What it means to be human

Throughout this course, we have discussed what it means to be human. Even though we haven’t directly answered the question itself, we have studied and contemplated life’s most important questions, some even being unanswerable. We have brushed upon nature, sacred space, love, beauty, art, truth, ethics, law, human frailty, death, the inner journey, and human reality. Although these terms seem to have no connection at first, they all are key factors in truly describing what it means to be human.

In the introductory unit, we discussed right and left brain, cognitive and affective ways of knowing, metaphor, symbolism, written and oral language, forms of storytelling, and experiences of time. We read articles and did activities on all of these topics. One of the most important piece that we studied all semester was The Alphabet versus the Goddess by Leonard Shlain. We continued to reference this in almost every unit and connected it to each aspect of each unit. This is where left brain versus right brain was first introduced. Shlain discussed the characteristics of each side of the brain and stated that males are more associated with the left brain while females are more associated with the right brain. Some characteristics of the left brain include logic, analysis, linear time, numeracy, speech, and doing, while the characteristics of the right brain are intuition, metaphor, gestalt, synergy, music, and being. Studying brain function is vital in describing what it means to be human, as the complexity of our brain is what truly makes us human. Another article we studied in this unit was God: A Brief History by John Bowker. Bowker states that symbols are visual expressions of the feelings and thoughts humans have had about their world and about their place in it, and that the power of symbols is that they form a common language that all people understand. Symbols are crucial in describing what it means to be human, as symbols are universal and can help all humans communicate efficiently with one another. Lastly, the experiences of time are discussed in The Spell of the Sensuous by David Abram. Time is one of the most important elements of our world. Human life is revolved around time and our experiences of time are critical in describing what it means to be human.

In the humans, nature, and sacred space unit, we studied human’s place in nature, human nature itself, and human’s experiences with sacred space. We viewed Herzog's Grizzly Man and read Noys' "Antiphusis: Werner Herzog's Grizzly Man” in order to discuss human position in nature. In Grizzly Man, Treadwell has a "sentimentalized" view of nature.  He believes humans and nature should coexist, and gets extremely angry when he believes humans are mistreating nature or the grizzly bears.  He constantly feels like he needs to protect the bears from human cruelty, putting his life in danger in order to "save" the bears.  Treadwell believes humanity is corrupting nature.  He thinks humans do not respect or appreciate nature. On the other hand, Herzog believes nature is "discordant and chaotic."  He believes nature is unkind, unconcerned, and violent towards human activity.  He also believes that Treadwell cannot face "the harsh reality of wild nature."  Treadwell thinks nature is innocent and harmless, and believes humanity is the key factor in the corruption of nature.  On the contrary, Herzog believes nature is corrupt in itself, and humanity has no part in its corruption.  Herzog, unlike Treadwell, does not believe nature and humans can exist in harmony. He thinks that humans and nature do not belong together in the world. We watched and read about Australia’s Aborigines in order to further describe human’s place in nature. Dreamtime was a very important part of this unit and was present in many of the articles we read. Humans relationship with animals, the connection between art and the physical world, death, myth telling and ritual, and the location of the sacred are all topics discussed in Australia’s Aborigines and are used to describe human position in nature and human’s experiences with sacred space. Lastly, we read Second Nature, which further discussed human’s relationship with nature. It also touched upon the importance of nature and the presence of sacred space in nature.

In the love, beauty, and art unit, we connected the three to what it means to be human. All three of these concepts play vital roles in the lives of human beings.  Without these three concepts, there would be no way to truly express emotion and feeling, which is crucial to human life. We read The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde in order to study the concepts of beauty and truth. In this novel, Dorian Gray is an innocent, beautiful man, and the painting of him clearly shows that. Overtime, Dorian is heavily influenced and manipulated by Lord Henry. His personality changes and he becomes cruel. As his inner beauty has changed, so has his outer beauty, and it ultimately shows in the painting of him. This novel is used to show the manipulative nature of human beings and how beauty and truth are interconnected. In The Shape of Things, the manipulative nature of human beings is also portrayed. This film showed that one’s perception of art and beauty can differ from another’s. For example, Evelyn’s definition of art was drastically different than every other character’s. Her human sculpture project was seen as downright evil to everyone else, but she considered it to be beautiful and a work of art. Lastly, in All the Mornings of the World, we discovered how humans are so deeply connected to art, and how human emotions are portrayed through art. This film also connected art to love, as Saint Colombe’s love for his dead wife could only be expressed through his music, and he only truly felt her presence when he was creating music. The relationship between art, beauty, and love is important in what it means to be human, as they are all present in human life daily.

In the law and ethics unit, we studied different philosophers and discussed “right” versus “wrong.” We read The Stranger by Albert Camus, which told a story of someone without a distinct set of ethics whose character was being questioned in court. This book showed someone without any apparent emotions who struggled knowing the difference between right and wrong. We also watched Crimes and Misdemeanors, a film that deals with morals, ethics, and right versus wrong. It is about a man who commits murder, yet overtime, his guilt for the crime eventually goes away. Again, we question his morals. Lastly, we read “The Ten Commandments” and “The Holiness Code,” which outline a code of ethics for all people to follow. Overall, this unit touches upon what humans believe is morally right and wrong, and that the world would be chaotic without a basic set of distinct beliefs of morals. Even though everyone has completely different life experiences which may alter their perception on the world and ultimately their morals, I believe there is still an underlying code of ethics that represents the human population.

