I’m not using “human” to mean “biological human.” I’m using “human” to mean “potential friend.”
The term you are looking for here is ‘person’. The debate you are currently having is about what creatures are persons.
The following definitions aid clarity in this discussion:
Animal—a particular form of life that has evolved on earth; most animals are mobile, multicellular, and respond to their environment (but this is not universally necessary or sufficient).
Human—a member of the species Homo sapiens, a particular type of hairless ape
Person—A being which has recognized agency, and (in many moral systems) specific rights.
Note that separating ‘person’ from ‘human’ allows you to recognize the possibility that all humans are not necessarily persons in all moral systems (i.e.: apartheid regimes and ethnic cleansing schemas certainly treat many humans as non-persons; certain cultures treat certain genders as effectively non-persons, etc.). If this is uncomfortable for you, explore the edges of it until your morality restabilizes (example: brain-dead humans are still human, but are they persons?).
The term you are looking for here is ‘person’. The debate you are currently having is about what creatures are persons.
The following definitions aid clarity in this discussion:
Animal—a particular form of life that has evolved on earth; most animals are mobile, multicellular, and respond to their environment (but this is not universally necessary or sufficient).
Human—a member of the species Homo sapiens, a particular type of hairless ape
Person—A being which has recognized agency, and (in many moral systems) specific rights.
Note that separating ‘person’ from ‘human’ allows you to recognize the possibility that all humans are not necessarily persons in all moral systems (i.e.: apartheid regimes and ethnic cleansing schemas certainly treat many humans as non-persons; certain cultures treat certain genders as effectively non-persons, etc.). If this is uncomfortable for you, explore the edges of it until your morality restabilizes (example: brain-dead humans are still human, but are they persons?).