human being

1. any individual of the genus Homo, esp. a member of the species Homo sapiens.

2. a person, esp. as distinguished from other animals or as representing the human species: living conditions not fit for human beings; a very generous human being.

[1855-60]

* * *

      a culture-bearing primate that is anatomically similar and related to the other great apes (ape) but is distinguished by a more highly developed brain and a resultant capacity for articulate speech and abstract reasoning. In addition, human beings display a marked erectness of body carriage that frees the hands for use as manipulative members. Some of these characteristics, however, are not entirely unique to humans. The gap in cognition, as in anatomy, between humans and the other great apes (orangutans (orangutan), gorillas (gorilla), and chimpanzees (chimpanzee)) is much less than was once thought, as they have been shown to possess a variety of advanced cognitive abilities formerly believed to be restricted to humans. Traditionally, humans were considered the sole recent representatives of the family Hominidae, but recent findings indicate that chimpanzees (and bonobos (bonobo)) are more closely related to humans than are gorillas and orangutans and that the chimpanzee and human lines separated only about five million years ago. Therefore, all great apes are now gathered with humans into Hominidae, and within this family humans and their extinct ancestors are considered to make up the “tribe” Hominini. See also Homo sapiens; human evolution.

      The term man has traditionally referred to humans in general, or mankind. The idea of man is treated in a number of articles. For a philosophical treatment of the subject, see philosophical anthropology. For the physical anthropology of human ancestry, see human evolution. For an examination of human culture, see culture. For other related articles, see collective behaviour; death; emotion; family; human behaviour; human rights; intelligence (intelligence, human); kinship; language; learning theory; mind, philosophy of; motivation; perception; personality; population; sexual behaviour, human; social structure; Stone Age; thought.

* * *