In our last unit, we studied the inner journey and the meaning of human reality. We contemplated what happens after death, what reality truly means, and what the inner journey means, and we connected all three to what it means to be human. In class, we read Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Throughout the play, Hamlet contemplates death and his place in the world. He has to deal with his father’s death, seeing a ghost, and betrayal from his mother. He definitely experiences an inner journey throughout the play, and ultimately is searching for the meaning of human reality and what happens after death. We read The Epic of Gilgamesh which focused on a man who has to undergo hardships and suffering in order to complete the Hero’s Journey. He faces the wrath of the gods and the death of his best friend along the way, and has to face the reality of his own mortality. We also read a similar piece called The Book of Job, which also focuses on human suffering. Job loses everything; his children, his wife, his health, and his wealth, and he has to experience torture from God in order to prove his faith. One could also say that by facing these hardships, Job went through the Hero’s Journey. This Hero’s Journey seems to be a common theme between some pieces we’ve read. After several discussions in class, I’ve come to the conclusion that the Hero’s Journey is present in every human life. Every human being experiences some form of a Hero’s Journey. It does not have to exactly follow the guidelines of what a Hero’s Journey is, but each and every human goes on a journey through life and tries to discover the true meaning of their life and what it means to be human.

In the end, every aspect of every unit ties in together and helps us attempt to define what it truly means to be human. Throughout life, we all are searching  to define our place in the world and to know the unknown. Each human life is based on perspective, as every person experiences their own journey. We are constantly trying to find answers to explain our existence, and will continue to do so until the end of time. But, as hard as we try, we will never truly be able to define what it means to be human, and that is just life.

Humanities Final Exam

Mackenzie Roof

Levin

Humanities Honors

June 7, 2015

Final Exam: The Experience of Being Human

Humans through all of history have questioned the meaning to an individual's existence. Often times developing ideas through brain processes, nature, religion, art, ethics, and reality. What makes humans are complex combinations of everything known and beginning to be know. Exploring the human experience is an integral part of understanding human’s existence. The questioning of this itself is what it means to be human.

The chemistry of the human brain is what has made humans. No other living being has developed as such. This sets humans apart from other animals, and gives the ability to create anything humans have in the past, present and future. The writing of Schlain shows the development of the right and left brained aspect of humans. The artistic, instinctual right hemisphere compared to the linear, logical left hemisphere. It is believed that as a person the use of one hemisphere is more prominent than the other. With the Australian Aborigines film, natives have not developed written language, and therefore is primarily right brained tactics. Like the writing of Abrams describes, the creation of writing has lead developed countries to be able to develop so quickly. Compared to indigenous people, humans have lost the right brain function and now depend on left brained function to be able to read and write. The development of the brain has lead to society in human culture.

For many humans, the opinion at being at one with or functioning away from nature is a strong belief. What makes a human? This question puts forth not only our physical being, but our consciousness and spirituality. The excerpt from the Bible, Genesis, recites that God said “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground” (Genesis). By saying this, it set up humans to have a belief that is above the natural world, and in many ways created the separation from it. In the poem “Towards Climax” by Gary Snyder the description of the separation of nature was instead due to humans civilization, and referenced the fact that humans have already hit the “climax” of society. The poem connects the fall of society lying on humans separation with nature, and losing the knowledge of nature itself. Because people learned wirrien language, evolved, and have control humans are separated with nature. In another way, the film Grizzly Man delves into the belief that humans must be one with nature because of our separation. A slightly disillusioned Timothy Treadwell is featured, roaming the Alaskan wilderness and communicating with wild bears. He finds the ability to connect with nature, as the ability to save it from our separation and destruction of it. There are many ways for humans to be defined in existence through both sacred belief and nature.

To experience the true essence of being human, one must experience love, beauty and art. In The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, the experience of beauty ties into love, which leads into art. The artist Basil is taken aback by the beauty of Dorian, falls hopelessly in love and paints a breathtaking picture of him, which eventually leads to Basil’s death. The connections and emotions invoicing art, beauty and love are all intertwined. As Wilde puts it, “The artist is the creator of beautiful things” (Wilde). Similarly with the French film All the Morning’s in the World, the death of his wife lead to the creation of the beauty in the art of music. The Shape of Things directed by Neil LaBute, on the other hand, questions the legitimacy of art and the ethics following suit. Is it art if it is not beautiful, is it art if it is cruel and unethical? To question the morality behind it, and to experience beauty, love and art is a part of the human experience.

One aspect that separates the human race from all others is our ability to reason, create laws, and uphold personal morals. In the Story of Job from the Bible, God taught Job through suffering that there is no God but God, and God is the most powerful. Once Job upheld his moral promise to praise God, “Then God gave back to Job, twice as much as he had before” (Story) showing that one's own morality receives reward. With the 10 Commandments, one is expected to follow a set of rules to live life by, which is ethical and moral. The Buddhist Teachings also follows this set, with set expectations, not rules, to find personal enlightenment. A characteristic of being human is to live ethically, and is part of the human experience to develop of ethics, morals, and law.

Following our inner journey and the perception of our own reality is what makes one wholly human. In the film I Heart Huckabees, Albert questions his coincidence and calls in Existential Detectives. The use of puzzle pieces in this film shows a break in reality, moving parts and creating a new picture. In the entirety, the film seems broken from what is real, but highlights on the individual's perception of reality. Similarly in Hamlet by William Shakespeare the death of his father and the marriage of his mother makes Hamlet’s views on reality warped. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse contrast is about following one's inner journey, as Siddhartha has made his own path to enlightenment. With Siddhartha however, he believes the reality of humans is suffering. Humans seek individuality, a meaning for life, and following the inner journey.

The experience of being human is personal, following our brain chemistry, the natural world, religion, love, art, ethics and reality. To be born human is to experience, explore and question past understanding for the future. In the examination of texts, viewing art, and watching films humans began to understand what is human, dynamic and changing. What is human is to experience, develop, and always question everything.

Works Cited

"Genesis 1." Genesis 1. Bible Gateway, 2011. Web. 07 June 2015.

"The Story of Job." Bible Hub, 2013. Web. 7 June 2015.

Wilde, Oscar. "The Picture of Dorian Gray." The Picture of Dorian Gray. The Project Gutenberg, 9 June 2008. Web. 7 June 2015.

