What could be more human thank hope?
Anynymous said:
- Adultery
- Backstabbing
- Jealousy
- Irrationality
- Wasting Money on Valentines Day
- Substance Abuse (show me one bonobo or iguana that does it?)
- Emotional manipulation (the preserve of the average Indian parent)
- Evil (this is purely a human thing, born entirely out of ignorance)
- Obsession with stupid games in which grown men fool around with spherical objects
- Belief in a grand narrative known as life (when it is just a series of digressions)
Indeed many, if not all of the above are all too commonplace. But the question is, do they constitute what may be described as "human"? I for one do not think so. Quite to the contrary, they constitute a failure to be "human". It is my opinion that belonging to the species Homo sapiens sapiens alone does not qualify one as a human being. To me, humanity is an ideal one strives for every moment of one's existence. Humanity is no congenitally conferred label, it is a state of mind achieved through long and rigorous learning (and I'm not talking about reading Chicken Soup for the Soul). For a more detailed discussion of my views on the subject, see "Human Life".
P.S. With regard to Anonymous' list of things human, I find it rather odd that obsession with sports or enriching the coffers of Hallmark should be placed right alongside jealousy, backstabbing and ignorance.
3 comments:
"Humanity is a state of mind..."
This statement is about a believable as the one which goes, 'he died for your sins'...there are no compelling grounds for regarding 'humanity' as an ideal...if backstabbing, ignorance and adultery are a failure to be human, the argument presupposes something that can be termed 'success at being human'...such a construct cannot survive rational investigation...(just as going to paradise won't stand up to scrutiny) unless the investigator has an unwillingness to turn his/her reason upon something they believe to be true
Humanity as an ideal is nothing like the concept of paradise. And it is irrational to make a blanket statement that such a construct would not survive rational scrutiny. Rather it takes a rational mind to accept such a construct even after having observed backstabbing, ignorance etc. The fundamental truth is that all the all these 'failures' arise from intellectual and moral lethargy. So, it is far from irrational to conclude the existence of the opposite... although I would hesitate to call it 'success' - at best, one can minimize one's degree of failure. But that's still not nearly as bad as accepting failure in its totality. Unless of course, the investigator, having experienced things vastly unpleasant, is unwilling to turn their reason upon something they believe not to be true.
P.S. What reason would one have to try any of this? Two. One is that it's FUN! And the second, equally important reason is that it's a challenge. Wouldn't you like to know what you're made of? And what better obstacle course could you test yourself against than life itself?
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