Man Is a Rational Animal

quality of being human; the peculiar nature of man, by which he is distinguished from other

When asked what a human being is, one can describe a human being as being a creature capable of questioning concepts

Western Civilization has developed and changed over time. In Ancient Greece where the Western Civilization really started to take off, it was a time of encouragement to try new things. Many different thoughts were accepted. People were free to think how they chose and many leaders were able to get people to join bandwagons to follow their newest ideas. Sophism was a way of the faith. Sophist are people that denied the Greek gods were real and speculated that other things were real. There was a spiritual under guarding to discovery of new thought. The Great Conservation then spread through Late Antiquity, High Middle Ages, and the Renaissance. The next period examined is the Enlightenment. During the Enlightenment, reason was mischievous, sneaky and repressed toward the changing times. Reason held very tightly

These reasons are “it breeds a lack of curiosity,” “gives the misleading impression that we don’t have explanations for many phenomena for which we do have explanations”, and  “makes one vulnerable to demagogues and highly dubious claims.” As a result of people feeling shout out by others, people can become less curious.

To get a sense of what it is to be human, at least in the evolutionary world, we need only to compare our modern selves to our ancestors such as the Neanderthals. The Neanderthals were our closest hominin relative and died out thousands of years ago. Like us, they walked on two legs, hunted , made fire and tools, and lived in shelters (caves). They were more advanced than many of us imagine they were thanks to the way they are portrayed in the media. They had brains similar in size to ours, they stood fully upright (not hunched over), and had a surprisingly complex culture. When asked what it means to be human, you can compare many different aspects of our lives, such as biology, culture, and even religious beliefs. We obviously have

I feel that each response has hit on key factors of what society, religion, and science classify as "human". For example, DNA ties us all together, and is something that we all have in common (whether we like it or not). As a species, humans all look relatively similar, yet none of us look or act exactly the same. Our brains are incredible! We can process abstract thoughts, solve

What does it mean to be human? Humans are the embodiment of God. Man was placed on this Earth to enjoy the wonders that God created for him. According to Genesis 1:26-30, God granted mankind dominion over all living creatures on the earth. The animals and plants were created as food to nourish our bodies. Genesis 9:1-5 also speaks of how humans rule over the plants and animals. Humans were intended to multiply and populate the Earth (Holy Bible: American Standard Version,

Odysseus and Penelope are the best two example of what it really means to be human because of their great courage to overcome all obstacles for a greater cause. There is not one true definition on what it means to be human, but the most knowledgeable definition of “human” is to be created in the image of God. The attributes that really set humans apart from all the other animals on earth are imagination, reason, and will. These three human faculties make us who we are because we have the ability to counter plate our own mortality. Dr. Davis stated, “You cannot love another person without imagination” You have to first realize what their desires are and what they want in life. The most critical aspect of

Society today encourages rationality in nearly every situation. That being said, irrational behavior is tolerated today as much as it was in the time of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. One does not have to go far to realize this fact – consider the reality television shows today (ex. Jersey Shore, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, The Bachelor, etc.) The reason behind the popularity of these ridiculous shows is quite simple: people find entertainment in watching others make fools out of themselves! Shakespeare was quite aware of this in his writing of Midsummer, with the characterization of Helena, the absurd quarreling between Oberon and Titania, and the foolish love of Hermia and Lysander.

One of the most controversial topics in modern philosophy revolves around the idea of non-human animals being considered human people. Controversy over what makes up an actual person has been long debated. However, society deems it as a set of characteristics. The average person normally does not realize how complicated a question this is, and in fact many scientists, philosophers, and individuals will side differently on this specific topic. I personally do not believe that animals are capable of being human people, but throughout this argumentative paper I will address critical views presented from multiple philosophers on why this seems to be the case.

To find out what the function of a human being is, Aristotle looks at what is distinctive about humans. He discovers that the good of the human is to act in accord with reason well, which can translate into acting in accord with virtue. One cannot have happiness without virtue, just as it is impossible to be virtuous with the absence of rational thinking. Because man is a rational creature, rather than plants which are vegetative, happiness for man must include the excellent functioning of the rational faculties.

Where there is humanity, there is logical thinking and individualism. I believe that this is what separates human beings from animal species. Each

Everything created has specie specific qualities. Human beings are closely linked to animals because of the similarities of these specie specific qualities, but these alone do not make humans animals or animals humans. While there are quite a few characteristics that are similar there are enormous differences. One is

In discussions of our susceptibility of delusions and false beliefs, Plato argues that humans can choose whether they want to follow the false beliefs in the darkness, or go into the light by facing all aspects of reality with honesty. Bacon’s argue is similar to Plato’s and Bacon combines the four mistakes of human nature into four different idols. Idol of the tribe, cave, marketplace, and theater. Although Plato and Bacon claim that we are susceptible to delusions and false beliefs, I claim that the truth is distorted by human understanding and people are teaching the distorted truth to other people, so people become blinded when they go from the darkness, the bad, to the light, or the good.

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