Final Thoughts

Throughout the extent of this class, a multitude of specific topics have been explored, all pertaining to the overarching category of The Humanities. We transitioned fluidly from  brain processes, early communication, story telling, and experiences of time to historical interpretations on humans, nature, and sacred space, continuing on to deeply philosophical evaluations on love, beauty, art, and the purpose of all these things. From there, we dove into more philosophy, concerning ethics and therefore law as well, ending upon the study of reality and the inner journey through personal preferences and religions. All five of these topics, each equally unique but all under the scope of Humanities, reinforce and connect to each other and create a definition for the experience of being human: to explain the inexplicable.

The introductory unit focused on the technicalities of the human brain and the beginnings of literature's influence on humanity. One of the more controversial topics discussed is the different processes that take place within each hemisphere of the brain: right and left. The right brain is commonly associated with inventive, musical, and imaginative people while the left is associated with logical, calculating, and responsible. The main ideas expressed by Leonard Shlain in his book, The Alphabet versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image, come in two different forms. The first being the right and left brain category and the second being the male and female brain. Both of these categories explain how the brain processes, different personality types, and the differences between how both genders process and react to their surrounding and stimuli. The next topic discussed in this unit was the origins and history of myths and oral tradition. Oral tradition is the first form of storytelling and is the basis for all literature, as stated by Karen Armstrong in her book A Short History of Myth. Oral tradition stems from times as ancient as the Palaeolithic Period and it is suggested that oral tradition in the form of myths was used to explain why humans had to kill animals and other such moral dilemmas as well as explain natural phenomena. Lastly, we explored Genesis, a book in the bible that tells of the creation of the world. In studying this, we discovered that humans have an unquenchable thirst for the knowledge of our existence. Humans must find reason in everything. It is novel to the expansion of knowledge that we do so and inquiry into the creation of everything as far back as the hundreds AD backs up the idea that humans have had a thirst for knowledge and explanation for a very long time.

The next unit we unwrapped pertained to nature, human beings, and sacred space. In Natural Geographic's Australia's Aborigines, a population of humans seemingly untouched by modern society was explored and examined. This movie tied in all three topics. It touched on the importance of nature in the Aboriginal religion and how they believe that all animals and special places are not only important on the mortal plane, but have clout in the spiritual world as well. This points to the human need to explain what we cannot see. To attribute spiritual importance to objects that are vital to survival, the animals in this case, and to inexplicable phenomena, amazing natural scenery in this case, is just another facet in humanity's thirst for explanation. In The Tempest by William Shakespeare, the theme of humanity was informative and insightful. The Tempest used Caliban to embody the English opinion of indigenous cultures and the dilemma of which lifestyle is better arose. Again, interest peaks when an inexplicable topic arises. The cultures of indigenous people proved to be such a popular topic in England and the rest of the modern world at that time that a famous French author, Michel de Montaigne, wrote about them in his essay "Of Cannibals" and actually praised the simplicity and honesty of these cultures and how they conduct inter-tribal affairs. He wrote of a lack of greed and the prevalence of fairness. How could this guttural and old fashioned culture be so superior to modern culture? This question and the answers, in the form of literature from the time, are proof of human curiosity towards the inexplicable.

Transitioning from these three topics to love, beauty, and art, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, philosophies on beauty, and All the Mornings of the World, a movie by Alain Corneau, were used to incite discussion on the aforementioned topics. In Oscar Wilde's book, the luring of bodily and physical pleasure was pitted against societal morals. Humans feel bad when they do bad things. This is intrinsic to humanity and is rather inexplicable especially concerning moral decision making and concerns of the purpose of life. The true purpose of life is an answer to a question that people have been asking for centuries and have yet to be satisfied with an answer. The Picture of Dorian Gray brings to light a new idea, but it is not without its drawbacks i.e. Dorian's untimely death. Now for beauty. Why to people label things as beautiful? All five philosophers that we have studied have distinctly different opinions on the matter, which, ironically, is key to understanding the question along with the answer. It seems that every person has a different interpretation of beauty and that is just how it is. There is no definite answer to this inexplicable question. In All the Mornings of the World, which follows the life of a reclusive musician, beauty was found in simplicity, modesty, and pure expression. Still, there is and cannot be one true definition or subject of beauty, but nevertheless, humanity will carry on to search for a universal answer even though it is probable that one does not exist. Thus is the nature of humans.

Following the art, beauty, and love unit comes the ethics, law, and human frailty unit. The former two topics are obviously related, but under further scrutiny, ethics and laws are based entirely on what humans can and cannot handle. The ethical philosophers that were presented in our class include and interesting idea that is heavily employed today: Utilitarianism. This is the belief that decisions should be made based on what benefits the most people. This can be seen today in democracies world-wide, or at least should be. Ethics ties in closely to morality and therefore can be considered as and endeavor to explain something intangible, inexplicable. In the movie, Crimes and Misdemeanors by Woody Allen, right versus work is blown up to a murderous level. The main character essentially gets away with murder and the view is left to contemplate whether or not he was right in his actions or not. How can one weigh the pros and cons of such an action? Inexplicable. The ancient connection came in the form of intense study towards The Ten Commandments, The Holiness Code, and the Five Precepts. These ancient religious doctrines outline moral, ethical, and lawful living according to what they believe their god would consider as proper behavior. Interestingly enough, even though the first two writings and the Five Precepts are from different religions and areas, they basically say the same things. They are explanations as to how humans should conduct themselves based on what we feel to be right in our inner-most being and societal controls. They tie together all three topics of this unit with obvious synchronicity.

