well recently in one of my classes we read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Some one asked if the creature was human and we had a huge debate. What makes a human human?
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perception of truth9% Voted for by Lohengrin, Jackymania.
i'd say animals do have free will: some behavior is categorically instinctive, but a multitude of responses are expressions of a particular animal's personality, or mood, or impulsive desires (just like in humans).
i'd say animals have imagination, too. it's well documented and easily observable that many higher mammals exhibit evidence of a highly active imagination during the REM stage of their sleep (they dream, and so do we).
free will is, in my opinion, an overrated quality. the exercize of mankind's free will results in infinitely more destruction, misery and sorrow than any peace and happiness it might afford. free will makes us less human than the animals, most often.
i think what makes us human is regard for truth. even a liar regards the truth (in fact he esteems its value more than most people, always aware how convincing and useful a falsehood becomes when most artfully disguised in truth's clothing).
without truth, love is degraded and diminished. without truth, justice and judgement fail. without truth, peace is tenuous and short-lived.
the ability to perceive truth is what makes us human; and the desire to seek truth is what makes us divine.
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Human?9% Voted for by Dark-Scorpion, PeterUL.
Ahhhh humanity. You want the dreary side of it? Consider this. What if humanity is characterized by the very destruction and missery we wish to disassosiate ourselves with. Think about it. How many animals go to war against eachother? How many animals commit genocide? How many animals develop chemical weapons? How many animals starve to death by the millions when there is pleanty of food??? I would say human beings are defined as humans by the suffering that they cause and endure. The hatred that they house and emulate, and the negativity that prevails over their very existance. Humans are human by the evil in them. Now. On the flip side, to give you SOME amount of hope... They are also marked as human by Love. Hope, and a number of positive things. Like charity, compassion, and so on. So it's not ALL bad. Just thought I'd hit you all with a hard concept first.
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The ability to wonder "why"9% Voted for by The Open Mind, Jackymania.
I believe that the ability to ask "why" seperates us from the other beings of the Earth. Along with our strive for power and knowledge. Where those two drives come from i do not know, but they are there. Animals never wonder where they came from or why. They just make the best of their lives while they have the time. They are mostly driven by need to continue their race and thats all. the ability to question things i feel is what makes us Human.
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?9% Voted for by looking4realtruth, MindsEye.
I think it's our free will and our imagination. Two things that animals don't have. Sure, we have animal instinct, and so do they. But animals don't have that choice that free will entails. And imagination, without it our species would cease to evolve. We would be stuck where we are today; and then I'd have to kill myself.
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Understanding DeathYou become Human when you undestand death. You are sub-human when you know about death but don't understand it.Voted for by Brew Kline.
When you KNOW with 100% certainty that you are gone forever after you die, then you become human.
When you believe in the afterlife you are a sophisticated, but ignorant, animal.
Welcome to the world we live in. -
we're idiotsHumanity is constantly trying to improve everything.I mean...you don't see fish trying to make a faster way to get through the ocean,now do you?But in our constant search for a better life,we ruin everything along the way.It's not really our faults.It's just our nature.I wish people could just let things be.Voted for by shexhatesxit.
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<3Voted for by Insertnamehere.
The capability for love and compassion. That is what makes us human.
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Well...Voted for by Lilynia.
I think that it was language that started to build the path to us becoming human. Without language we'd never have become this intelligent. Also our ability to write, to note things down, so we don't forget what we learn. Language has allowed us to philosophise, to consider the meaning of life. Do you think animals ever consider the meaning of life. Finally, I think that our complex emotions are a key aspect of what makes us human. I honestly feel that humans have the greatest ability of all animals to love and feel compassion. Admitedly, there are other animals that come close, but others might argue that that is only because of instinct or for survival etc. So yeah: language, philosophy and emotions. That's my opinion. There's certainly a lot more that makes us human, but it's late and I'd rather not write a 10,000 word essay...
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What makes us humanWhat shows we are human was that we were given dominion of all the animals of the earth. We are human because the quality of out souls is greater than one of an animal. We are human because our DNA says so, and declares the glory of God and his wonderful craftmanship. What makes us human is that we can choose to live in sin, or repent. We are able to see the craftmanship of God. We can learn, and when we work together, we can accomplish anything we desire (it's the truth, we might even be able to colonize other planets if we fear the Lord and use his wisdom and teaching to find the perfect way to do so) Sadly, we even use the wonderful ability of combining forces for the evil. Hitler was influence by evolutionary teaching and caused an entire country to go bonkerz.Voted for by Doom Pickels.
