in the thinking and speech of humans and animals.
| Man | Animal |
It is characterized by various forms of thinking (reasoning, judgment, inference). At his disposal are many mental operations (comparison, synthesis, analysis, generalization, concretization, abstraction). | Communicative possibilities and thinking are observed in some higher apes (anthropoids). For example, Ladygina-Kots, a Soviet researcher, identified some mental operations, such as synthesis and analysis, based on many years of experiments. |
A person, using articulate speech, can transmit information about the world through information tools (telephone, Internet, etc.). | The "conversation" of animals is a variety of signals necessary for the survival of this particular individual and the species as a whole. They do not carry information about the future or the past, as well as about abstract concepts. |
It has the ability to reflect the reality surrounding it, not only with the use of speech, but also with the help of painting, music and other figurative forms. |
As you can see, you can notice both the differences and the similarities of man and animal. The table above completes the consideration of thinking and speech. We turn to the features of work.
Human labor
Not only people are capable of creative activity , but also many other types. In this we can see the similarities between humans and animals. However, only people can craft complex tools, adjust and plan their labor activity, anticipate the results that can be obtained, and also actively change the world around them. Other species, of course, are incapable of all this. This is an important difference between human activities and animals. Therefore, it should dwell in more detail.
Labor as such is a type of activity that is inherent only to man. It consists in influencing nature to ensure favorable living conditions. The main feature of labor is that, as a rule, this activity is carried out only jointly with other individuals. This applies even to the simplest operations, which are of an individual nature, since a person, in the process of their implementation, enters into one or another relationship with other people around him. The writer's work, for example, can be considered individual. However, in order to become one, you must learn to write and read, get an education. That is, this is possible only due to involvement in the system of public relations. Therefore, any work, even at first glance seemingly purely individual, involves cooperation with others.
It was he who contributed to the emergence of human communities, fundamentally different from those that are characteristic of animals. The differences consisted in the fact that the association of primitive people was aimed not only at surviving, which to a certain extent is characteristic of herd animals. It was necessary to survive precisely with the help of the transformation of natural conditions, that is, through collective labor.
Fire in human life
For the development of the species Homo sapiens and social relations, the development of fire was of great importance. Thanks to this fact, man has stood out from the natural world. He ceased to depend on natural conditions, became free. A positive moment in the development of the human race was the heat treatment of food, as well as the use of fire for the manufacture of various tools.
The role of the division of labor in the development of mankind
It occurred by sex and age already in the early stages of the development of the species Homo sapiens. The division of labor led to the development of social relations and increased labor productivity. People became able to pass on their knowledge and experience to a new generation.
Marriage and family relations
Society gradually began to regulate marriage. This has become an important factor in the development of society, as well as the biological evolution of the species Homo sapiens. In particular, the prohibition of family marriages is important because it prevents the accumulation of negative mutations in the gene pool and leads to its enrichment.
Satisfaction of needs
Man satisfies the needs of both biological and spiritual and social. Spirituals are associated with the formation of the inner world of each of us. Animals satisfy only biological needs, which are based on instincts.
Finally
As you can see, wild animals and humans are creatures in many ways, but many similarities can be found between them. Science does not stand still, there are more and more new research in this area. The significant similarities found between humans and animals require further refinement. It should be recognized that we know far from everything about our smaller brothers, as, indeed, about ourselves. The similarity of humans and mammals, animals of various species - a very interesting topic, the study of which many scientists have devoted themselves. This is Aristotle, and Claudius Galen, and Charles Darwin, and many others.