People ARE animals, and to deny that is both arrogant and ignorant, putting ourselves on a higher tier than those with which we share the planet.

Your contention that those who consider humans to be animals deny human morality is preposterous. Humans are moral animals, and morality exists in non human animals. Elephants have been observed to go out of their way to rescue the infants of other species, at no gain to themselves. Geese will stay with their injured flock mates until they are well enough to resume migration or until death. There have been volumes written about the existence of morality in animals, so come off it.

The idea of the soul, that's a whole 'nother can of metaphysical worms and cannot be proven or disproven, much less logically argued about.

Lastly, I believe that any human that understands that intelligence is not the sole dictate of compassion, and that it does not emancipate him/herself from other animals, moves towards creating a greater society based in compassion, mindfulness, and equality.