Because of this, the scientific definition is based on the common, physical characteristics of all animals and thus cannot, and is not intended, to fully describe any one species of animal. Since the human species, Homo sapiens , has all of these characteristics, it is, by definition, an animal. I use the scientific definition of animal for this web site. There are actually many cultural definitions which differ from one culture to another. Many reflect local myths and legends and projections 5 of the population s fears of other species.
Some cultures only accept their particular cultural definition of the term animal .
5 Projection - A defense mechanism by which a repressed complex is denied and perceived as belonging to another being. In order to understand how this peculiar way of defining the word animal hampers the understanding of the word zoonosis , I have coined the expression Anthropocentric Dichotomy . Solution See Anthropocentric Dichotomy . The developmental role of the extracellular matrix suggests a monophyletic origin of the kingdom Animalia . Stedman s Medical Dictionary .