Lastly, we arrive at a new beginning: The Inner Journey and the Meaning of Human Reality.
These final topics are questions that are ridiculously unfeasible to answer, but that is the point. It is in the contemplation of each that the treasure is found. The inner journey is a spiritual experience, and as all spiritual experiences, cannot be totally explained, unless you are a foolhardy fanatic that believes your religion is the right one for everyone and everyone who does not believe you are correct is wrong. The inner journey is touched upon by the brilliant flick I [Heart] Huckabees where a man is forced to reconcile past transgressions against him to gain the realization that everyone is the same, a story that is basically identical to the plot of Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. In the movie, the man has to go through a lot of suffering and loss in order to become familiar with it and realize that suffering is a connection that we all share, along with happiness and all of the other emotions. Siddhartha is the template for this theme, but also expands upon it and touches heavily on the meaning of human reality. The main character, Siddhartha, follows his inner voice, and inexplicable urge, to his final destination which is enlightenment, which is a one word definition for the realization of the reality of the world. Sid believes that everyone can find enlightenment if they follow their inner voice and learn for themselves. Each must take a different path but ultimately end up at the same finish line because there really is not anywhere else to go. The meaning of reality is captured by Plato's "The Allegory of the Cave". Reality is what is found when someone looks beyond what they are trained to believe to be true. Again, this is an individual journey. The fact that so much brilliant literature has been attributed to this topic affirms the thirst that humans have for explanation. All that we feel we must explain. The trick is, the topics that we crave to explain the most are ones that are liable to have only answers that hold true for the individuals that create them.

Throughout this course we have studies some of the most important questions in history, overarching questions that have plagued the minds of intellectuals for centuries.  I have to admit it was fun contributing to the ongoing search for the ultimate answers and I want to thank you, Mrs. Levin, for teaching and creating a course to facilitate these discussions because these questions are important. They are a force that moves humanity to evolution as well as a part of the experience of being human and being privileged with a brain that is much bigger than any other being's on this planet. The strive to explain what is intangible and inexplicable is an essential part of being human. There are hundreds of books and movies ranging from hella old to AD that seek to address these questions and formulate these answers. Without the ability to question, explain, and learn, humans would not be as special.

Here's to Being Human

Here's To Being Human

Everyone dies; that is the only fact in this world: that for a moment, the consciousness of an individual is no longer attached to a body. The rest of what we, as humans, label as our identity, is something that we take for granted. "I am what I am", and "I think, therefore I am" are statements that assume the meaning of our existence is a given, that  being human is an inherent quality. However, what does it mean to truly be human? Is it our beliefs? Our ideals? Our actions? No, it is all of these and more. Being human is to go beyond existing in this world and live in it.

The basis of being human lies in understanding the self and the origin of our actions, the mind and the thoughts that reside within. From the standpoint of Shlain, the brain is oriented towards one of two sides, right or left. The right brain is emotion, music, instinct, and imagination, while the left brain is logic, reason, mathematics, and linear, yet they are more than that. The right is strongest in oral communication, and the left waxes stronger in writing. The right brain is known for being associated with females and the left brain has a reputation as being male oriented, yet this description alone does not offer justice to either gender, for it is not in the nature of humans to be entirely instinctual and emotional or entirely logical and unfeeling. John Bowker describes aspects of humanity that encompass both parts of the brain, both the male and the female, logic and creativity. Symbolism takes left brain identification and right brain imagination to fully recognize it. Rituals, overall, make sense to those who practice them, and yet the reason behind the practice is far more complex than something that is scientifically appeasing. Even something as fantastical as myth has roots in logic. Karen Armstrong described myth as a way of being able to deal with "the problematic human predicament" of attempting to explain the world. The human experience is steeped in complex situations, multi-faceted personalities, and balance.

Humans, in all of their right-minded glory, are deeply connected to nature, instinct creating the idea of sacred space, but humans are also balanced to hunt and destroy. Once, the thirst for the hunt and fire was to ensure survival, as Gary Snyder's Towards Climax suggests. However, as humans became more and more separated from nature, left brain logic conquering the need for survival, the need to survive runs rampant and the fires of survival turn to infernos of fear. Every human has moments of frustration and anger, and humans, fully in control of our faculties, channels such emotional rampancy to either destruction or self-destruction. To escape from this, sacred spaces were created where people could find some higher meaning that served as a distraction from the frightening surrounding world. Timothy Treadwell in Grizzly Man saw the wild as a sacred space, but rather than a refuge for man, it was a sanctuary that humans should not violate with their presence. Yet, just as nature balances itself out, so does the nature of Werner Herzog balance out that of Treadwell's. Herzog saw nature as a foul growth full of evil and consumption. However, just as nature is complex, so are the views concerning what forces are destructive in the world. Montaigne's "Of Cannibals"  discusses civilized humans as being an evil, while tribal humans, even cannibals, are of a higher standing. Herzog, Treadwell, and Montaigne all have limited views of nature, and of the three, only two believe in a sacred space; Gary Snyder is the only individual who begins to encompass the complexity of human perspective, though he provides the least depth. All of the authors address humanity and nature, but not one is more correct than another.

Truth is central to the matter of art, beauty and love, and above all, perspective determines what is most true. Art is one of the greatest mistruths of the world, entirely at the whim of the artist and subject to perception. Some argue that art should be a representation of physical objects and the the goal is not to provide emotion, but to provide an aesthetically pleasing image. Nigel Spivey's How Art Made the World explores what humans deem as most attractive, how art provides context for the values of a culture and how dependent people are on art. Statues, carvings, and drawings are all representative of a time period, and art reinforces those images so that they are quite desirable, playing on desires to mold a society. In the case of the Greeks, they created unrealistically muscled statues, and their culture valued athleticism and holding the body of a god important beyond all other attributes, as that was beautiful. That does bring to question, however, the matter of what is true beauty? There were some aesthetic philosophers who believed true beauty was intellectual, some who considered the more pure senses to be artistic, and many who consider the general conception of beauty to be entirely physical in nature. The Shape of Things explored the connection between art and beauty, and the character Adam, though he became very physically appealing, became emotionally ugly, and his sculptor, Evelyn, held even less inner beauty. The Picture of Dorian Gray follows a similar story of a beautiful young man who has an image painted of him. However, upon indulging in his appearance and discarding his morals, his portrait becomes more and more ugly. His death was not simply one of the soul, like Adam, but one in body. Art is an illusion that portrays the true nature of things, while beauty is the true nature of things. Love is how beauty is experienced, and it is as complex as nature. Yet, what is most beautiful is deemed as such by what is most acceptable to the standards of society.

