Why Emotions: Should Humans Ask A Question?

Improved Essays
Many questions have been asked since the beginning of time. Questions still remain, but one we have been unable to answer is: What separates us from other living beings? In the definition from Merriam-Webster, it is stated that a human is “of, relating to, or characteristics of human”. This could mean many different things such as the ability to ask questions, acting on emotions, and the ability to create using our imagination.
The ability to ask questions is almost second nature to most people. When we go to ask our question, most of us don’t really go through the entire process of asking the question. As it turns out, we are the only species on the planet that can ask a question and understand an answer completely. During a research study
…show more content…
We are the only species that understands emotions and can comprehend them. We show many different emotions such as anger, happiness, and sadness. While it is undeniable that animals show emotions, there is, however, one difference between us and animals, such as dogs. A dog doesn’t have the same amount of complexity with emotions as humans do. Dr. Stanley Coren, a neuropsychologist that has dedicated his life to researching the psychology of dogs states, “...a dog will have all of the basic emotions: joy, fear, anger, disgust and even love. However based on current research it seems likely that your dog will not have those more complex emotions like guilt, pride and shame.” Dogs have the ability to show sadness like us, but do not have the ability to feel other forms of sadness like self pity, guilt, along with many other forms. Another big difference between a dog's emotions and a person’s emotions, is the fact that humans can read emotions of other animals. People can see the fact that a dog is sad based on certain factors like it has stopped eating, loses interest in things like taking walks or playing catch, and other factors. No other animal is able to do this. Yes, they are able to tell if an animal in their own species is happy. For example, a dog is able to tell if another dog is happy based on the way it barks, but a dog can’t tell when a gorilla is happy. However, a study done in 2016 says that a dog can tell the emotions of people. Though, if someone looks in to the article, the people doing the study state that the dogs can’t tell specific emotions. Dogs can only differentiate between positive and negative emotions based on facial expression and tone of voice. Animals can’t tell that someone is frustrated about something that happened at school. Dogs are able to have emotions, but there are many other factors that separate us from man’s best

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Dogs more than any other type of animal have developed to become highly acclimated to humans and our behavior and emotions. While dogs are capable to comprehend a lot of the words humans use to interact with them, they are even better at understanding the human’s tone of voice, sign, and mannerisms. Dogs are really “ our best friend” and coworker[s]”, they benefit and help humans in many different ways, such as, improves health and mood, create a healthy life style, beneficial for older adults, and useful for children. Throughout the years dogs have been helping people with security purposes and grading people. However, dogs really benefit people’s health and mood more than anything else.…

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Do Dogs Make People Happy

    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages

    First, dogs helped ancient people to survive, which caused them to evolve and become the people that we are today. Canines’ have also helped us in the modern age by finding missing persons (search and rescue dogs), detecting danger (detection dogs), and helping the physically disabled or ill persons (service dogs). Pups have to go through extensive training before they can perform their jobs. Just being around a dog is beneficial to one’s physical and mental health. One can safely say that a dog is truly man’s best…

    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dogs are smart and I can say that I believe they do have senses. Dogs can tell how you feel and can read your intentions but being a human is more than that because as human we can make a difference from right to wrong and can also decide for ourselves. When as a dog we don’t really have much choices. I believe as human being no matter how old we are turning and how lonely and miserable life gets, we still have to be thankful and happy that we made it that far in life and not wishing to get our life taken away or turn into something else. Wishing to be something or someone else in life to me is not a bad thing.…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1. (5 points) Explain why studying emotions is one of the most controversial topics in psychology. How would you feel about having your emotions studied? First of all there is much disagreement of emotions amongst modern day psychologists. That disagreement goes way back to the earliest philosophers, so it is nothing new.…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One of the most puzzling questions is “what does it mean to be human?” The definition of human is “ A member of the primate genus Homo, especially a member of the species Homo sapiens, distinguished from other apes by a large brain and the capacity for speech”("human"). The definition should also include “thoughts, intelligentes, are self-aware and have emotions”, because humans are complex and unique animals. All though Humans are very similar to chimps, “sharing 98 percent of our genes and many behaviors”, humans stand out due to their level of complex thoughts (Hsu). Some animals share characteristics with humans, such as social groups and communication, but humans take things to an unmatched level.…

