Final Exam

             
                                                     The Essence of Being Human


       Throughout this semester, we have discussed the question, "what does it mean to be human?".  Each book and film that we have read and watched involved characters who discover and explore this question, and every philosophy we have studied incorporated ideals that influences one's life and how they view the world around them. This question is at the very foundation of Humanities and has stumped scientists, philosophers, and theologians alike. During this semester, we only brushed the surface of what is a very deep, and sometimes controversial, topic. From each unit, we were given sufficient information that shows us how and what different perspectives (such as art, music, history, philosophy) can tell us about humanity and its purpose. We have also seen and experienced how this question can be subjective. Not everyone will agree on what it means to be human, or what the purpose of humanity is because of the different influences and aspects of society and culture that affect our opinions and individual beliefs on a question such as this. In each unit, we explored these differing opinions and how those encompass what it is to be human.
       In the "Introductory" unit, we heavily discussed the development of humankind and the brain, more specifically brain lateralization, cognitive and affective ways of knowing, metaphor, symbolism, writing and oral language, forms of storytelling, and experiences of time. We focused on specific works of literature to help us in our understanding of these aspects of development. One of these works was The Alphabet versus the Goddess by Leonard Shlain. In The Alphabet versus the Goddess, the concept of right and left brain dominance and lateralization was first introduced. He discussed how the right brain is more creative and flowing while the left brain is more analytical and objective, incorporating concepts such as written language and mathematics. Another work that we studied was The Spell of the Sensuous by David Abram, which focuses on oral storytelling and how written language has affected the sacredness of a time or place. This piece of literature definitely explored the development of the brain and how humankind began to document the world not just verbally, but with written words and stories. We then read an excerpt from God: A Brief History by John Boker which further explores how humankind has explained their world before modern day through the present. More specifically, it discusses the usage of symbols, which are visual expressions of how humans have thought and felt about their place and part in the world. All three sources that we used show the development of the human mind and humankind in general. It shows how humans have used symbols, written language, oral storytelling, and how the development of the brain has led humans to question and ponder their existence. This is an example of how humanity is curious and one of the parts of being human is to question one's existence and place in the world.
      In the "Humans, Nature, and Sacred Space" unit, we explored how nature is an integral part of what it means to be human and how we explore the meaning of our existence through our connection to nature and sacred space. By watching the documentary Australia's Aborigines, we learned that Aborigines believe that animals were the creators of the world. Due to their prominence in Aboriginal culture, animals are revered and nature takes on a whole new meaning. It is no longer the world we live in, but the reason we live. Aborigines have a strong connection to nature and believe that all aspects of nature is sacred. We then looked at How Art Made the World: More Human Than Human by Nigel Spivey. It explored the first evidence and pieces of art by prehistoric peoples and discussed how said people could have the knowledge to create if they had not seen anything like it before (i.e. images or other pieces of artwork). This idea showed how connected nature is to humanity as the art depicted animals and the environment. These ideas, animals, and traditions that were drawn on caves all over Europe symbolize the sacredness that the prehistoric peoples placed on the world around them. This connection between humans and nature was also seen and depicted in The Tempest by William Shakespeare. There is a heavy influence of magic, and nature is represented almost harshly as it is depicted to be deadly and unpredictable. The main character, Prospero, has a tie to nature as he is able to control it. These sources are an example of how humans are connected to nature, and our use or creation of sacred space. This is another element of what makes us human in that it shows how we view everything around us and have a sold appreciation for nature, whereas many creatures do not necessarily look at the world as we do. We believe nature is sacred as it provides for, nourishes, and sustains us. We cannot simply live without having a feeling of thankfulness for the earth we've been given.