Beauty is not alone in this regard, as law and ethics are also a reflection of society. Lawbreakers see the law as limiting and unrighteous, but they are the minority since they are convicted and the laws still stand. They would not be lawbreakers if their actions reflected that of the nation's beliefs. Complete disregard for ethics, people who do not hold their own moral code, but rather none at all are the most ostracized by society, as causeless breaking of the law, anarchy, is the most evil form a criminal can take. Camus' The Stranger depicts one such character, a man who does not see right or wrong. His crimes are the greatest because he has no reason for breaking the law. However, in Crimes and Misdemeanors, the character Judah has reason to kill his mistress, but it is not a reason deemed acceptable by society. His justification of her murder, being he wanted to keep his wife and his reputation, is abhorrent, because that kind of reason seems insignificant compared to the loss of human life.  While lawbreakers are frowned upon, the laws themselves might also be called into question. The Ten Commandments, most famous in Hebrew tradition, include multiple laws concerning God, including that there may be no worship, save for that of the one God. Therefore, any virtuous Buddhists or Hindus would be considered criminals, the Buddha himself a felon. What is law is determined by what matters most in a culture, and those values are determined by a majority of opinions: opinions that come from many individuals, all of whom must make difficult choices to determine right from wrong.

These difficult choices may also be described as struggles on an inner journey to find the true nature of one's identity. This nature can hold much meaning, or hold none at all in the case of absurdists, yet it brings into question the meaning of human reality. There is one reality in human life: humans die. Yet, what it means to die varies between beliefs and cultures. In the case of Enkidu in Gilgamesh, death is an equalizer, a place where all suffer. Hamlet has multiple descriptions of death, one being a place of suffering, another of salvation. However, both stories hold that death may be a part of suffering. Suffering is not limited to death, but plays a large role in life. According to Siddhartha, living is suffering. However, individuals may find their own path to enlightenment and escape the cycle of suffering. Gilgamesh's suffering begins when Enkidu dies, and he, like all other humans, begins to ponder his impending death. His suffering ends, however, when he accepts his fate. The entire story of Hamlet is steeped in suffering and betrayal, ending only in death. Suffering is an intrinsic part of the human experience that all must endure, or fall to.

What does it mean to be human? Does is mean one is complex, holding many different features in his or her nature? Perhaps it is that humans are balanced, seeking to preserve or destroy? Does one hold perspectives on what is most beautiful and how that beauty is experienced? Is the meaning of human a matter of right or wrong or is it a personal test of suffering? It is all and more. Not all humans live, some find peace, most have regrets, and all die in some definition of the word. But is not the tradition of impermanence and inconsistency what makes us human? We are so fantastically flawed, it is a wonder we exist. However, may it be wonder we find in our limited, naive existence. In one last message, we are who we are: nothing more, nothing less. Here's to being human.

(Both links to 80's music for those who want to skip that part)

The Final Journey: The Realm of Humanities

Across the realm of humanities and exploring what it means to be human and to function within this world, multiple perspectives have been examined and inquired. To be human and experience the world we live in is seen through the mathematics, sciences, have a cognition of other possible worlds around us; of the divine, or know what it means to have justice and ethics (morals). But what exactly do such ideas — ideas concerning laws, morals, nature, and so forth — have in the human experience? Each individual on this earth plays a role in our experiences as humans. Within this place we call earth, with the very aspects of nature and spaces of sacredness, prospects of love, concepts of beauty and art, knowing law and ethical decisions, and the inner journey each person takes in live to hopefully understand the meaning of human reality plays an important role, forming us as humans into the beings we are.

In the Introductory Unit, the focus was primarily on the concept of the left and right brain, the cognitive-affective ways of knowing, metaphor, writing and oral language, the various forms of storytelling, and the human experience of time.  In arguing the concepts for the concept of a left and right brain, Leonard Shlain talks about in his book, The Alphabet versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image, how it’s through the corpus callosum that allows these two hemispheres to communicate and integrate the information being processed or send out. The brain is what brings the experiences we have into a perspective we can handle, even if it is outside of our initial cognition. Through the right hemisphere, humans integrate feelings, acknowledge images, and can decide whether or not the music that’s being played is pleasing — it’s also the main side which allows human to understand and process the senses’ input in one fluid motion. The right side is more intuitive when it comes to primal instincts and more nonverbal cues (such as gestures or facial expressions), and it’s often the side that cues emotional responses, such as blushing or smirking; all giving an impression of being (according to Shlain). Where our left hemisphere is concentrated with doing and is more in-depth with fine motor skills, the component of speech, numbers, and more so, logic, along with balance and motor movement, which is subsequently rather important when it comes to survival. In the cognitive-affective ways of knowing, there’s the idea, again, of the cognitive being more associated with the left side — the ways of gathering information by, for example, the senses or thought process, where the affective is more centered in the right brain, as it is more affiliated with moods, feelings, and attitudes. As a response to this, in Karen Armstrong’s A Short History of Myth, she notes that some of the characteristics of the human mind include its ability to have ideas and experiences that we as humans cannot explain in rational ways — or not without metaphors. The human imagination is a powerful force human beings have, and it plays a significant role in our daily lives. Metaphors help us to essentially explain the unexplainable, using imagery, gestures, and/or diction, so that others can understand the experiences we’ve individually experienced. As to writing and the oral language, David Abram addresses this topic in his work, The Spell of the Sensuous, which he writes about how humanity used to use symbols or gestures — which gave way to speech, giving tribes and various indigenous cultures oral tradition, which gives the listeners to the history, myths, and stories being told, a sensual stimulation, as the tone and setting in which the storyteller would tell the story would either be similar, or the exact place the story may have taken place. Abrams also tells about how those symbols would develop into text, which would be another form of communication and storytelling, one that is less stimulating, but allows for information to be taken down, and can be later on confirmed as truth or a lie. Written text often withstands the test of time, where oral traditions fade out due to the continual discontinuation of the practice. The human experience of time is mostly centered around the creation of the world and of humanity, as well as the practices of prophets and other religious figures claiming to foresee the future. The experience of time is one that is vast, as humans continue to expand in its concepts — whether it is viewed as linear or cyclical.

