Have you read Guns, Germs, and Steel? It might shed light on some factors that only humans seem to utilize, since our capabilities and potentials could be the inherent qualities that you were referring to.
A few of them are: Ability to learn languages as a means to store and extract long-term (not temporary at least, because species like ants can store and communicate through chemicals temporarily) information (even iliterate people can be educated) and trade of information and goods (even diapers are manufactured elsewhere, so sociopaths and those with mental disorders benefit from this trade as beneficiaries, just like everyone else).
However, when we try to include other humans like those in persistent vegetative states or with extremely rare illnesses, the qualities could become something that other animals all share as well. We often perceive ourselves as higher beings than other species, but when we include every single human being in all cases, we might not be too different from other species. If that is the case, sometimes I would think that what makes us human, like empathy, love, faith and seeking a sense of belonging and being loved, can be a part of what it means to live, rather than exclusively what it means to be a human being.
