Question: What makes us human? What makes us so different to other animals? Why did we evolve in such a 'good' way?

Rebecca Dewey answered on 25 Jun 2015:

What makes us different to other animals? I don’t think we’re *that* different, really. There are lots of other animals, particularly other apes and primates, that show emotions, complicated communication, have learned to make and to use tools. Why are we just that bit more intelligent than the other apes? Chance, really! Each species of ape evolved to adapt to their surroundings. Some apes live in trees, and so have developed features that are well suited to living in trees, such as body hair, long strong arms, etc. Humans live on the ground and have developed features that is suited to that lifestyle, such as walking upright, hair on the top of the head, etc. Humans had fewer predators and learned to eat food that is very nutritious, and so have had spare time (when we’re not desperately running away from predators or searching for food) to spend communicating, gossiping, making life more comfortable. Maybe that has helped our intelligence increase.