While researching this paper I found tons of sites trying to sell me the smartest sounding way to describe what a human being really is. An animal, says one site. An evolved chimp, says another. The highest form of life, says even another. Beans, says a jokester, Human Beans. However many websites I visited in search for the best answer, it did not help in the least bit to finding the perfect answer to the very unanswerable question. What are Humans? Thusly, I forced myself to shut off the internet and type my paper the old fashioned way. So, what is a human?
Being human means many different things, depending on who you ask. A human has emotions, a lifestyle, and choices to make. How we live, love, and what we like to eat … these are factors that make us human. Humans worry about living when they are young, and they worry about death when they are old. Humans desire to go beyond their comfort zone. This is a unique human-only quality. For example, a person afraid of heights may decide to take sky-diving to overcome the fear.
Another way to define humanism is to compare humans with animals. For example, humans may be involved in a multi-cultural or inter-racial relationship if they so choose. This is unheard of in the animal kingdom. Animals mate with their own kind; Red Cardinals with Red Cardinals, Blue Jays with Blue Jays, Cats with Cats, etc.
Humans also make choices in the rearing of their offspring. A human may even decide to end a pregnancy. An animal, on the other hand, does not terminate a pregnancy or have any rights. A dog, for example, pregnant with puppies, does not have the ability to choose whether having the puppies will affect its future career or present relationships.
One more comparison between animals and humans is the trait of humans to think and reason and create beyond their own self. For example, when a cow makes milk, it does not say, “Oh, I just made milk. I could make more milk and sell it to make money”. No, a cow makes just enough for its own calf. Humans, on the other hand, may choose create beyond themselves. For example, a man may grow tomatoes in his garden for his family. Seeing that the tomatoes are rather big and exceptionally delicious due to great soil, this man may then decide to grow more tomatoes than he and his family need in order to sell them to others for profit.
Being human means many different things. Primary points that are raised in the definition of humanism are emotions, lifestyles, choices, living and dying. These seem to be the primary factors that humans are consumed with on a daily basis. In order to stay healthy, humans have a daily balancing act to perform. Keeping these things into perspective seems to be the typical human’s daily goal. Being human is making mistakes and overcoming fears. It is responsibilities and choices made.