In the second unit studied, Human beings, Nature, and Sacred Space were the topics studied. Through the exploration of humans and humanity across various cultures cultures, there’s different viewpoints on human treatment and how to live as, well, human beings. Take for example the cultures explored by Michel de Montaigne in his works The Essays: “Of Cannibals,” and how the people he observed who came back from exploring the new worlds, listening to their stories, and analyzing each one’s response. In his work there’s the addressing of the nations deemed as unclean and barbarians, as they practiced the act of cannibalism towards those they captured as prisoners from wars — it’s important to note that these wars were not fought out of strife, blood, and mere murder, unlike those seen in Europe. It’s in this essay that the white Europeans who claim to be godlike and practice holy mannerism are if anything, at the same level of these acclaimed barbarians. There is no cannibalism practiced, but the ethics seen within each culture are similar in many aspects. In relation to the human experience, there are many relations between individuals across the world and with the encounters between different people groups. It’s important to note the significance of nature in the world of humanity, as nature is all around us, as humans beings — even in those dwelling in cities. Nature is something that should be respected, interacted with, at times, but through the idea of respect, left alone, as it possess a power so great that human intervention would be pointless. In the film, Grizzly Man, with Timothy Treadwell, Treadwell displays an obvious, yet dangerous passion for nature, specifically grizzly bears. Treadwell believed that humans must show nature who is dominant — that we as human beings must protect wildlife and die for it, but not by it. Treadwell is correct in the idea that humans are a part of nature, for we live in it, as said before, but interacting with specific aspects of it are not wise. Werner Herzog, the man who narrates Grizzly Man, as Timothy Treadwell and his then-girlfriend were mutilated and killed by a grizzly, comments that we are the dominant beings, but there is must be a mutual fear and respect between two species, otherwise the world of nature cannot go on as it is. As for sacred spaces, these spaces can be almost anywhere. They can be a room, a specific place, and so forth — any place that is believed to be a place of solace and/or spiritual significance. One film that was watched was National Geographic’s Australia’s Aborigines, which is goes through and interviews members of the Aborigines, asking them what each elder’s role is, how they came to be, and therefore, what is specifically sacred to them. In this, each elder has a role that ultimately is due to spiritual believes, which is that all nature is a sacred, and in which must be preserved. They believe that the places where in caves or rock faces. Many paintings mark these sacred places, as the Ancestors lived by them, some even put themselves in the rock, or land, to dwell. It’s these places that draw the Aborigines together and life to fulfill the destinies the spirits call them toward, as they want to keep the rituals alive, as well as the beliefs of a people so ancient.

Moving onto the third unit of study is the Love, Beauty and Art unit. It’s in this unit that the various definitions and views of love, beauty, and art where discussed and analyzed, as well as philosophically evaluated. The role love  plays is it being one of the most sought after feelings and emotions by humans. There’s an every present urge and want to be loved, feel love, and show love, whether it's friendly, familial, or romantic. The most common form of love sought for is a passionate, romantic love. This love, however can often be short-lived, as reality overcomes. In The Power of Myth on “Love and the Goddess”, through the different loves stories seen between Greek goddesses and mortals, the love is intense, but much less sincere and more selfishly motivated. The human experience of love is unique, however, as each individual experiences at least one or two aspects of love in a different way, it’s a part of our sense to feel. As for beauty — oh beauty, it is a concept that has been distorted since the beginning of time. Humans are always experimenting with ways to make themselves more aesthetically pleasing; always looking for a way to forever be young and full of life, like the youth. It takes things that were once innocent and turns them into conceited monsters, which this is seen in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, where it takes Dorian, a young man who can't be more than twenty years old and with an innocent demeanor, turns him into a man who will do anything to retain youth, get his way, and receive immediate satisfaction, no matter that cost — all through a portrait of him by Basil that captures his youth in a perfect sense and mentor whose name is Lord Henry. Dorian’s experience with love and beauty shapes him into a man who cannot be loved, however radiant his beauty may seem. It’s by art that causes him to fall, and it’s by art that a human’s perspective on such a topic is conveyed in almost a perfect, or more picturesque sense. From the film, How Art Made the World: More Human Than Human, it shows this concept of how art shapes the world, from prehistoric times to the present. It is through art that interpretations of beauty can be seen, whether it be towards humanity, nature, or simple objects. Art is an expression of a culture, thoughts, and feelings, whether it is meant to conjure feelings in the observer or reflects the artist's feelings — be it in a particular place or time.

