A question of being human

As a science and more importantly, a biology student I've been taught that the world around us is infinitely fascinating and complex in its workings and ways. The curious and inquisitive among us find more than smoke and mirrors in the dazzling array of things that are at display everyday around us. The seemingly mundane hold the secrets to some of the most complex questions we have about nearly everything. 

Consider the birds we see flying across the sky. We see only the culmination of a great number of processes that result in an action that is beautiful and yet simple in its beauty. The bones of a bird are hollow to lighten the load its wings have, the feathers give the wings greater surface area to push upon and the wings themselves are given the most strength to lift the body of the bird. 

The ferns that grow underneath our feet are the first to grow after a forest fire, to begin bringing stability to a ravaged ecosystem. The fungi and bacteria that break down the rotting and ruined organic matter left about on the earth, saving all of us from significant misery in lieu of disease. 

It is only natural then, that human beings have given the most attention in this regard to themselves, how did we come to be, what is the purpose of our existence and indeed what is to be our ultimate fate. Multiple branches of Science, Philosophy and Art seek the answers to these questions and as of now have found no answer that satisfies them beyond reasonable doubt.

I'm not intelligent enough to make assumptions as to how we came to be nor can I divine what we are meant to be but I'm one of many in all likeliness who often considers what it means to be human. 

The science-oriented fellow within me(surprised he isn't dead by now) says, "it is a simple term to define! Modern man is the species Homo sapiens  belonging to the family Hominidae which in turn belongs to Order Primata which in turn belongs to class Mammalia..." and so on and so forth. Indeed it would be correct but it feels incomplete in some regard, even lacking. Perhaps the problem remains within the definition itself!

In a sense, no definition(human in origin) is absolute. We rely on the presence and comparison with reference to other pre-existing elements around us to describe the new. There should be a base from which these derivatives begin to form in theory but trying to make sense of such a definition is extremely difficult if not entirely impossible. It can be understood by a simple exercise. 

Look around you, choose an object or indeed an organism and define it to the best of your ability, for the sake of this occasion I shall consider a light switch. I would define it as "a device that turns a light on or off". Now let's take a distinct word from that definition, in my case I'll choose light. Now this is trickier than the previous object under consideration. For one there is question of which definition I'd use, my physics textbook would say that light is a combination of  electromagnetic waves and packets of particles that produce sight. A simpler definition might say that it's a natural agent that makes things visible. 

Secondly, even if I do take the simpler definition and try to continue the exercise, I would likely find myself in a loop of definitions that bring up more need for definition than it alleviates.

Therefore it is reasonable in my opinion to arrive at the conclusion that human understanding is derivative of pre-existing notion and objects. Had the caveman not found out how to make fire, stoves wouldn't be possible, had he not painted on the walls of his cave none would paint at an easel. 

I have digressed too far as usual, what I mean to say is that our understanding of what it is to be human is based off of what we observe and understand of the events around us. To a child in the war torn rubble of Syria, humans are cruel and inhumane, to those helped by a Samaritan humanity is kindness and love for one another. I can only bring to the table what I've derived so far from my life and even that is subject to change over time.

What is a Human Being?

To understand what being human we must rely on the technique that I just mentioned- association with pre-existing notions ie we compare ourselves with the other species present on the earth. We can move, sense and communicate, three fundamental characteristics of human beings and yet it doesn't even begin to narrow her search of a defining feature of what makes us human. Even plants are known to show the aforementioned qualities then how can we consider it a truly unique character? 

Let's do some rapid fire then.
Reproduction? A character of nearly every species on earth as that's how they survive

Growth? All living organisms grow

Metabolism or chemical reactions taking place within us including respiration? Next to every living organism does this.

Consciousness or rather self-consciousness? Ah now we arrive at arguably our most prized character, our ability to think and our self awareness, surely this is what makes us unique? Unfortunately that isn't quite the case. Some degree of consciousness has been proven in several eukaryotic organisms and it isn't a stretch that is the case for a lot more unstudied cases.

Then indeed, what IS the defining human character?

I'm sure that there are multiple characters that do make us unique but their collective result that makes us truly unique in my opinion, is our astounding ability to manipulate our surroundings. Manipulation of nature for the benefit of a species isn't anything new, beavers are known to build dams with stones, birds makes nests out of twigs and branches strewn about and so on and so forth. What makes us special is the degree to which we can process a substance to a state that it is unrecognizable from the initial raw material.

How are we able to do this? Our bodies are shaped through evolution into becoming ideal for this very task. Our opposable thumbs help us to get a grip on objects, our intellectual power is higher than the average animal(there are many that come very close however) and our ability to defend ourselves through the creation of external tools rather than adaptations to our body(that is not to say we don't have adaptations to protect us-adrenaline comes to mind). 

The extent to which we can convert our surroundings into beneficial resources is extremely underrated and is the cornerstone of human civilization in my opinion. 

From a different perspective

And yet, there is still something missing isn't there? It is our innate nature to think of ideas. A simple statement that doesn't truly do justice to what a great impact such an ability has had on us as a species and on the world as a whole. 

To give the reader clarity, human beings are uniquely capable of creating complex ideas and philosophies which may have few practical uses but is essential to the smooth functioning of human communities. Of course animals may have ideologies of their own but the possibility of such a thing happening is quite low.

And indeed if you really look at it from a logical perspective, what purpose does it server? Does a tiger care about mercy when it mauls its prey to death? Does a pack of hyenas consider honour when they gang up on roaming animals? Does the monkey think of socialism and capitalism and how they affect its society? No, because they serve no practical purpose to these animals, then one might wonder, if that is the case why do we still have morals, ethics and values?

Why?

There are many answers but I think it is likely a system of ideas to protect ourselves from our own ability to manipulate. 

Consider a parasite, does it kill its host by being greedy and seeking all of its resources at once? No, it is slow and debilitating and it seeks to keep its host alive as long as it possibly can, because the death of the host means the death of the parasite. 

The parallels between us and parasites are unsettling but necessary to be aware of. We have a false notion that somehow we're the pinnacle of evolution, and yet we are capable of such inane things as constant war, simultaneous epidemics of hunger and obesity and the exploitation of lives, human or otherwise. Does that sound like an intelligent being? Is the man who sets fire to his own house to get respite from the cold an intelligent being? 

Uncomfortable questions, but they need to be confronted. 

Of course yet another way that we are distinctly human is how we choose to find the answers for these questions. One may follow religion, the other may be a nihilist and some may be indifferent to the question at all. I find it amusing that our species is the only one(that we know of) that spends its life trying to find its purpose, quite the paradoxical pursuit.

One may feel disheartened when one reaches this conclusion and it is not my place to tell you how to feel or not to feel but I think that in the end, despite all the myriad insecurities and faults we have as human beings, we are granted one priceless luxury, the ability to make our own happiness.

And that perhaps, may be what makes us human the most.