What does it mean to be human?

[Skjie]

Being the only creature known that spends a vast portion of it's day finding new ways to occupy itself that contribute nothing to either itself or the species.

[Anso]

To be a human means nothing, only what you do as a human can have meaning.
We can pretend to be special and above all else, but in reality we are just a short lived anomaly for nature and of zero importance to the universe.

So true. On the subject of spirituality, that is definitely something that sets us apart from other life on our tiny little ticking time bomb. However nothing has held us back more. It actually enrages me, not so much in present times but in the old days, in the long long ago, how people would turn a blind eye to trying to figure out why everything works the way it does and just accepting the fact that it's all controlled and was created by a "higher power"

[Maguspk]

It's quite fascinating, really. Even the brain of a small fly is way more complex, advanced and in every imaginable way better than the world's best microchip. So imagine how complex and advanced the brain of a human is. I've heard that the number of possible neurological connections the brain can make is greater than the amount of atoms in the entire universe - but I don't now how much truth there is in that statement.

Definitely not true, think about it: Assuming a 'connection' is a single atom, just by creating the connection you increase the universe atom count by one, not to mention the things it's connecting increase the count even more so, it would never come close.

Also, the 'connections' between neurons in the brain are for the most part not really connections but clefts at synaptic zones where vesicles release quanta of neurotransmitter. The neurotransmitter quanta is millions of atoms and each cell has hundreds which cooldown for only approximately 30 seconds (never runs out), so each connection is the result of millions of atoms working together. This is also ignoring the basic way in which neurons produce action potentials (the voltage change) which involves a flow of millions of ions (atoms) into a single neuron to produce a current (moving charges). Basically, even at the small level you are working with millions of atoms, the complexity is insane.

[Kuya]

Isn't this basically a teleological question?

[Elvis]

I think you mean scatological, Kuya.

[Uzor]

Definitely not true, think about it: Assuming a 'connection' is a single atom, just by creating the connection you increase the universe atom count by one, not to mention the things it's connecting increase the count even more so, it would never come close.

Also, the 'connections' between neurons in the brain are for the most part not really connections but clefts at synaptic zones where vesicles release quanta of neurotransmitter. The neurotransmitter quanta is millions of atoms and each cell has hundreds which cooldown for only approximately 30 seconds (never runs out), so each connection is the result of millions of atoms working together. This is also ignoring the basic way in which neurons produce action potentials (the voltage change) which involves a flow of millions of ions (atoms) into a single neuron to produce a current (moving charges). Basically, even at the small level you are working with millions of atoms, the complexity is insane.

I said number of possible connections; not actual connections it can have at any one time

[Kerberoz]

PHILOSOPHY, n. A route of many roads leading from nowhere to nothing.

[Seanr]

Damn near every example of human traits that people have presented in this thread has been displayed by "lessor" animals as well

Humans having the ability to reason. Being able to control our urges and instincts. Ability to predict the outcomes of our actions several steps ahead and control ourselves accordingly..

They do all of this as well.

Regarding animals: I'd say it's more of a rudimentary skill, instinct if you will, learned through repetition and observation, rather than actual logic/reasoning.

We don't come up with reasons out of the blue, we observe through first hand or second hand experiences. You don't have to physically be present to observe(if that makes any sense)

[zoobernut]

Empathy.

Lots of animals show empathy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empathy Haven't you ever noticed how if you are sad a dog will act sad or forlorn? That is just one example but I am pretty sure that many primates as well as dolphins have shown empathy as well.

I think it is interesting in this thread people are so keen on separating humans from all other animals in so many ways but each one in reality is not unique to humans. Humans might be unique in the level of importance they place on these traits or to the level that we exhibit these traits but the traits themselves are not unique to humans.

[Chun Liroy]

I'll be honest, I have no read any responses to the thread thus far (well, maybe 1 or 2), but I wanted to pose another question.

By your "definition" of what it means to be human, how does this translate to people which have mental deficiencies? And in this case, how should they be treated? What about people that have such severe brain damage -- due to accident, not birth defects -- that they become what many describe as "vegetables?" How should they be treated?

[Cruzizzle]

Relevant to this discussion. And one of my favorite Neil Degrasse Tyson clips.

[Jefe]

We don't come up with reasons out of the blue, we observe through first hand or second hand experiences. You don't have to physically be present to observe(if that makes any sense)

So? Does that make animals logical/rational beings?

[Seanr]

So? Does that make animals logical/rational beings?

All Humans are logical/rational?

[Elvis]

What was the point of this thread again? OP needed help with homework? Just tell your teacher to go fuck herself. Tell her you're only human. ZING

[quannum]

top o' da food chain, control over other species on the planet.

[Jefe]

All Humans are logical/rational?

They are capable, yes. Other than that, all I see are your ignoratio elenchi.

[Seanr]

How is it irrelevant? It's just easy to see that the majority of the human race is logical/rational vs the minority of other animals that display these traits. Of course we'd have time to develop such stuff, we're not being split up/caged/eaten etc en masse.

[Jeryhn]

They are capable, yes.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/kym-assets/e...-to-potato.jpg

k.

[oldoldman]

The idea is to from thought provoking ideas, not to distinguish the difference between us and everything else.

For example, I could say we are potato.

well what makes us potato? Why? How do we feel as potato?

The ability to spew forth such bilge is what makes us Human. The fact that we are able to be so mind numbingly philosophical.

[BaneTheBrawler]

We are potato because Wheatley has a cruel sense of humor.