What Does It Mean To Be Human

So, what exactly does Humanism mean? According to the Stanford University’s Humanities center, they describe the humanities as, “The study of how people process and document the human experience. Since humans have been able, we have used philosophy, literature, religion, art, music, history and language to understand and record our world. These modes of expression have become some of the subjects that traditionally fall under the humanities umbrella. Knowledge of these records of human experience gives us the opportunity to feel a sense of connection to those who have come before us, as well as to our contemporaries.”

At some point in time we have all wondered what it means to human, and what we are supposed to do with our lives. Throughout the centuries, there have been gradual changes in what it means to be human. Through Pico della Mirandola we will how man became the measure and took the place of God, through Charles Darwin we will see how nature and science began to take the place of man, and through the art of Friedrich we can visually see all of these changes.

humanity is displayed for all to see in art, music, and literature. These works depict the

Humanities study human beings and their cultural products. Classical readings such as, “I and Thou” by Martin Buber; “Antigone” by Sophocles and “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley, are a stepping stone in this direction. Such texts broadens your understanding of the world and why people act and behave the way they do. For instance “Frankenstein” is thought provoking and makes you ponder what does being a human means and whether the creature Victor Frankenstein made was a human and had human nature, given the striking similarity between how we humans act and the way the creature acts in the novel. As Creature’s mind grows, he gains knowledge and develops the ability to reason and distinguish what is good and what is bad for him. One could argue that how would you explain the enraged monstrous behavior of the Creature, that’s not something you expect from a human but an animal or a monster? It’s not something you relate to human nature. But we should note that many times humans have also acted in ways similar to the monster, if that’s what you call him. At times our anger surpasses reason, and that leads to our undoing. Humans always seek to do the good even if an action is obviously a horrible evil to anyone else, the person who commits the act is seeking to attain some good that they perceive in it. Thus the irrational enraged behavior of the Creature is something of human in nature because it’s quite seeming that the he was a victim of abuse by his creator and society who ultimately drive him to his vindictive state. His actions were based on immense solitude, suffering, hatred, abandonment and denial of companionship. That all compelled him to seek revenge against his creator. Such powerful writings provide an astute understanding into ethical, moral, political, and ideological forces. A successful

The Everyday Humanities series is sponsored by the Way Public Library and the Humanities Institute of the University of Toledo. The program feature humanity scholars sharing their research and expertise to deepen our understanding about the world around us. Click here for additional

Teacher at UCLA, John McCumber, In his recently published article, “How Humanities Can Help Fix the World” published in October 2, 2016 on The Chronicle, emphasizes the importance of humanities, which is the study of how people process and document human experiences, on how it influences the choices people make in their daily lives. McCumber establishes his credibility through experiences at UCLA, convincing incidents, figures of speech, and the usage of rhetorical appeals while maintaining a serious tone throughout his article in order to prove his point to his audience.

The duality of human nature is a topic that has been explored and interpreted for millennia; from the dawn of man and written history to even modern-day society. In looking at what authors, filmmakers, and artists try to portray about duality in their works, we can reach new levels of understanding about what it is to be human.

Humanit’s ignorance can ultimately blur our perception of what it is to be human and distort the values that we should be upholding. Shelleys

By emphasizing a broad analysis and exchange of ideas, the humanities provide a context and sense of interconnectedness to the World around us.

“What makes us human?”, is an unanswered question asked by many. Is it because of our ability to have empathy for others? Or is it because of our cognitive ability which allows us to look into the future? One of the main arguments made that separates humans from animals is our communication style; our language. Is language inherently unique to human? To answer such a question, we first operationally define language as; “a system of communication based upon words and the combination of words into sentences” (University of Oslo). The purpose of language is for us to be able to convey an infinite amount of ideas to one another. Sign language in general also falls under this definition as it has a complex system of rules and syntax that allow the signed figures to function as words. Animal communication on the other hand, is operationally defined as, “the transmission of a signal from one animal to another such that the sender benefits, on average, from the response of the recipient” (Pearce 1987). With this in mind, current research has shown that the answer is that language is inherently unique to humans.

Janaro, R & Altshuler, T. (2009). The Art of Being Human: The humanities as a technique for

The individual’s role in society dramatically changed following the introduction of humanism. The idea that was depicted is still heavily important today and still holds strong within society. Humanism brought forward the thought that everyone is important and the concept of individuality. Humanism created the notion that instead of being part of a whole, everyone is unique. Before this introduction, most just thought about their actions and what consequences it had in the afterlife; Whether that be going to heaven or hell. Following the emergence of humanism, people started to think more about the present, encouraging education in humanity, the study of literature and enhancement of art – all this expanded an individual’s outlook on life and in turn allowed for the development of personal success.

Human nature, the essence of what makes a human person what they are, is something that everybody has. Every person is innately a person, but how they put their personhood into action is the biggest indicator of their character, or the projection of a person’s human nature. At their core there is human nature, but their actions are what direct this source of humanity. The quality of someone’s actions is shaped by their environment and sometimes their biological makeup as well. Human nature does not have good or evil characteristics. It is how a person thinks and acts that is the true factor in the shaping of their character.

Without knowing it, we have all experienced humanism within out lives: working with counselors, psychologists and even teachers. Most of them want to help us find the good within ourselves. A teacher, when one was younger, tried to show one right from wrong; a counselor tries to help people work through problems, such as showing one that he/she is a person that is good. Even a friend can make a comment that makes one feel proud for something kind that one did. These are all humanistic approaches to life, perhaps not practiced all the time by these people, but practiced nonetheless.

Humanism allowed people to realize that everyone’s mind and thoughts were endless; the only constraint being the imagination. During the Renaissance the aspect of a human’s education was equally important in the creation of well rounded individuals.