There's something - a question actually, my dear reader, that has been lurking on the back of my mind, grown, and at many instances seriously engaged my thoughts over the past few years. I have discussed it with a number of people, tried to read about and have contemplated on; yet it remains unanswered to me.
Apart from the usual philosophical motives (philosophy is about asking questions after all), the discovery of the remains of a human hobbit in a remote Indonesian island last year, was very intriguing.
The question is “Me, You, and Everybody else”. Allow me to explain a bit. When I think of an average human, the first thing that comes to my mind is ME; or perhaps someone like me without a face. A general "idea" of ME. However, this does not proper like a precise definition. For everybody is different from another person and if everyone thought of himself as a representation or an "idea" of an average human being, there would be a different definition from everyone's perspective. So comes the question of how one should define a human being? and along are many more; how to categorize the question? is it, for example, a matter of zoology, or anthropology, or perhaps even psychology?
Let’s go back to that "idea" of me, it's not so simple you know. I assumed that is associated with one's level of intelligence and sense of self-consciousness. What puzzled me was whether the strength or weakness of these senses could affect one's degree of humanity. In other words, could I define a man by measuring his degree of self-consciousness and draw the line somewhere?! If that is the case, there is a possibility that certain anomalies could be the grounds for disqualification and a person may suddenly cease to be a "person". A very common example is BRAIN DEATH. At this day and age, that's where we draw the line, though other organs could be functioning.
As I said this was just an example and I have a broader notion here. I wanted to figure out when I come across an unknown animal, should I hunt it or invite him for the afternoon tea? Homo-sapiens is a much studied animal, but what makes this animal a human? perhaps I should test him first and gauge his intelligence and social skills with that of my own and then either bestow upon him the crown of humanity or sell it to a Chinese restaurant? Well of course, I'm talking about the 'hobbit' of the Indonesian jungles!
There are still more issues in this regard. A very controversial one is cloning. I'm sure you know all about it and could have asked the same question, what if at some point in the future humans were cloned? How would we rate them? And again, hypothetically speaking, if one came across an alien entity?! Scientists believe that the probability of the existence of some form of life in the whole world beyond us, is fairly high; close to 100%.
I suppose, if we go back and consider the most important and primal capabilities in the wide spectrum of all species, it makes one wonder how similar the humans are to other animals and even aliens from different aspects. From the chemicals and vital systems of the physiology, and all the way to sociological characteristics, self-consciousness and intelligence. And not very surprisingly, humans don't always take up the top place in the list. I concede that perhaps there is no real border to separate my realm as a modern man, from that hobbit of 30 thousand years ago. Evolution often works in mysterious ways.
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2 comments:
That is very intresting!
my idea is that human is defiened by imagination. I mean when some thing like LOVE comes out of a child creating process or when in less that 3 seconds you cross all the univers in your mind. but as you said it cant be defined. it is so amazing and scary!
What do you want to define human being for?
Biologically, the distinguishing characteristic of a species is the breeding ability of its individuals: The individuals in a species can breed with each other, but not with the individuals of other species. So, for example the Asian elephants and the African elephants do not belong to the same species, since they cannot mate with each other. In the same way, human beings and monkeys are not in the same species.
But if your question is why human beings are better than others, the answer is they are not. For some reason, over the years, the ego of human beings has lead them to this stupid illusion that they're superior, and have some very special qualities that make them more valuable or something! Don't let them deceive you.
If your problem is specifically wheather to eat a hobbit or to invite him for a cup of tea, I should ask you another question first: why do you want to invent some code of "ethics" for everything?
In my opinion, the animal's approach to this problem is much more "humane": Just follow your instinct. Treat it emotionally... with your feelings. If you feel like drinking tea with a hobbit, go ahead and invite him, just as you make friend with other people or with dogs. If you feel hungry, you don't have anything better to eat, and the hobbit looks tasty, cook it. But first, make sure that hobbits are not among one of those preserved species in Indonasia.
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