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What it means to be human.
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| Revenge |
Posted on 11/11/2012 23:43:39
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Super Admin
Posts: 1297
Joined: 28.06.12
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I have to write a paper on what it means to be human sometime soon. I have ideas in my mind on what I want to say, but it would be nice to have someone else's opinion or ideas on the matter.
So the question is simply:
What does it mean to be human?
I like to look at it from the approach of the individual.
What makes you, you? Who are you? What are you? Difficult questions to answer. I can say I am Aaron Johnson. That is who I am. Who is Aaron Johnson? He is a human being, but that's what I am. How can I define who I am? And thinking of that, how does that interplay with what or how a human is supposed to act like. I am human because I have consciousness.
How do you define consciousness? Is it simply being aware of one's surroundings? Is a dolphin aware of it's actions when it communicates with another dolphin?
I like the phrase, "I think therefore I am".
Because I am capable of thought, I am, in my own mind and personal experience, alive. I am. I exist.
If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear about them. |
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| Riptide |
Posted on 11/12/2012 08:47:11
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Super Admin
Posts: 966
Joined: 23.03.12
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Well humans (from a human standpoint) are unique because we've learned to adapt. If we want to fly, we've created things that allow us to. If we want to swim, we can swim. We can run, we can walk, essentially we are good at expanding our limitations. What it means to be human, could mean the will to become limitless, the drive to expanding our horizons. Our individuality is nice too. We can be ourselves and be different. Least that's the way I see it.
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| ZA BrickSquad |
Posted on 11/12/2012 10:55:09
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ShawnPeezy
Posts: 5303
Joined: 12.05.11
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Human intelligence is so oppressed. Think about it... |
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| Levi |
Posted on 11/12/2012 11:43:34
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Wanker
Posts: 759
Joined: 24.11.11
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Being human means:
Surviving as long as possible
Trying to not get infected
Going blue after getting infected
Killing zombies
Being red
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| Hercules |
Posted on 11/12/2012 11:44:39
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Numpty
Posts: 1334
Joined: 18.09.12
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You said, "i think therefore i am" says the cat in the hat with green eggs n ham says sam i am. Understand this childrens riddle and you have a piece of your essay. |
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| The Hat of Love |
Posted on 11/12/2012 12:05:14
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ShawnPeezy
Posts: 9035
Joined: 31.07.11
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Look at being human from an evolutionary point of view and you'll see that humans have evolved to be intelligent - that is how we survived. Other species have gotten by fine by strength or camouflage, etc., but the only thing humans have really got going for them is intelligence and opposable thumbs.
As a by-product of being, probably, the most intelligent species on the planet, we also think a lot. The sort of questions you posed about self-awareness and stuff wouldn't occur to a dog. It's natural curiosity that drives the human race forwards; if we weren't curious we'd still be cave-dwellers.
As for who we are, it's tricky. I mean, when you say 'me' do you mean your body? Your brain? Your consciousness? And by consciousness, is that the electrical impulses that generate thought in your brain or is it a more abstract concept that must simply have a place to reside, i.e., your brain.
Huh. Philosophy.
my signature broke, here is a fox snek:
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| ninja |
Posted on 11/12/2012 13:07:26
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Super Admin
Posts: 4174
Joined: 15.11.10
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"You don't exist; you're just a figment of my imagination. I am concious and capable of thought, but you are not."
If you don't agree with that, try reading it as if you were saying it.
Coincidently, I believe that the above is a closer interpretation of what Descartes meant when he asserted 'Cogito ergo sum' (I think therefore I am). It was part of his philosophical treatise on objective knowledge - what can we know for certain? All he could be sure of was his existence, and the reason for his certainty was his state of thinking. He knew that in order to be pondering the question, he must exist in some form. The external world, on the other hand has no objective evidence for his existence.
It's also interesting to consider some peoples' objection to even this seemingly irrefutable deduction. They say that Descartes can't even be sure of his own power of reasoning, so his supposed 'logical' deduction that his state of thinking implies his existence might not follow.
My brain is open.
- Paul Erdős |
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| Revenge |
Posted on 11/12/2012 17:38:11
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Super Admin
Posts: 1297
Joined: 28.06.12
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Thanks for all the ideas I can stem off to. Riptide and Hat, you both talked about progress. I intend to write about that. How the human species will continue to make progress. (Right now we're in a progress standstill with some things)
Adding to that, I watched a documentary about a tribe in the past that was into killing buffalo for food. The indians found a way to kill large amounts of buffalo at once (perhaps running them off a cliff), they had no way to keep the meat from rotting over time so the meat went bad and many of them starved. They made "anti-progress", can't think of the word for it right now. |
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