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Primates Research Paper

    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Primates and domestic animals can communicate with humans. It sounds unreal, right? Well, think again… Domestic animals and primates communicate just like humans! Studies have shown and proven that both, primates and canines are able to communicate with humans and other animals.…

    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    What is it to be human? One would think that humans would be experts on the subject, but instead the question seems without answer. The Wisdom of the Bones by Alan Walker and Pat Shipman explores this question by defining the physical and behavioral characteristics of humans and their ancestors. Despite our ability to create clean categories for other animals to fit in, Walker and Shipman reveal that there seems to be something harder for humans to define about ourselves. As is done with any other animal, the logical place to start is with humans’ unique physical traits.…

    • 1486 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Jeremy Rifkin argues that animal rights should be free from exploitation, cruelty, neglect, and abuse. Rifkin also mentions how mistreated laboratory animals and farm animals are and also effect us. The science shows it all and supports what people knew in their hearts from the beginning. All these discoveries are beginning to change the way we view animals. They have emotions just like humans.…

    • 128 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What makes us human? Some would say it is our appearance and how we look, but others say it is what is on the inside that makes us human, for example our morals, beliefs, and they way we interact with others. In the book, Frankenstein, Victor and his creation are contrasted of who is more human. The creature is more of a human than Victor because he shows more compassion, his longing for a companionship, and he is selfless.…

    • 905 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Are Humans Unique Species

    • 1493 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Theory of mind is commonly misconceived to be unique to humans. Theory of mind is the concept of an individual being able to understand his own mental state (beliefs, intents, desires etc) and also being able to understand that another individual’s mental state is different to his own. It was previously understood that humans were the only species capable of this, as there have been studies to show otherwise. An experiment done on chimpanzees shows that they not only have the ability to understand another’s thoughts, but have the ability to act on those thoughts. In this example, two chimpanzees are shown a banana, one of the chimpanzees is high ranking and the other is low ranking.…

    • 1493 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    We’re extraordinary. Collectively, our species, Homo sapiens, is downright exceptional, and so very human. Want to know why that is? It’s due to the fact that every single person on this Earth is unique. Sure, you can argue that, with every other species on this planet, there’s differences from our own traits, so the former can too be defined as “human” on the very basis of “uniqueness.”…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The question “what does it mean to be human?” is a very well-known one that’s been asked time and time again. Being human consists of being a part of culture, the necessity to socialize and its effects, and the mental capabilities they can utilize. Being human is a distinct separation between humans and animals and is summarized with the three main social sciences. In regards to anthropology, every human is human because they are affected by a culture that no other animals have in common with the human race.…

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the movie I, Robot we are introduced to a long debated philosophical question: “What makes a human being human?”. Is the essence of mankind the fact that we are biologically unique among the myriad of different species on this planet? Is it the fact that we seem to have transcended our baser needs in order to try and make the world fit us as opposed to us fitting into the world around us? Is it perhaps that we have what people would call a “soul”? Or is it possibly that we were said to have either evolved from our animal counterparts, the primates, in order to be what we consider better?…

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Importance Of Being Human

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages

    What’s so special about being human? What makes us different from robots and other animals? These philosophical questions are by no doubt seemingly difficult to answer. Of course, the answer may differ for every individual, for it is a question that depends on one’s standard of being ‘human’. For instance, one might consider organisms that are merely biologically human as human, while others might accept organisms that have certain human characteristics as human.…

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I Am Human Essay

    • 801 Words
    • 4 Pages

    To Be A Human I Am Human I am human I am the melody I hear Harmonious and bright I am the paintbrush…

    • 801 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays