Are Humans Really a Type of Animal?
Humans are animals. Humans have unique traits regarding morality and language, but biologically humans are a type of animal known as a mammal.
FACT: In simple terms: When we say humans are animals we mean we aren’t plants or algae. When we say humans are mammals we mean we aren’t reptiles, birds, or insects.
What Do We Mean By Animals?
Scientists classify life in a few different ways, putting aside simple and single celled organisms like bacteria, one simple way to classify all life forms as animal, plant, fungi, or algae (red and green).
On a cellular level plants, algae, fungi, and animals are all made of complex cells called eukaryotes which have mitochondria in them. Plants and [most] algae also have chloroplasts in their cells, yet fungi and animals don’t.
We can be very certain that humans are not plants or algae with chloroplasts from our cells on up. We can prove this biologically, or we can use reason. So that leaves Fungi (and technically some odd algaes).
Funnily enough, fungi and animals have a lot in common. With that said, we don’t have to go into details to realize that we fit better in the animal kingdom than “the mushroom kingdom.” Thus, we as humans, in terms of classifications based on defining features, are a type of animal (an animal of the species mammal specifically).