On Humanity

What makes us human? Really think about it. Is it our appearance? Is it the way humans communicate with a sort of grammar as opposed to how other animals do? Is it simple speciation as in how we cant breed with non humans and we therefor, are a species? What is it? There are so many different ways we can define ourselves and still call ourselves human, but what is it truely? I submit to you that it cannot be any of these. It cant be that humans have language and animals dont, because testing to see if theres syntax in chimp speak is almost impossible. For example, there is the english word, "she" and the mandarin or cantonese (i dunno which one, some kinda chinese) word "chi". now, it is very hard to accurately, and regularly hear the differences when its being said alternatively. adults fail miserably at this test, but babies can do it 100% accurately...think about why that is.

So this test was done on english speaking people, so they have had their whole lives using English, one fo the languages one of the two words belongs to. But what if we used people who could only speak swahili? Would their test scores be even lower? Well based on how babies did much better because they have yet to program any language and sound bias into their head, it wouldnt be too much of a leap to think that yes, swahili speakers would score lower because their brains are programed to hear swahili sounds over anything else, just as we english speakers hear she more often than chi, and the chinese hear chi more often than she.

so if we can barely analyze our own languages, how can we then pick up chimp speak, and see if it has grammar? we cant even tell them apart physically because our brains are programed to recognize the differences in human facial patterns, not chimp. In conclusion, one one of the most human things, grammar, is not what makes us human because other animals may have grammar, but due to the species gap, we cant tell. grammar for a species may just be a matter of perspective.

So what does make us human? If not language, how about our appearance? Well i say to you, what about how different we all look, are chinese people less human because of the extra fold of skin on the eyes? are black people more human because they have huge dicks? are bengalis the master race because they are in between all races? Within our appearances there is such great variation, that we cannot take appearance as a definition for humanity. If we did we'd be excluding some, and including others, and we all know that we identify blacks, jews, indians, orientals and whites as humans.

I submit to you, the reader, for your own questioning and evalutation that it is the seeking of ultimate truth that makes us human. to our knowlege, ants, elephants and sharks dont concern themselves with the answers to life, the universe and everything (if they did they'd know its 42)
. But we as humans do. The method through which we seek truth is irrelvant, be it science or religion. Both have different routes to the same goal. Both seek to answer the ultimate questions in life.

However, with that said, there are a lot of people, who are biologically human, but arent truely human if we accept that definition of humanity. Does this mean the definition is wrong? In my opinion, no. This is my argument, not a statement of fact because really, how can one state facts about such an abstract issue: Humans have a physical birth, just like every other creature on this planet; we go through life carrying out the functions of biological needs such as getting food, shelter, and making babies. What makes you think that going to university, learning so you can get a good job, so you can buy a nice house, get a nice wife and have kids is any different from a robin who gets up in the morning, flies around all day collecting the best twigs to build his nest, finding a partner, making babies and seeking food for them. In the end the two are pretty much the same thing. The same acts coloured differently.

It is when a person has their "spiritual" birth do they become a human. Its when they start questioning, pondering, THINKING do they shed the title of beast and assume the role of man. It is when the undergrad starts to think, why is everything, the way it is? It is when the Yogi looks within himself and asks, why does life flow so perfectly like a symphony? Why is a dead body different from a live one? All of these sorts of questions, are what makes us human. Dont shit yourself in thinking that you are a man or a woman if you only carry out biology. How can you say you have humanity when you are only carrying out the functions as stated by your DNA?

In closing, it is when a person starts to think are they born again as a human. I submit to you a challenge. Be a man. Think. Question. Wonder.