What makes us human is the fact that we are in the Image of our creator. God
(sorry, my bad keyboard made a lot of typos when I made this post) -
InsecurityWhat makes us human is our universal insecurity. What makes us inhumane is our denial this insecurity.Voted for by grant.
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Think about THIS.We are unique in that our consciousness is the least limited of all the types we know. And I'm not defining consciousness as being "self-aware" as I know we are not the only type of mind that is self-aware. Here is how we the most advanced type of consciousness:Voted for by s0v13t.
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Simple. We are aware of our own emotions.
Think about this before you make a statement...
When we are upset or feel guilty we are AWARE of it. Free will has nothing to do with it as animals are perfectly capable of making CERTAIN choices. Animals, however are unaware of their own emotional state. NOTE: I'M NOT SAYING THEY DO NOT FEEL EMOTION - THEY DO - they're just unaware of their own mind's contents in terms of being able to EVALUATE/ANALYZE the stuff they know/remember at will. Animals operate on a sort of what I would call "Corporeal Integrity/Compassion" - in that they operate on an instinctive love wavelength where they have innate knowledge of every creature, but again are unable to reflect/evaluate it. For example, I think a mouse being eaten by a cat knows it's role and understands the magnificent equilibrium of the food chain and "pecking order" in nature. In that - animals actually have wisdom over us. However, animals know it INNATELY - it is built-in knowledge stemming from the source which is inviolate. We on the other hand are aware of our own emotions - being blessed with the miraculous gift of creating our own experience and building our identity on it. This has very much to do with one of the main purposes to our existence - learning and channeling emotional energy. -
we aren't unique.i don't buy for a second that humans deserve a special privilege in the scheme of the universe compared to every last molecule. We eat because we need food. We sleep because our body needs rest. We kill because we have pride, like every other animal. And when we hear a noise in the night, we cower just like a dog. We evolved? Maybe in form, but in instinct, we are are instinctual as ever. Language is relative to all animals, love and compassion can be seen amongst any creature.Voted for by RT michaels.
I've heard arguments that an animal only loves because it can gain something. Is that any different from humans? What are relationships for? A child, money, necessities, power, or simply being void of an empty feeling. Is that any different from a cat rubbing up against your leg to feel warm, or a dog lying it head on your lap for the chance of some beef later on?
What if you simply refuse to see those instincts? Well, then, take a gander at government. There has never been a time in human history without social order. And what do we call it? Intelligence, Superiority, even going as far to call it humanity. But have you ever seen a pack of wolves? what about a school of fish? Order is nothing new, particularly amongst the natural world.
And that is all we are. Natural. Evolution to humanity. Nothing sounds so dull against my ears. -
The cliche answer...Our mistakes. It's what makes us different from other human beings as well. Our never ending mistakes...Voted for by Annabel Lee.
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conciousnessIm sure everyone has heard of the idea that humans decended from apes. I don't have an opinion on this, but the idea has brought about many interesting facts.Voted for by Second.
Scientists say that humans have three main qualities that set us apart from animals, that is our small motor skills (fingers etc.), our conciousness (knowing right from wrong), and language.
The thing I believe really makes us human is our conciousness. Knowing right from wrong can be expanded to knowing truth, which Lohengrin thinks makes us human, to knowing love, to our imagination, emotions, personality, because we are concious of those characteristics it makes them us, human.
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Jackymania
March 24, 2007
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It would be very difficult to argue against that view point. It is laid out to a precision. And i agree in toto to the foll.
i'd say animals have imagination, too.
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free will is, in my opinion, an overrated quality.
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i think what makes us human is regard for truth
Further to that, what makes us human is our intellect. The pursuance of 'Truth' as a goal is due to the innate ability of our intellect to process 'logically' and, than deduct and induct things or factors that are not present in material form. The ability of humans to see, perceive, imagine and think about the immaterial probabilities like God and Blackholes or the Big Bang probability is what makes us humans.
October 12, 2007
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