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A butifal thing my GF said about being human
Posted November 29th 2014 at 03:10 AM by Return
This message if from my girlfreind, Salvo
Quote:
Salvo: Being human. Gosh. Uh.
Well a human is alive. They have a pulse. They feel the action of their biological processes while also perceiving the world around them.
Yeah, that's obvious, you know that much. But the thing is, humans relate to other things. And it starts with the fact that as you can feel your own pulse you know other living animals can too. And similarly, as you can feel pain and emotion, you recognise that other things are also vulnerable. Not everything has the same cognitive function or the same emotions that humans do of course, but particularly toward other humans you intuitively understand to some extent what, as a human, they need and want on a basic level. Humans have filters and biases and mental frameworks that keep them from seeing all humans this way, but when they get comfortable enough that the filters fall away, this is what they fall back to. A desire to harmonise with somebody, however small that group may be.
Humans have a cultural/social/personal context in which they exist. They have certain goals or dreams or big-picture things they want, maybe all three, which help them to feel like they mean something. They have an identity they construct for themselves, which often changes over time, and there are also identities other people construct. Sometimes they care about making other people's images of them fit their own, sometimes they don't. In one way sticking to your own idea of self and ideals can make you a more complete human. In another, being open to opportunities and change such that you have the opportunity to improve can make you more human. Some people might say that bad experiences and misery are what defines existing as a human but I don't think that's quite right. I feel like that's something many humans can relate to but ultimately when a person is more stable, safe, and more able to appreciate the big picture and perhaps help out other people, I think that's a very human thing.
Sometimes people lose sight of the meaning of existence and realise that nothing means anything and think life is futile. I know I've done it a few times. So that's a part of being human. But when that happens you really don't feel human. So I think a big part of being human is having some kind of personal meaning or story and a bigger picture to tie it into.
Well a human is alive. They have a pulse. They feel the action of their biological processes while also perceiving the world around them.
Yeah, that's obvious, you know that much. But the thing is, humans relate to other things. And it starts with the fact that as you can feel your own pulse you know other living animals can too. And similarly, as you can feel pain and emotion, you recognise that other things are also vulnerable. Not everything has the same cognitive function or the same emotions that humans do of course, but particularly toward other humans you intuitively understand to some extent what, as a human, they need and want on a basic level. Humans have filters and biases and mental frameworks that keep them from seeing all humans this way, but when they get comfortable enough that the filters fall away, this is what they fall back to. A desire to harmonise with somebody, however small that group may be.
Humans have a cultural/social/personal context in which they exist. They have certain goals or dreams or big-picture things they want, maybe all three, which help them to feel like they mean something. They have an identity they construct for themselves, which often changes over time, and there are also identities other people construct. Sometimes they care about making other people's images of them fit their own, sometimes they don't. In one way sticking to your own idea of self and ideals can make you a more complete human. In another, being open to opportunities and change such that you have the opportunity to improve can make you more human. Some people might say that bad experiences and misery are what defines existing as a human but I don't think that's quite right. I feel like that's something many humans can relate to but ultimately when a person is more stable, safe, and more able to appreciate the big picture and perhaps help out other people, I think that's a very human thing.
Sometimes people lose sight of the meaning of existence and realise that nothing means anything and think life is futile. I know I've done it a few times. So that's a part of being human. But when that happens you really don't feel human. So I think a big part of being human is having some kind of personal meaning or story and a bigger picture to tie it into.
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