As we all know that we are all human beings with uniqueness. Each one of us has different and unique traits, personalities, features and is in total different from an animal or any creatures on the earth. This means to say that we as a human being cannot be like another animal or machine on earth. We have our own set of feelings, habits, likes and dislikes, etc. In fact it can be said that we are probably the only creatures on earth that give priority and importance to relationship and love. However, since these aspects are basically the study of mind we cannot claim that love does not exist among other creatures.
Many of us who are used to having pets at home understand the extent to which an animal can express love. However, we cannot judge of the concepts of sin, reasoning, self-awareness, critical thinking, individuality, emotions, empathy, etc. in case of animals. Individuals with psychological problems, sadisticpersonalitydisorder, transgressive behavior, cannibals and murderers can therefore be considered as being inhuman. There are also instances when human beings under the effect of drugs, neuroscience, introspection, and experiences cause irreversible changes in their traits and characteristics.
There are several literatures that talks about the stories of people who were inhuman. There are people who are more ” humane” than the humans around them. This, perhaps, is what really the meaning of being human. There are many people today who are arguing that the present trends inscience and technologyhas kept man and god together. For instance, technologies such as cloning and stem cells have brought in the capability to create a whole new organism. Human beings or for that matter any organism is a result of natures cloning.
However, today manmade cloning is a subject of controversy and has raised several ethical questions. There are several arguments made for and against cloning. Some have put forth valid arguments stating the immorality of cloning. Others use the religion argument saying it goes against God’s intention (McCoy n. pag). For anytechnologyto progress and produce beneficial results it is essential that we look at the positive impacts that these technologies may have on the society. There are several researchers who have tries to divine the word being human. For instance, ” Rev. Mitsuo Aoki, Ph.
D has said that ” The greatness of aging is to enable you to realize for the first time the deeper meaning of that it means to be human. Not the religious, not that, but more human and it’s only in this process of aging that this quality of being human is realizable. You begin to understand the nature of faith, the meaning of hope. And so hope is not about something you achieved, but the life that is always shining in front of you… Is beckoning you. And you only understand that in the process of aging. It’s amazing what has been manifested in this process. That beyond all these things is something we call love…
love. ” (KGMB9) Different group of people define this term differently. For instance, “ the constructivists state that Human Nature is a simple cultural artifact”. Sociobiologists, however, are determinists. They consider that human nature – being the inevitable and inexorable outcome of the inhuman ancestry – cannot be the subject of moral judgment”. Human dignity is indeed used to indicate that all human beings have intrinsic worthiness. Every human deserves unconditionalrespectand is not related to any difference in age, sex, anthropological origin, health, political boundaries, religion, or personal history.
In other words it can be said that these are exclusively human. According to the Catholic thought “ human dignity” is linked to an array of human life issues. For instance, it includes health care ethics. In other words catholic moral thoughts are the basic tradition’s understanding of common justice, the common good, and the right to life and the right to health care in all aspects (Ascension Health). We as human beings have the right to choice and can select what we want in our life. This is not true in the case of animals.
Self organizing is another aspect of human beings that is rare in other animals. We live as a social being and participate in the political system. The term being human can be easily understood if we know the meaning of being inhuman. Inhuman means lacking kindness, pity, or compassion or being cruel to other human beings, nature, or any organism. These acts are easily recognizable and are to a greater extent disliked by the majority of us. Besides, the ability to communicate to each other using different languages, the educational background, the society and the impact of religion makes us more human.
Morality and immorality is the term that is used to define if a human being can be considered being human or inhuman. Additionally, the concepts of mortality/immortality mirror on the promises of life and the predictability of death. It is throughout human development, even for early man called the Neanderthals, this concept has been dominant and in some cultures it is believed that life after death is a reality. The present state of knowledge of the human being is one which has been developed using the special skills and intelligence of human beings.
However, it is more by the materialistic thinking of modern technological science. We as human beings need to be more compassionate towards other creatures, nature and think of the development in a sustainable manner. It is also important to realize that we are human beings and not machines. Often times, in today’s run for success and fame, people are not realizing the basic needs of self, familyas well as other related organisms. Cooperate world is more like using humans as machines to make profit, to achieve targets and generally think of the human body as being merely an elaborate machine which is a real problem.
It is essential to realize that we as human beings need to be human to ourselves and other fellow human being with all the non-material aspects of the human being- thinking, feeling, attitudes, emotions, mores, imagination, etc.
Work cited
- Ascension Health. Principle of Human Dignity (2007)
- The Deeper Meaning of Being Human… Love (2008)
