What Makes Us Human?
What Makes us Human?
HSP3M: Introduction to Anthropology, Psychology and Sociology
Mrs. Maxwell
Aaron Lo
June 8, 2012
What makes us Human? This is the ultimate question in which social scientists are still trying to solve today. This question is one which stumps Anthropologists, Psychologists and Sociologists alike, as the question itself is said to have originated from Aristotle himself while others argue that it was always there. As even more facts about this topic rise even more as social scientists find more and more evidence of our relationship to our primate counterparts. Over the centuries this has been one of great interest and a question that has been widely debated and will continue to be widely debated for years to come. As social scientist look more into this topic at hand they find that human DNA only varies 1-2% from chimpanzees our closet relative. It can be said that social scientists such as Charles Darwin and how he was able to build upon the theory of evolution, Sigmund Freud and his personality or even Karl Marx and the Conflict Theory was what helped shape our views on what makes humans unique.
Within Anthropology, the study of humans past and present, there are two main points that define humans as unique and sets humans apart from chimps: physical characteristics and our creative ability. Bipedalism and opposable thumbs are arguably the most important differences between us and chimpanzees. Bipedalism is the ability to walk upright over long distances, allowing humans to carry objects and perform tasks while standing. This defines us as humans because only humans can stay upright on their feet while also performing other tasks such as reading a book, holding a cup or even picking items up, and humans can do this for infinite periods of time without the need to go down into a four legged stance to assist our leg muscles. Even the act of walking on two legs is a defining trait for humans because it gives us a slight advantage over those
HSP3M: Introduction to Anthropology, Psychology and Sociology
Mrs. Maxwell
Aaron Lo
June 8, 2012
What makes us Human? This is the ultimate question in which social scientists are still trying to solve today. This question is one which stumps Anthropologists, Psychologists and Sociologists alike, as the question itself is said to have originated from Aristotle himself while others argue that it was always there. As even more facts about this topic rise even more as social scientists find more and more evidence of our relationship to our primate counterparts. Over the centuries this has been one of great interest and a question that has been widely debated and will continue to be widely debated for years to come. As social scientist look more into this topic at hand they find that human DNA only varies 1-2% from chimpanzees our closet relative. It can be said that social scientists such as Charles Darwin and how he was able to build upon the theory of evolution, Sigmund Freud and his personality or even Karl Marx and the Conflict Theory was what helped shape our views on what makes humans unique.
Within Anthropology, the study of humans past and present, there are two main points that define humans as unique and sets humans apart from chimps: physical characteristics and our creative ability. Bipedalism and opposable thumbs are arguably the most important differences between us and chimpanzees. Bipedalism is the ability to walk upright over long distances, allowing humans to carry objects and perform tasks while standing. This defines us as humans because only humans can stay upright on their feet while also performing other tasks such as reading a book, holding a cup or even picking items up, and humans can do this for infinite periods of time without the need to go down into a four legged stance to assist our leg muscles. Even the act of walking on two legs is a defining trait for humans because it gives us a slight advantage over those