Differences and similarities between animal and human: internal organs, appearance, communication, relationships

The similarities and differences between man and animal are a very interesting topic. After Charles Darwin created his evolutionary theory, there began an unending debate about whether people really descended from monkeys or some other way. Until now, it is impossible to give an unambiguous answer to this question. However, in science to date, a lot of facts have been accumulated, which indicate that there are striking similarities between animal and human. This allows us to say that all living beings have one origin. In particular, their elemental composition is the same.

Elemental composition of living organisms

In the composition of the bodies of living organisms inhabiting the Earth, there are the same chemical elements. Similar nucleic acids and proteins are contained in animal cells. They perform the same functions. The greatest similarity was established between monkeys and humans. For example, the DNA of a macaque and a human contains about 66% of similar genes. And if you compare a representative of the species Homo sapiens with chimpanzees, then the similarity will be approximately 92%. Immunological properties of blood also do not differ significantly. And in the great apes, and in humans, there is a Rh factor and blood groups.

Parts of the body and organs of man and animals

Very interesting, is not it? However, this does not end the similarities between animal and human. Similar parts and organs of the body distinguish in the structure of both. The similarity in general of the structure of animals and man suggests that there is a relationship between them, that one can talk about the commonality of their origin. In this case, the higher the animal is on the evolutionary ladder, the fewer differences from the species Homo sapiens can be observed. The forelegs of man, like all kinds of monkeys, are grasping. They have a brush, which can be freely bent and bent. The other fingers are opposed by a large one. Vaulted nails are equipped with terminal phalanges. Clavicles well developed in the shoulder girdle. They provide a complex and diverse movement of the forelimbs. Large and the one and the other is the skull. On the front side of the skull are the eye sockets. They are facing forward. As in most mammals, the visual fields of the eyes are not isolated, but overlap one another. Thanks to this, a volume, binocular vision is provided. However, this is not all similarities. And we have not yet considered the differences between man and animal. The topic of interest is quite extensive, and it can be opened for a very long time. Let's try to highlight the main thing.

Brain

Both primates and humans, in contrast to other mammals, have a highly developed brain. In it, the occipital lobe and the outstanding frontal are distinguished. 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 - front limbs, capable of manipulation, the brain of monkeys and highly developed organs of vision - is a fundamental prerequisite for having the ability to work. However, we can talk about its implementation only in relation to the person (we will discuss this in more detail below).

Development of embryos

The physiology of man and animals has accumulated a lot of information in order to be able to assert that in many respects the development of embryos of species belonging to the same type is similar. For example, in the early stages of embryogenesis, all chords have a chord (axial skeleton), a neural tube appears, and gill slits appear. As for man, the structure of the heart of his embryo resembles the structure of this organ in fish - one ventricle and one auricle. Scientists have examined how embryonic development is taking place in different animals. They found out that the person in it passes through all the stages of evolution of its species. This feature was noted by German scientists E. Haeckel and F. Müller, who lived in the second half of the 19th century. They formulated it as a biogenetic law, according to which phylogeny is repeated in ontogenesis. Individual development, that is ontogeny, is a brief repetition of phylogenesis, which is the historical development of a particular species.

Communication system

Let us now consider the features of behavior. Here, too, there are significant similarities between animal and human. And those and others developed a system of communication using the appropriate signals. Unified mechanisms of behavior of animals and humans as a biological species. The creators of the reflex theory of behavior are the Russian scientists IM Sechenov and IP Pavlov. This theory is based on the diverse and complex manifestations of the activity of the nervous system. Its functional unit is the reflex.

These are the basic similarities between animal and human. Let us now consider the differences. You will see that the opposition "man-animal" has many grounds.

Pedunculation and features of the limbs of man

In the physiology and structure of humans, there are significant differences from animals. In particular, the uprightness developed as a result of the formation of an ever stronger musculature of the lower extremities, as well as the appearance of pronounced bends in the spine (sacrococcygeal, lumbar, thoracic, cervical), changes in the position of the pelvis, the formation of vaulted groans with 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 division of the lower and upper limbs. Our hands are well developed - it is a flexible mobile brush, there are many small muscles, the palm of the hand is opposed to the thumb, which allows the person to hold the objects tightly. In addition, the hand is nonspecific, 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 person, an animal, a plant or a microorganism - all this is of interest to scientists who have devoted themselves to this field of knowledge. There are no such species of living organisms, which they do not study.

Feeding animals and humans

Between a person, 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 you to grind vegetable food. As for predators, the jaw moves vertically. It is necessary to crush the bones and bite the meat. A person is endowed with both these possibilities, but not in full measure. For example, if we move our jaw too far aside or open our mouth too wide, a dislocation will occur. In this respect, our capabilities are limited to about half the available to animals. Remember how the crocodile opens the mouth or how much the cow's jaw moves, and you will understand what is meant.

An interesting feature can be found in the structure of the teeth. Both man and animals use them for chewing food and eating it. The set of teeth consists of herbivores mainly from molars (the so-called flat teeth, which carry out grinding of food). Predators also have fangs and incisors in their mouths. Human nature has provided an opportunity to eat food of various kinds. However, an obvious superiority is observed in the direction of herbivores, since 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 the predisposition of a person to eating plant foods.

