Human uniqueness

Human uniqueness is an attribute often used in discussions about the evolution of biological traits found in humans. Though useful in terms of generating falsifiable hypotheses, the concept has frequently created misunderstandings, in particular since many claims of human uniqueness were not substantiated by an appropriately scoped search for the trait in question across a wider range of species. Furthermore, even in the presence of potential counter examples, judgments whether a given trait qualifies as uniquely human hinge upon precise definitions of the terms, which are often lacking. Some of the past and present candidate uniquenesses include art, cooking, culture, emotions, gesture, humour, language, morality, music, spirituality, theory of mind, and tool use. Uniqueness can also be discussed within circumscribed taxonomic units: Humans may be unique amongst primates in terms of the ability for vocal learning but songbirds and some other non-primate animals also possess this trait.