The fourth unit of study in the realm of humanities is the Ethics, Law, and Human Frailty unit. In regards to ethics, each individual can have a personal preference, but there is almost a set of universal ethics, laws, and the concepts of human frailty. In the Hebrew Bible’s “The Ten Commandments” and “The Holiness Code,” it is the recording of the laws and ethics, believed to be given by God, so that humanity can have a form of social control, as well as universal truths, that contribute to living in peace and harmony. Ethics play the role of having a conscious sense of right and wrong, as well as good and evil, which is what “The Ten Commandments” and “The Holiness Code” revolve around. These ethics are supposed to give a way for a society to function well and how business, personal, or public conduct should be properly performed. As for the laws, laws are meant to definitely keep a social order and make sure people follow ethics put forward by social that if broken, are illegal and can result in county, state, or national punishment. These laws, however if broken, but not caught or reported may not open doors to a jail, but they can cause very personal problems, giving way to an even bigger scandal, which is seen in the film Crimes and Misdemeanors, a movie directed by Woody Allen. In the film, two stories are being told: one between an ophthalmologist, who is very much a man dedicated to his family, yet has an ongoing, or more seven year affair, with a woman named Dolores, who he later on kills due to her threatening to expose them to his wife. The other story being told is one of an unhappily married, unsuccessful documentary filmmaker named Cliff, who falls in love with Halley, a network producer working for a personality by the name of Lester. However, Halley won’t get involved with Cliff, due to the fact that he’s married, but when Cliff finally gets divorced, Halley comes forward with Lester and well, it becomes evident that she’s engaged to Lester. These two stories revolve around ethical and laws, adding in a religious perspective and debate of whether or not God is real and his possible establishment in laws and ethics. With the whole idea of human frailty in mind, humans have a mindset of toughness ingrained in their brains, most often or not. With this said, there are a few who recognize this human frailty, whether it be mentally, physically, or even spiritually. The human body, as amazing as it is, is frail. If one chemical becomes unbalanced or is absent, the body’s attempt at compensation comes with a price — think psychological disorders. There’s also physically, where our bones may be strong, but if caught at the wrong angle or with the right amount of force, can snap, which is often painful. The spiritual frailty (as well as mental, with the idea of it being frail in a will-based concept) is seen through the ethics of The Buddhist Precepts. Even those these precepts may be in relation to ethics and laws, these ethics and laws evolve around the ideas of greed, hunger, and selfish desires, and they believe that when violate, actions, mentalities, and an unstable spiritual connection with the universe can cause karmic consequences. Even is all strive to do good, not everything will end in a perfect, happy manner — life is no fairytale.

Ending one journey and starting another one, the last unit is based on the Inner Journey and the Meaning of Human Reality. An inner journey can be viewed in many different ways: in a hero-like journey, an exhibition taken within one’s own mind, a spiritual journey, and/or a physical one across a state, a country, or even the world — the possibilities are just about limitless, as well as varying in the length of time each journey is, as each is different in the varying aspects according to each individual. These journeys are filled with many emotions, some are very painful, and often the individual undergoes a transformation, again, either physically, mentally, or spiritually. In The Book of Job, a story in the Hebrew Bible, Job undergoes an inner journey that tests his faith and devotions to God, who allows for Satan to test Job by taking away his family and his wealth, leaving with just himself, and later on inflicts terrible, running sores that cause him severe pain and suffering. With this happening, Job never curses or raises a fist towards God, despite what his friends say, as they try to comfort him. It’s by this journey Job takes, in a reflection to drive his faith even deeper in God, that he ends up communing, as well as retaining a family and two fold the amount of wealth he had before, as God, through the trial Job undertook, blessed him even further. Another example of an inner journey is seen in The Epic of Gilgamesh, where Gilgamesh takes an inner journey to that of a hero’s, where he endures hardship, death, and adventure, and finds what he has been searching for what he most wants: immortality, as that is what he believes is the crowning essence to his pure existence, as well as making a name for himself, even though in the end, he never obtains immorality and instead, dies. In taking the meaning of human reality at hand, human reality is sharp, painful, harsh, and often resorts to consuming a lot of energy of the individual in a myriad of ways. An example of such a human reality can be seen in Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave” and how often times we try to only see the shadows of objects, wanting for form ideas, living in a darkness where we feel safe; chained and not wandering, but the reality is this: that those shadows are outlines of something maybe far greater and awing, something that has a materialistic concept to it; something that doesn’t need to be imagined. Human reality involves turning from our imaginations and comfort zones and living out in the real world, as those who were released from the bondage in the cave where. At first, they were blinded and frightened, but when they realized what they were really seeing, it was a beautiful sight to behold, as all their senses were stimulated and alert, and they weren’t buried in a dark, musty place that dampens such a glorious reality, however harsh it maybe. Human reality is something to be explored and shared, for it’s no secret.

In the whole course of humanities, there are for sure more realms to be explored on various levels of study. The humanities are an essential part of everyday life, for without them, cultures would not form, societies wouldn’t evolve, and people wouldn’t be able to live in a relative harmony or peace with one another. In an over arching opinion, I believe some of the major aspects to the humanities are sacred spaces, love, beauty and art, ethics, and the discovering the meaning of human reality. These are concepts that are just about the backbone to human philosophy, as they are topics and even places that are debated or revered with passion and given such an honorary status, as each represents a feeling or sensation, a place, or the idea of good and evil. All these play a role in the human experience as they all intertwine with one another in the sense that love flows into sacred ideals and spaces, as well as seeing the idea of beauty, which influences art, and as love and beauty influence the philosophies of ethical beliefs, these beliefs flow into the conceptions of the meaning of human reality. Despite the downfalls of each topic, all are beautiful and positive in their own way, for there is always a silver lining to every situation, feeling, and mind set, no matter how the brain is functioning or the differences between realities of every individual.

What it means to be human

My final essay :)

Different

Humans are living, breathing organisms. Like any other organism, we need sustenance and use resources in order to stay alive. We have a series of parameters in which we can live and depend heavily on our interactions with many other organisms. However, humans have dominated the earth because of their higher capacity to feel and think. Just like any other two organisms, humans have many similarities with our wild counterparts, but there are also an infinity of differences, physically, and more importantly, mentally and emotionally. Over the course of this class, we have frequently discussed what makes us human and what differentiates us from other organisms. What has allowed us to create this empire on the earth? Our capability of collaborating, empathising, evaluating, and remembering in ways that no other organism seems to have the capacity to do has enabled us to create complex social structures and still remain individuals.