Development of the brain

Perhaps the most important difference in the structure of an animal and a human is precisely the development of the brain, which serves as the material basis of speech, consciousness, and thought. In humans, it is not just much larger, but much more complex than in animals. This is due to the emergence of new structures, as well as ensembles of neurons, which regulate thinking, speech, complex movements. In humans, the hemispheres of the brain are unequal. They are asymmetric functionally. Scientists have proved that the left hemisphere is connected with logical thinking, and the right one is responsible for intuition and emotional sphere.

Today we know, thanks to clinical studies, that the conscious behavior and conscious activity inherent in a person are determined largely by the parietal and prefrontal fields of the cerebral cortex. For example, if we defeat the forehead, we lose the ability to intelligently and consciously manage our own activities, subordinate our actions to more distant goals and motives. The defeat of parietal fields leads to the loss of ideas about spatial and temporal relationships, logical connections. If the frontal fields occupy about 15% of the total area of the cerebral cortex in monkeys, then humans have 30%. In addition, the lower-etheric and anterolateral areas in man have certain nerve centers, which in other species are absent.

As a result of evolution, important biosocial differences emerged from the species Homo sapiens. They are formed already in the process of relativeism, if a person lives in a society, among other people. These features relate to behavior, and physiology, and lifestyle. Thus, the psyche of animals and humans is significantly different. Let us now turn to the consideration of reason.

The human mind

In this respect, there are differences as well as similarities between man and animal. The table and the text below will help you understand them. First of all, we note that, unlike animals, a person has a special form of thinking, called conceptual thinking. The most essential properties and signs are in the concept. It is abstract. In animals, the reflection of reality always takes place in concrete, concrete terms. It is associated with some or other objects of the surrounding world. Only man's 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 the change in conditions remaining unchanged, even if this or that action is inexpedient. 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 IP Pavlov, studying the peculiarities of the higher nervous activity peculiar to man, found that it has qualitative differences from that carried out by animals. A person has a second signal system, which is speech. Both humans and other species are able to sense the changes in the properties and qualities of surrounding phenomena and objects (color, sound, smell, light, temperature, taste, etc.) by the senses. In this, the features of the similarity between man and animals are seen. The work of sensory mechanisms is the basis on which the 1st signaling system operates. It is common in animals and in humans. At the same time, the second signal 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 acts as a substitute for immediate stimuli. Observations have shown that it is possible to develop the 2nd signal system only when communicating. In other words, speech has a social character.

We will present in the form of a table some other similarities and differences in the thinking and speech of man and animals.

As you can see, you can see both the differences and similarities between man and animal. The table presented above completes the consideration of thinking and speech. Let us pass to the peculiarities of labor activity.

Human work

Not only people but also many other kinds are capable of creating creative activity. In this you can see the features of the similarity of man and animals. However, only people can make complicated tools, adjust and plan their work, anticipate the results that can be obtained, and 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 be discussed in more detail.

Labor as such is a kind of activity that is inherent only to man. It consists in influencing nature to ensure favorable conditions for existence. The main feature of labor is that this activity is carried out, as a rule, only in conjunction with other individuals. This applies to even the simplest operations that are of an individual character, since a person in the process of their implementation enters into some relations with other people surrounding him. The writer's work, for example, can be considered individual. However, in order to become one, one must learn to write and read, to get an education. That is, it is possible only because of the involvement in the system of social relations. Therefore, any work, even seemingly purely individual at first glance, involves cooperation with others.

It is he who contributed to the emergence of human communities, fundamentally different from those that are characteristic of animals. The difference was that the unification of primitive people pursued the goal not only to survive, which to a certain extent is characteristic of herd animals. It was necessary to survive 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 mastery of fire was of great importance. Man, thanks to this fact, stood out from the natural world. He ceased to depend on natural conditions, became free. A positive aspect in the development of the human race was the heat treatment of food, as well as the use of fire for the production of various tools.

The role of the division of labor in the development of mankind

It occurred according to sexual and age characteristics already at the early stages of development of the species Homo sapiens. The division of labor has led to the development of social relations and increased labor productivity. People have become able to pass on their knowledge and experience to the new generation.

Marriage and family relations

The society gradually began to regulate marriage relations. This has become an important factor in the development of the society, as well as the biological evolution of the species Homo sapiens. In particular, the prohibition of related marriages is important because it prevents the accumulation of negative mutations in the gene pool and leads to its enrichment.

Satisfaction of needs

A person satisfies needs both biological, and spiritual and social. Spiritual are connected 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 essentially different creatures, but many similarities can be found between them. Science does not stand still, new research is emerging in this area. The significant similarity between the person and the animal that has been discovered requires further clarification. We must admit that we know not all about our younger brothers, as well as about ourselves. The similarity of man and mammals, animals of various species is a very interesting topic, which many scientists devoted themselves to studying. This is Aristotle, Claudius Galen, and Charles Darwin and many others.