      In the "Love, Beauty, and Art" unit, we discussed how philosophy, art, love, and beauty are deciding factors in the search for what makes us human. Once again we used literature and film to help us research this topic a little further. One piece of literature that we read was The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. It incorporated all three concepts of beauty, love, and art. The main character, Dorian Gray, is overcome with love for a painting of himself, painted by his friend Basil. This painting turns him cold-hearted and narcissistic, leading him to murder his friend and turn away people he once called friends. The Picture of Dorian Gray focuses on the concept of beauty, and how it means different things to each person. It is subjective. This book also discusses ethics and morality. Another piece of literature we read was The Song of Songs from the Bible. The Song of Songs is love poetry between a two lovers. It talks about the awakening of love and the detailed romantic relationship between two people. This is one example of how love has been an important topic for literature and discussion since the dawn of time. In class, we watched The Shape of Things. Much like The Picture of Dorian Gray, beauty is used to show a lack of morality within the main character. Evelyn, an art student, leads a man she meets into a trap. Believing she truly loves him, the man is tricked into being a part of her final project. For this final project, Evelyn shows how beauty is simple on the surface rather than within. She changed her subject to meet the beauty standards that society has outlined for all of us to obtain, and she did not feel any remorse over the harm and sadness she caused him. In today's society, we have standards that we must obtain in order to be worthy of being a part of society. We must be a certain weight, height, skin color, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and we must wear and have all the material possessions that those in a higher social and economic class may have. We only focus on the outer appearance rather than the values that make one truly beautiful, inside and out. All these concepts truly make us stand out from other creatures that inhabit this earth. Other animals may love, but love is what allows us to feel and to act and to be compassionate toward our fellow human beings. It is the foundation of all morality and without it, we would not survive. Beauty is simply on the outside to animals, especially due to mating reasons, and art may be created, but not appreciated.
       In the "Law and Ethics" unit, we discussed the difference between right and wrong, morality in a subjective versus objective standpoint, and how having ethics and morals makes us unique as human beings. A piece of literature that we looked at were the Ten Commandments from the Bible. This clearly-outlined code of ethics was written by God to the Israelites after they were led out of Egypt by Moses. These laws/ethics were mainly focused on not angering or disrespecting God and others. The consequences would land one in eternal damnation. We then looked at the Buddhist Precepts. These were very similar to the Ten Commandments in that they were an outline for how one should live their life in order to avoid eternal or cyclical punishment. The Buddhist Precepts were different in that it was solely focused on the effect that not following said laws/morals would have on everyone around you. Also, there is not a set deity that wrote and would be disrespected if one did not follow the Precepts. I found these two guidelines interesting in that it was/is what a society and culture would abide by as a whole. In today's world, we all have different ideas of what is right and what is wrong, although some morals are shared. We have laws that we must all abide by, but what we feel is right or wrong is truly individual. We then watched Crimes and Misdemeanors, a film about a doctor who commits murder after cheating on his wife. After he commits murder, he feels an overwhelming sense of guilt, but as time goes on, he does not feel remorse as strongly as he did before. This film brought up law and ethics in the strongest sense out of all three sources previously mentioned. The doctor truly confronts what is wrong versus what is right, and tries to justify what he did with the actions of the person he murdered. This unit truly tapped into the concept of ethics and morals and how humanity would not be humanity without these important aspects of our societies, cultures, and religion.
      In the "Inner Journey and the Meaning of Human Reality" unit, we discussed the concept of one's personal journey to find themselves and understand the world around them and the concept of reality. We read the Book of Job, which told the story of Job, a follower of God whose faith was tested by the Adversary, or Satan. His story explored the concept of an inner journey in that the moment he discovered his whole family and all of his agricultural/material possessions were killed and destroyed, he began to ask why he was the one who had to suffer and what his purpose on earth is. In class, we discussed this concept and came to the conclusion that we all, in a way, go through a time in our lives when we ask these questions and go on a "journey" of self-discovery. We then read Hamlet by William Shakespeare. After Hamlet's father appears to him in ghost-form, demanding him to avenge his death, Hamlet begins questioning his place in the world and the purpose of his life. His "inner journey" is one of sadness, pain, grief, and anguish and ends in death. Finally, we watched I [Heart] Huckabees, a film about a man whose inner journey involves the validity of reality and the interconnectedness between human beings. Because of this movie, our class discussed whether or not reality is subjective or objective and many believed that it can be both. We each have our own little "realities" which help us cope with the humdrum of everyday life. Learning about the inner journey and reality brought up again the idea that humans are always questioning and pondering their existence and the purpose of their lives on earth.
     All five of these units allowed us to explore what it means to be human. From suffering, to love, we learned that humans are not humans without certain emotions, ethics, morals, and experiences. Despite our unique and individual lives, we all share common aspects that hint at our alike nature and what sets us apart from any other animal on earth. The literature we read, the films we watched, and the discussions we had once again proved that what it means to be human means something different for everyone. What it means to be human is not always a distinct answer, but rather an accumulation of many factors. These factors are influenced by the world around us, more specifically, the times, culture, and society in which we live. But, beneath all of this, to be human is to question and ponder our existence, much like we did in this class. Humanities is a perfect example of human curiosity.