One of the most important things humans are capable of is evaluating ourselves. We are able to scientifically learn about how our bodies and minds work, and how our actions affect our communities and the globe. We learned about how the hemispheres of the brain have unique qualities, and although these ideas are disputed, the concept of identifying traits and evaluating the reasons behind them is uniquely human. The right and left brain idea (from Leonard Shlain’s The Alphabet vs. The Goddess) as well as the poem Toward Climax by Gary Snyder, are examples of how humans can form conclusions based on observations and share their unique opinion about them. Humans also have the capacity to remember. Not only do humans remember most of their own lives but the oral traditions we discussed showed how humanity remembers our own history. Humans also evaluate our origins. Most religions have a creation story such as christianity’s Genesis. In this, the story of both the earth and the existence of humans was given, as was an explanation for some aspects of human nature. This gives humans something to understand and believe in, which is utterly unique from other organisms.

One of the closest similarities to animals that humans possess is our relationship with nature and our appreciation for locations and spaces. What sets us apart, however, is our tendencies to tie these spaces to the spiritual and supernatural worlds that we believe in. In National Geographic’s Australia’s Aborigines the locals worshipped caves and rock structures because of their apparent connection to their myths. They believed that the spirits lived in the caves and went there to pray or make connections with the dead. Similarly, in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest the island is a vessel for all sorts of magical endeavors. The island takes on a mysterious feeling, which only supports the magical intrigue in the play’s plot.  In human history, location and geography has played a huge part in the customs and culture of different peoples. For example, the Amazonians in Michel de Montaigne’s Of Cannibals carry the wild traits of their wilderness. Despite the fact that they are more similar to animals than almost any other civilization, they are still more sophisticated than animals because of their capability to create complex social structures and define rules in their community, which in this case would be similar to the honor code that their warriors followed.

Humans are extremely unique in the fact that we have the capacity to identify beauty and feel love, then create art out of those emotions. We can feel things that other organisms are unable to feel, such as envy, love, and sadness. The human mind consists of a complex and variable soup of emotions that are rarely cause and effect, as most animals would feel. Stories like that of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde exemplify this. The characters exhibit extreme emotion and desire and passion that drives their actions through much of the book. Part of the human condition is this struggle with emotion. Dorian Grey explains that he doesn’t “want to be at the mercy of [his] emotions. [He wants] to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.” Additionally, that emotion is tied to a painting. The use of art in this way displays our use of art as a manifestation of emotion in an image. From Wilde’s ideas that art should exist for its own sake to Kant’s ideas about art being the manifestation of the sublime, many philosophers made the connection between emotion and art. Additionally, they recognized the significance of humans to be able to identify things as beautiful. For thousands of years, people have been creating art that expresses their feelings and discusses the beauty they see in the world around them. Ancient love poetry mused about goddesses and mortals who exemplified beauty and desire. The Egyptians and Greeks used art and poetry to express their concepts of beauty and their emotions. Since the developments of art and writing, creativity has been a way for humans to express themselves in ways that separate us from animals.

Like many other organisms, humans have created complex social structures and developed a series of behaviors. However, humans alone have created laws and codes of ethics by which to live. Each society, religion, and community has developed certain ideas about morals and behaviors. For example, religious texts such as the Ten Commandments and The Holiness Code provide outlines of ideal behaviors, even if breaking them is in human nature. Humans have the motive to create laws and rules that benefit the entire community, where in nature, each organism is, for the most part, out for self improvement. In The Stranger by Albert Camus, we saw how humans are able to evaluate their own guilt and to feel (or not feel) remorse. Unlike other organisms, these feelings aren’t brought on by punishment or pain, but by our own consciences. Similarly, in Galapagos, Vonnegut explores how as humans transform into more primitive organisms, their consciences begin to disappear. They no longer feel guilt or restrain themselves because of rules. Many of the philosophers we have studied have disputed the roles of rules and ethics in our society. Some, such as Nietzsche and Wilde, believed that the rules limit humans and our capacity to be creative and inventive, while others such as utilitarian Bentham believed that the laws set in place are wholly beneficial.

We can’t say definitively that animals do not go through inner journeys, but humans have the capacity to recognise this and attain a higher level of understanding through their experiences. Whether those realizations are religious, such as those of Job from The Story of Job and Siddhartha from Hesse’s Siddhartha, or about human frailty, such as Hamlet from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet the Prince of Denmark and Gilgamesh from The Epic of Gilgamesh, most humans can recognize these ideas. Job and Siddhartha both go through strenuous physical journeys in which their faiths are tested. Many humans face similar, if less drastic, challenges in their lives, and have to identify their beliefs in order to gain happiness and fulfillment. On the other end of the spectrum, humans such as Gilgamesh and Hamlet understand the pain of fate and struggle with the unfairness they see in the world around them. Most people struggle with the concept of death, since it is a big part of life. Humans, of course are not unique in the fact that we die, but there are few other organisms that mourn death and loss in the way we do. The inner journeys that people go through in their lifetimes are full of pain and instability and questioning, but ultimately end with understanding and peace.

The main differences between animals and humans, the things that make us human, are the ability to feel and the ability to create. Humans can apply the emotions we understand to our experiences and build upon them in order to create extraordinary things. In our history, we have learned to create art and laws that express these things we have learned. We’ve developed the ability to worship and remember and reflect. We’ve begun to understand that each individual is unique and plays a role in the greater good. Biologically, this is because of our larger brain size. However, a huge part of humanity is believing in something bigger, some more significant and important aspect of our existence. Above all, humans have the capacity to believe, and that simple idea leads to so many more miraculous things.