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.