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What Makes Us Human?

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    What Makes Us Human?

    I stole this question from the feature they have on the Jeremy Vine Show on BBC Radio 2. I dunno if you've heard it, but they get articulate scientists, activists, TV presenters, authors, artists etc. to explain what being human means to them. You can listen to some here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02...odes/downloads

    I figure we have some pretty articulate folk on these boards so what makes us human?

    I'll keep my definition short: I can think of three things that make us human: our capacity for empathy, our need to create for creations sake (not just creating for utility) and our capacity to kid ourselves, to tell ourselves we know things that we don't, or to put it another way our uncomfortableness with not-knowing.

    #2
    Ego - An unrational sense of species level self importance

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      #3
      On a meta-level, as a species, the capacity for self destruction must be pretty unique in nature, in organisms bigger than virus-level size? I can’t think of many species that actively destroys its environment beyond repair (despite having the intelligence and self awareness to realise it’s happening). This is fuelled by short sighted, self-obsessed greed and selfishness on individual levels. It links to SF’s ego, I guess.

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        #4
        Not sure about that. Many are kept in check by predators or simply starvation if they take over an area enough to destroy its food sources. I don't think they are actively doing anything any better. Like, if antelopes invented guns I don't think it would end well. And in spite of what Planet Of The Apes claimed at the time, there are many species happy to kill their own so we're not unique in that regard either.

        We're just animals with language.

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          #5
          Well that’s another conundrum. Nature often seems in fine balance and would do just fine without humans. Things tend to self-manage through chains and systems. I can’t think of any other species in 4 billion years of history that has created such an unnatural attack on the planet as a whole organism. I really don’t think humans are a good ‘fit’ in the planetary equilibrium.

          Not sure my original post was explained well enough. I meant that the impact of humans on the planet is savage and results in permanent damage to ecosystems, habitats, food chains and extinction rates. No other species can lay claim to that ‘triumph’. Obviously, species that flood a habitat unchecked can lead to a pressure on resources and self-destruction, but I was meaning more on a planetary scale. Despite having the intelligence and knowledge to realise this, the base instincts of greed and selfishness still reign supreme. So, we are uniquely intelligent, and by extension uniquely stupid.
          Last edited by prinnysquad; 11-04-2019, 10:44.

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            #6
            Our thirst for resource consumption even when it leads to long term harm just makes us more similar to animals IMO. When they brought rabbits to Australia it wreaked havoc. Humans are that on a grand scale.

            For me what makes us human is our capacity for self reflection.

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              #7
              I feel it's a glitch that makes us human. I feel like a jumbled-together set of components, elements, a confused Katamari Damacy ball of crazy chaos organised into a finite/infinite tube, a fizzy black pudding of inexplicable activity.

              God knows, basically.

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                #8
                Originally posted by wakka View Post
                When they brought rabbits to Australia it wreaked havoc. Humans are that on a grand scale.

                For me what makes us human is our capacity for self reflection.
                Yes to both of these. I feel our ability to succeed at the former unfortunately outstrips our ability to succeed at the latter, which I think is the point Prinny is making. We can do much, we're capable of amazing things and yet we struggle hard to do the right thing with all of it.

                We are both amazing and horrifying.

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                  #9
                  I don't think you're qualified enough to judge what makes us human, [MENTION=3144]Dog Thing[/MENTION].

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                    #10
                    Are we the only species that has sex for fun too?

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                      #11
                      I think bonobo chimps do. And I have seen male dogs shagging other male dogs. Unless it was confused.

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                        #12
                        Yeah, bonobos put an end to my theory that one of our evolutionary leaps was masturbation. Hear me out here... animals basically just eat and reproduce. Those two things consume them as they fulfill personal survival and species survival. So we have these built-in desires - we feel hunger and we're horny. That's how those needs present themselves to us. Now imagine you can take care of one of those needs with only the palm of your hand and a few spare minutes. One core desire down. What are you going to do for the rest of the day? Maybe develop language. Paint a picture. Bang sticks on something and create music.

                        It was a good theory for a while.

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                          #13
                          Dr Thang’s theory of evolution by masturbation. I like it.

                          I’ve seen pigs bone down and they def looked like they were into it.

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                            #14
                            Originally posted by wakka View Post
                            Our thirst for resource consumption even when it leads to long term harm just makes us more similar to animals IMO. When they brought rabbits to Australia it wreaked havoc. Humans are that on a grand scale.

                            For me what makes us human is our capacity for self reflection.
                            This is what I mean. Nature is a balance. Humans introducing an alien species to an ecosystem has the potential to ruin it. I don’t see how humans fit into that balance.

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                              #15
                              Yeah, I see where you’re coming from, although I think something we share with animals generally is a ‘**** other species’ vibe of trying to take as much as we can for ourselves. In the case of invasive species like rabbits in Australia, they don’t only happen because of humans - non-indigenous species can move in for non-human related reasons too (like spores being caught in wind currents). That can still cause havoc, and it’s still nature.

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