The questions of what it means to be human, to be a man, a woman, or an artist, can be simplified to the question, who am I? For all people, regardless of gender, race, or occupation, the desire to understand who we are and what our purpose is in the universe, is the very thing that makes us distinctly human. Humans are not unique in the ability to experience love, loss, or growth. As we discussed in class, elephants bond deeply to their family members and will mourn their loss. It is not these emotions or experiences that separate us, but the questions they provoke. When we experience the loss of a loved one, it causes us to evaluate our own lives, to ask, as Chris said in class, if we've lived life to the fullest. It's that self-evaluation and desire to find purpose that set us apart as human.
An important piece of answering the question, "who am I," is realizing that it cannot be reasoned out solely in a cognitive manner. The Creative Impulse states: "Our insistence on cognitive knowing may have already robbed us of some of our capacity for being human." When we look at ourselves and our lives in a purely cognitive way, we lose our ability to answer that question. In order to understand who we are and what our purpose is, we need to be able to evaluate our connection not just to the physical world around us, but to an intangible realm. In answering the question of what it means to be a human, it is necessary to integrate both the abstract and the concrete. However, in our highly technology and science-focused world, we have lost that very important connection the part of the world we can't necessarily explain cognitively, and in doing so we have lost an essential piece of ourselves.
To regain our humanity, we need to regain our sense of wonder. Our lives have us wrapped up in cynicism and distrust, we need to open our minds up to the possibility of a reality outside of the realm of scientific explanation. In doing this, we will be able to expand our ability to explore and search for the meaning behind our lives. Ralph Waldo Emerson said once, "Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better." It is these experiments that eventually help lead us to an understanding of who we are. In order to regain our humanity we need to live our lives in a way that allows us to find purpose and connect on a deeper level than science would allow.
Jenny -- I love the points you make about what it means to be human and how we need to regain it. Your analyzation of the statement by "The Creative Impulse." You really dove down and looked at the raw facts. It is very true that humans have seemed to have lost their humanity (and in my opinion become more like robots), and to regain it we have to regain our sense of wonder. I especially loved Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote! It was the "cherry on top," as some would say.
ReplyDeleteI love how you explained the necessity for both cognitive and emotional evaluation of ourselves and our lives. I completely agree with the concept that neither is complete without the other. If we can't evaluate others and relate to our emotions, how are we supposed to draw cognitive concussions about our world? If I liked your post after the fist two paragraphs imagine how the first sentence of the last one blew me away! You took this assignment to such a neat place that I would NEVER have thought of! Nice job!
ReplyDeleteJenny,
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your post! I like how you grouped the categories together to reach a summarizing statement of "Who am I?" After reading your first paragraph, it made me think about my own personal opinions about humans. Maybe I have been looking too closely at what makes humans unique. You make a very valid point that all humans experience the same emotions. I also agree with your explanation of the quotation. We need a balance between cognitive thinking and our own creative imagination. It was explained very well. Awesome job!