# Does it sometimes freak you out that humans are animals? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 4, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766 "2012-04-04T01:48:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SDMBKL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sdmbkl/32/7297_2.png) [@SDMBKL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SDMBKL)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766/1 "2012-04-04T01:48:27Z")
You’ve studied Biology, Physiology, Anatomy, Evolution, etc. and after all that, you just can’t wrap your mind around the fact that you are an animal. When you think of an animal, you think of a multicellular organism that could be vertebrae or invertebrae, have scales or fur or feathers or whatever or do other natural functions. Then when you think about how you have to study for that math exam coming next week or how you are going to plan your career or how you are going to plan out a living will, you just can’t believe that you are an animal, because those behaviors appear to be so unnatural. You are an organism that can build tools that can directly or indirectly help get what you want, or get another human being to help you. Another way is to use a thing called “money” to exchange your assets for what you want. Now, what kind of _animal_ can do all that other than the species _homo sapiens_? Are you getting what I’m saying? What kind of animal have an established culture? Do you find it weird that humans appear to be the only creature on earth that have culture while other creatures have no culture? ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766/2 "2012-04-04T02:51:39Z")
You have trouble believing humans are animals? Have you seen how some people behave? 🙂 I do feel that the distinction between humans and animals is much more exaggerated in the popular imagination than in reality. I think that the more we learn about animals, the more we realize they have in common with us. Chimps use tools. [Elephants are capable of suffering from PTSD](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=632064). It looks like there are [examples of culture in animal species](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_culture#Primate_Culture). ---
**Author:** ![JWT\_Kottekoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@JWT\_Kottekoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JWT_Kottekoe)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766/3 "2012-04-04T03:01:42Z")
If only humans have culture, how do you explain yogurt? ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766/4 "2012-04-04T03:48:47Z")
No, never. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766/5 "2012-04-04T04:08:32Z")
It _comforts_ me to know that humans are animals. That knowledge gives me the same feeling I have when I wake up and realize that horrible thing that just happened was only a nightmare. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766/6 "2012-04-04T04:45:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*Does it sometimes freak you out that humans are animals? \*\* Never had any kids, have you **SDMBKL**? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766/7 "2012-04-04T05:01:31Z")
By some miracle my shit doesn’t stink, so perhaps I am not the animal the rest of you clearly are. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766/8 "2012-04-04T05:01:36Z")
Backaches, hair loss, aging, foot problems, catching colds, increasingly severe myopia… I want to go to the Mechanization Planet and get a Robot Body. This “biological process” business is for the animals! ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766/9 "2012-04-04T07:16:10Z")
No, can’t say that it does. Actually, it turns me on\*. \*I have this sort of… “primal fetish”, with certain things. For example, I like to watch (attractive) women eating - especially if it’s something messy and/or meaty like chicken wings. We can pretend to be “civilized” creatures all we like, but when you watch that, you can’t help but think what a sexy beast this is tearing into the flesh of this other animal with her teeth. And just how I want to fuck everything all the time reminds me of my animal nature too. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766/10 "2012-04-04T14:03:18Z")
> [@SDMBKL](#): > > Do you find it weird that humans appear to be the only creature on earth that have culture while other creatures have no culture? Lots of animals have cultures, and there have been major news stories covering exactly that for years now. This is, however, still a field in which there’s much research to be done – it’s entirely possible that ALL non-solitary animals have cultures and we just haven’t recognized that. There are many examples of animals where one group takes up a practice that others of that species do not, and they teach it to new generations. That’s culture. Just one random example – some Japanese monkeys wash their grain – one individual was observed to do it first and apparently taught the others of his group. Heck, there are groups that start eating a new kind of food others of that species don’t eat – is that _cuisine?_ Dolphins and birds, for starters, have been shown in some cases to use unique sounds to identify individuals – are those _names?_ Orcas have been observed to make sounds so distinctly different that researchers can tell what area they’re from – is that a _regional accent?_ What about the subgroup of dolphins who hold sponges in their beaks to protect themselves while rooting about in the bottom gravel – is that _technology?_ The hottest topic in human social networks is “crowdsourcing,” loosely based on the idea that complex emergent behavior can arise from the decisions of many individuals. The lowly ant mastered this millions of years ago. Remember that _humans_ couldn’t build complex tools with moving parts or use writing, either, until very, very recently. This is a new thing for us. And from the looks of things, only _some_ of us study evolution and biology. IMHO, it’s chauvinism (or speciesism) you’re feeling. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766/11 "2012-04-04T14:17:13Z")
Ever eat with one? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766/12 "2012-04-04T14:29:49Z")
No. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766/13 "2012-04-04T14:51:30Z")
Well put, **sailboat**. And no, OP, no it doesn’t. To me, it’s comforting to know I’m part of the food web, part of the great constant surging tide of life, the same as dolphins and mushrooms and the oxalis bulbs blooming in my neighborhood and the robins nesting outside my office window and the purring cats asleep in my house. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766/14 "2012-04-04T15:04:13Z")
Yes, it does, in the sense that “freak out” can mean “utterly amaze and awe”. At least once a week, I look at a skyscraper or a highway or a Porta-John and think, “What strange little monkeys we humans are!”. I think it’s amazing and awesome, and a little mind blowing, to think that ANY animal has been able to build such intricate habitats. If my cat picked up a jackhammer, I’d be equally amazed. Right now, I’m “watching”\* The Price is Right\*. Millions of years of evolution, and there are bald monkeys guessing how many green pieces of paper other bald monkeys want for objects, and still more bald monkeys are filming this and two bald monkeys are in this room not watching it while “talking” to other bald monkeys living on the other side of the world via the internet. I mean, that’s just f-ing weird, when you think about it. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766/15 "2012-04-04T16:24:12Z")
[You’re asking me to believe in thinking meat!](http://www.terrybisson.com/page6/page6.html) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766/16 "2012-04-04T17:29:40Z")
If you really want to drive someone crazy, tell them we’re apes, too. ---
**Author:** ![iamnotbatman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/858c86/32.png) [@iamnotbatman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamnotbatman)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766/17 "2012-04-04T17:33:06Z")
Hell, I like to think of humans as plants (I know this is stretching definitions, but at one point in my life I felt the observation was mind-blowing)! ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766/18 "2012-04-04T17:35:08Z")
No, I find it explains so much that would otherwise be baffling about human behavior ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766/19 "2012-04-04T20:10:19Z")
Nope. But I am always amazed at instances of non-human animals demonstrating humanity. And somewhat encourage when humans do that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766/20 "2012-04-04T20:32:20Z")
No. Pets do sometimes, though. When I see my parent’s cat pad through the living room, it strikes me as supremely odd that my ancestors spent hundreds of years domesticating and taming these animals and the end result of something that once raced across the savannah in pursuit of meat is really nothing more than a living ornament. Then I give her belly skritches and the moment passes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-sometimes-freak-you-out-that-humans-are-animals/617766.md?page=2)