What Makes Us Human
Vincent Boisvert
Science and History
Essay Assignment
What Makes Us Human?
Submitted to
Mrs. Heidi Quinsey
Champlain College of St-Lambert
Due on Tuesday, April 30th, 2013
What makes us Human?
Living in our modern education system and capitalist society, can leave me wondering whether the differences between human beings and animals are simply a matter of degree and diplomas. In this view, I fear that mankind would come to forget its purpose to live. Luckily, philosophers have identified many ways in which human beings differ dramatically from animals. Unique human qualities and traits can set man apart from the animals by kind, not just degree. From a conscious outlook, I’ll demonstrate how different we are for many reasons, including the spirituality of humans, our complex language and most importantly our consciousness and understanding of the universe around us.
The Man’s Spirituality
Human beings have a characteristic spiritual and religious nature. The majority of us, humans on Earth, follow some form of spiritual or religious truth. Most human beings have religious beliefs and worship a god and which involves some religious ritual, as going to church. The pursuit of spiritual beliefs (e.g., God, karma and predestination of our existence) is a defining characteristic of mankind and is proven in such common habits as prayers and superstition. On another hand, even non-believers follow questions regarding life 's true signification and purpose and they are concerned by what they consider to be of ultimate importance and value. Man is also the only specie on planet Earth that is familiar of his forthcoming death. This acknowledgment brings us individual anxiety and gets us to reflect about any form of divine/powerful influence in our life and the possibility of immortality. Animals, on the other hand, can be very smart and have various abilities. ‘’Recent studies in cognitive ethology have suggested that some non-humans engage in
Science and History
Essay Assignment
What Makes Us Human?
Submitted to
Mrs. Heidi Quinsey
Champlain College of St-Lambert
Due on Tuesday, April 30th, 2013
What makes us Human?
Living in our modern education system and capitalist society, can leave me wondering whether the differences between human beings and animals are simply a matter of degree and diplomas. In this view, I fear that mankind would come to forget its purpose to live. Luckily, philosophers have identified many ways in which human beings differ dramatically from animals. Unique human qualities and traits can set man apart from the animals by kind, not just degree. From a conscious outlook, I’ll demonstrate how different we are for many reasons, including the spirituality of humans, our complex language and most importantly our consciousness and understanding of the universe around us.
The Man’s Spirituality
Human beings have a characteristic spiritual and religious nature. The majority of us, humans on Earth, follow some form of spiritual or religious truth. Most human beings have religious beliefs and worship a god and which involves some religious ritual, as going to church. The pursuit of spiritual beliefs (e.g., God, karma and predestination of our existence) is a defining characteristic of mankind and is proven in such common habits as prayers and superstition. On another hand, even non-believers follow questions regarding life 's true signification and purpose and they are concerned by what they consider to be of ultimate importance and value. Man is also the only specie on planet Earth that is familiar of his forthcoming death. This acknowledgment brings us individual anxiety and gets us to reflect about any form of divine/powerful influence in our life and the possibility of immortality. Animals, on the other hand, can be very smart and have various abilities. ‘’Recent studies in cognitive ethology have suggested that some non-humans engage in
Bibliography: * Samples, Kenneth R. A World of Difference: Putting Christian Truth-claims to the Worldview Test. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2007. Print. * Korsgaard, Christine M., and Onora Neill. The sources of normativity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Print. * Zucker, Gregory R. Strangers to nature: animal lives and human ethics. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2012. Print.