What makes us human?

[Dott]

There are two kinds of "Human". There's the race, and the trait.
Humanity as a race is just a dominant primate which has become so by eliminating all opposition. We're practically the Stalin of nature.

Humanity, as a trait, is basically just being a daft tosser with no ambition these days.

 

[I Have No Idea]

I think it's being aware of ourselves and the ability to ponder our existence. That's one thing that animals cannot do, so it separates them from us in that regard.

 

[Rayne870]

process of elimination: i am not a squirrel, i am not a whale....

I think that our ability to question and reason, and have emotion is really what makes us "human" It's nothing unique but hey it's all we really have.

 

[Koroviev]

Read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by PKD. He proposes that the dividing line between humans and non-humans is empathy. But it's a really good book and you need to read it now. Right now.

 

[witheringsanity]

The ability to distinguish right from wrong....and then doing wrong anyway.

while this SOUNDS compelling, it's actually false, for several reason.

1. there is no "right and wrong" other than social constructs. basically meaning things that which are generally seen and helpful to society are "right", while things that negatively impact society are "wrong".

2. knowing "right and wrong" is not exclusive to humans. dogs, cats, lions, meercats, and many other animals have social "rules" that they must follow.

3. breaking said rules is not exclusively human either. just one example is a female meercat not being alpha and therefor not allowed to breed. she chooses to break the rule and is then outcast from the group.

not trying to bust your chops, just making the OP aware.

OT: other than our physiology, there really isn't anything thats distinctly "human". well, we do wear clothing... i'm not sure if any other animals do that.

 

[fenrizz]

The ability to think abstractly and sentience.

Powerful stuff right there.

 

[Navvan]

It depends what you mean by "human". If you mean the species, as you apparently do since you exclude other species, then it would be our genetics. However if you mean "Has rights like a human" then self aware is as good of a category as there is. Our ability to ask these questions is direct result from our ability to reflect on ourselves. The ability to reflect on ones self is a component of being truly self aware.

I would also like to interject that despite what some would have you believe we have not conclusively found another animal that is truly self aware. To the best of my knowledge at least. Although this is more of a result that it is actually rather difficult to determine if something is self aware as it requires a line of communication.

The mirror test is often quoted as evidence of an animal being self aware. It makes sense, to be self aware one must recognize the self. However being self aware does not end there. Being self aware means you have the ability to introspectively reflect on your actions and thoughts. This allows us to form the values, and creative hallmarks of our species.

Taking that definition of self aware (which is the definition people use in a philosophical setting) then the mirror test can not be a definitive marker either for or against self awareness. A blind person is self aware, but they would fail the mirror test as they are unable to see the mirror. Likewise an animal may simply not want to touch the dot on their forehead, and this makes the entire test invalid because its impossible to produce a negative result.

Following that train of thought an animal may not be self aware, but possess the ability to model its external environment. This would mean they are able to pass the mirror test but not be self aware. Thus passing the mirror test effectively tells us nothing. Failing it also tells us nothing. One may argue that passing it increases the probability the animal is self aware and failing it decreases the probability. However probability is hardly definitive in this situation.

Many birds and mammals experience love, but yes, man's way to use it as a tool or a weapon seems unique, making other animals that love seem to love in a more pure way, ironically.

I'm not sure what you are referring to here. Are you talking about life long pairings of mates? If so I would disagree about that being love, or about humans analogous life long relationships being unique.

 

[orangeban]

The desire to be better than we are. We invented fire and tools because we weren't content hunting like the other animals, we continue to improve our species.

 

[mike1921]

This is more of a philosophical question. What is that makes us human, what gives us humanity. Some say the just beaing aware of ourself, but some animlas are all so aware of them selfev. So what is that makes us human, what do you think?

Being of the biological classification homo sapien. Simple. I do not doubt that one day robots with sentience can be created or that there are aliens with sentience somewhere in this giant ass universe and I see no reason that they would be called human and I see no reason that the human distinction would have to be important morally if we came into contact with sentient life. Sentience is what matters, not humanity.

 

[Magicmad5511]

Our genetics.
The fact that unlike most creatures which create a natural equilibrium we just bulldoze everything else.
That we have philosophy and other sciences.

 

[Jegsimmons]

our genetic make up and the ability to make up pseudo-philosophical questions and thoughts.

 

[otakon17]

I'm just gonna throw this out there: Imagination. The creation of worlds, places and people's hitherto never before thought of. Looking at a something, and then MAKING it into something completely unrelated. I'd say imagination makes us human.

 

[SnakeoilSage]

We could be the only species in the universe that pay taxes.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

What makes us human is not so much our strengths (intelligence, culture, speech, technological advancement, etc.), but rather our weaknesses. We doubt things because we are uncertain if one solution is truly better than another (or if another solution exists elsewhere). We hesitate to act because we fear the consequences that would befall upon ourselves and others. We challenge the status quo and rebel against the established government because we feel that things could be done differently, regardless of the popular majority.

Rather than basing our existence on instincts (like animals) or simply doing what we are told (like machines), humans are constantly breaking the mold and doing things that are both unexpected and extraordinary. That, if anything, is what makes us human.

 

[mad825]

Go study Anthropology.

Nothing makes us human other-than the fact we call ourself human.

 

[DanDeFool]

This is more of a philosophical question. What is that makes us human, what gives us humanity. Some say the just beaing aware of ourself, but some animlas are all so aware of them selfev. So what is that makes us human, what do you think?

I'd give you an answer, but I think it'd be a bit like "42"; it's hard to pin down exactly what you're asking about, so any answer given is immediately suspect.

Certainly, as you've said, self-awareness isn't nearly enough to distinguish humanity from other life.

If you say something like, "Humanity is compassion for others," then (if you want to avoid the 'No True Scotsman' fallacy) you must also agree that "Humanity is a capacity for cruelty to others", since there are numerous examples for both in humanity throughout history.

If you try to define humans by our biological components, I would remind you of things like prosthetic limbs, cars, and Google. Our consciousness and capabilities are extended by our technology; surely our technology must be considered a component of "humanity".

Closest I can get to an 'answer' to that question is, "Whatever works."

 

[Jungy 365]

I think this thread answers itself: the ability to consider our nature and our place in the grand scheme of things. Are we just another life form in this universe, or something more? People find different ways to approach this question, whether it's through scientific analysis, or the exploration of the human condition we see in different media. If anyone feels the same way, read 'Frankenstein' and 'Never Let Me Go', which go into similar details, and cover similar ground to DE: Human Revolution.

 

[Slowpool]

The sum of all our necessary parts, physical, mental and spiritual. No one thing makes us unique- it's when all of that stuff comes together in a certain way that does.