Introduction
Do you believe that the human species is unique? Evolutionary scientists have claimed that human species emanated from ape-like creatures, but the truths about such claims have remained controversial. However, scientific studies have compared human species to other species and noted substantial uniqueness in terms of personality, judgment, and abstract thinking and others (Hunt and Colander 1).
Creativity
Humans can be creative. Human species started the art of creativity long before the Stone Age. This was long before modern man appeared. No other species can comprehend the art of creativity apart from human species. This ability distinguishes human species from apes and other creatures.
Abstract thinking
Human species have different brains from those other creatures. This explains why humans are also in constant search for answers to understand why certain things happen or why they exist in certain forms. According to Daniel Povinelli, humans are capable of invoking “unobservable phenomena and variables to explain why certain things are happening” (Deem 1). This is unlike other species, which operate in observable, tangible, and concrete world.
Moral judgments
Human species have abilities to differentiate between good and bad. Only human species can make moral judgments from all other species. Scientists have only found unique characteristics in human species alone. These are feelings, such as guilt, shame, and pride, which result from certain behaviors. Such feelings and moral judgments make humans the only species capable of acting in a good and bad manner.
Social skills
Some studies have shown that humans possess social cognition skills. Studies have concluded that human has high-levels of social skills and learning than other forms of animals. Such studies have compared “social learning, communication, and theory of mind and concluded that humans were far superior in areas of social cognition” (Deem 1) than other animals like a chimpanzee. Therefore, such results have demonstrated that human differs from other species in general cognitive processes like “memory, learning, or perceptual processing” (Deem 1).
This suggests that the human brain functions in a different manner from those of other species. Therefore, we can attribute uniqueness to basic differences in the functions and structures of the human brain. Human species may be social to enhance their survival advantages. Biblically, we have noted that God created man in His image that was different from all other creatures. Such differences enhanced human abilities to be social and communicate with others.
Human consciousness
Human consciousness has remained one complex area researchers have been studying for decades. Humans act in purposeful behaviors. However, in most cases, humans may engage in certain behaviors unconsciously.
Conversely, humans engage their consciousness when they want a different alternative or result. This implies that we perform routine tasks unconsciously, but engage consciousness when we change thought processes or actions. Human consciousness differs from those of other species because of the structure and functions of the human brain. Such functions relate to memory, information processing, and various forms of emotions.
Personality
Personality enhances human uniqueness from other species. It accounts for human psychological processes, individual differences, and similarity among human species. It is dynamic and influences human emotions, motivation, cognitive processes, and interpersonal relations in various circumstances.
Conclusion
We can conclude that human species are unique from other animals or creatures based on various the structure and functions of the brain. Studies are yet to understand all factors contributing to the uniqueness of human species.
Works Cited
Deem, Rich. The Human Difference: How Humans are Unique Compared to All Other Animals. 2012. Web.
Hunt, Elgin and David Colander. Social Science. An Introduction of the of the Study of Society. 14th ed. New York: Pearson, 2010. Print.