We’re extraordinary. Collectively, our species, Homo sapiens, is downright exceptional, and so very human. Want to know why that is? It’s due to the fact that every single person on this Earth is unique. Sure, you can argue that, with every other species on this planet, there’s differences from our own traits, so the former can too be defined as “human” on the very basis of “uniqueness.” However, apart from anatomical differences, humans are distinct when it comes to the foundation of their lives. We have our intelligence, our values, our choices, and our relationships with other people and nature. Most importantly, we also have the ability to change the world, to mold it in whatever fashion we please —a power that no other species on this
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Regardless of being on a conscious or subconscious level of awareness, it is universal knowledge that we’re unique, whether it is on an individual level, or as a whole species, but, sometimes, it takes a reminder to reignite the flame that has been burning across countless generations of mankind. At the beginning of this course, I had no interest in looking deeper, in making my own wave in a murky sea of answers, so, when asked what I thought it meant to be human, I never put much of my heart into forming my own answer. I was content then with stating that it was “impossible to give a complete definition of what it means to be human,” and, after studying just a glimpse of the underbelly of humanity, I realize now that I agree with my previous answer. As evident simply by the different responses to this question by my fellow classmates at the beginning of the semester, in modern times, there’s not one complete conclusion that can be drawn that fully satisfies the contributions of every human to our global society. In the past, this was not as much of the case, as a person’s worth was significantly determined by their social class (ex. Romans & their gladiators), their lifestyle (ex. the witch hunt trials & the trial of Jeanne d’Arc), and their culture/religion (ex. creation myths), but,
Regardless of being on a conscious or subconscious level of awareness, it is universal knowledge that we’re unique, whether it is on an individual level, or as a whole species, but, sometimes, it takes a reminder to reignite the flame that has been burning across countless generations of mankind. At the beginning of this course, I had no interest in looking deeper, in making my own wave in a murky sea of answers, so, when asked what I thought it meant to be human, I never put much of my heart into forming my own answer. I was content then with stating that it was “impossible to give a complete definition of what it means to be human,” and, after studying just a glimpse of the underbelly of humanity, I realize now that I agree with my previous answer. As evident simply by the different responses to this question by my fellow classmates at the beginning of the semester, in modern times, there’s not one complete conclusion that can be drawn that fully satisfies the contributions of every human to our global society. In the past, this was not as much of the case, as a person’s worth was significantly determined by their social class (ex. Romans & their gladiators), their lifestyle (ex. the witch hunt trials & the trial of Jeanne d’Arc), and their culture/religion (ex. creation myths), but,