Oh the Humanity.....

Unlike English 11, this class was more than just another literature analysis class, it was a being analysis class. We all learned a little bit more about who we are, as humans. But, what does that really mean? To some, it simply implies that we are of homo sapien descent. That we, as humans, walk upright and have a high brain mass to body mass ratio. Can that be all that separates us from the remainder of nature? Andrea Levin along with many other experts in the field of Humanities would say no. Humans have more to offer the world.

The global ecosystem that is earth primarily involves two parties: humans and nonhumans. The way in which these two interact determines the outcome of our fates. Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man makes the case that humans should live everyday conscious of the existence of animals and nature, but should not interfere with its natural rhythm. In the movie, a man named Timothy Treadwell tries to help the bears in Alaska by living with them and filming them for documentaries. Herzog uses his death by bear to conclude his point that humans should not interfere with nature’s ebb and flow. Another way that humans interact with the nature which surrounds us is through the art which we create. Many landscape artists try to capture the beauty of an impossibly beautiful location. That presents one problem: nature isn’t stagnant. It is always changing and undulating from moment to moment. As soon as you perceive the powerful beauty of a scene, it is immediately different and potentially less beautiful. Our persistent pursuit to capture and create beauty is unique to a very small quantity of species. However, our desire for this kind of endeavor had to begin somewhere. There are many theories about when and where this may have begun, but the theory which we discussed in class was in the BBC’s show, How Art Made the World. The host Nigel Spivey suggests that our art today can trace its links back to the cave paintings of our distant ancestors. Their sensory deprivation within the caves gave way to the reproduction of hallucinated images on the walls. Art exploded after these early events until today when art is heralded for its beauty and skillful techniques.

Humans have a unique perspective of art. We do more than just look and analyze, we also are capable of experiencing the art. There is an entire field of philosophy which is dedicated to how art and beauty are related and to the way which those two traits affect us. The many philosophers throughout the ages have had drastically varying views on how the arts change us. From the Platonic view that art is evil and used as a tool to tempt fools, to the Hume ideas that art is experienced differently within each of us according to our tastes. Oscar Wilde had a philosophy which we performed much studying on through his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. In this novel we discuss the role of the artist in the process of creating art and how that leads to a particular experience. Basil creates the portrait which is art in its own right, but Lord Henry also feels that his manipulation of Dorian is an artistic endeavor. This book inspired a movie which explores similar concepts: The Shape of Things. This movie shows an artist, Evelyn, use Adam, a Dorian figure, to change him into an artistic display through artificial love and seduction. Humans can not only experience the emotions which art gives upon viewing, but also the emotions of contemplating the artist and their delicate process.

The artistic process pursued by Evelyn and Lord Henry starts to beg the question of what should be the code of ethics to live life by. We studied a wide variety of ethical philosophers in class. Among them were Plato, Nietzsche, Hume, and Bentham. Bentham’s philosophy differed from that of his peers through his radically rational approach to ethics. He devised a system of mathematics to calculate which action should be taken in any situation. Within his system, often called Utilitarianism, the results will always yield the greatest good for the greatest number of people. This contrasts with Hume’s belief that situations are not as black and white as that. Each scenario will be evaluated separately and our decisions will be guided by our personal passions and desires rather than for the greater good. Buddhism, and the ethical code which governs it, can be considered a combination of the two. Each choice should be evaluated to determine whether it will harm others or yourself. Minimizing the damage to the world and to the human community is the ultimate goal of every Buddhist.

One of the most famous Buddhist figures in history is Siddhartha Gautama. His journey to enlightenment, as documented by Herman Hesse, chronicles an extensive transformation from wealthy child to enlightened elder. When the story begins he is a young boy under the protection of his father, the King. He is dissatisfied with his and his father’s existence and seeks to find a deeper meaning. One day while on a trek out of the safety of his father’s eyes Siddhartha stumbles across the Four Sights. It is then that he comes to the sudden and dramatic realization that the world is actually an evil place filled with suffering, sickness, and death. He leaves his father to seek a life which is free from suffering. Gilgamesh is another character who dramatically becomes aware of the suffering of this world through the death of his once foe, turned brother, and eventually, his failure to reach immortality. The world, then, seems to be a cruel place for us humans. The final character who knows suffering as an intimate portion of his life is Hamlet, the tragically depressed character in one of Shakespeare’s finest works. He, along with the others mentioned above, comes to the sad realization that our world is a dark, depressive place filled with sadness and suffering. Hamlet’s father is killed by his uncle who then swiftly courts Hamlet’s mother all prior to the beginning of the story. We are able to catch a glimpse into the mind of someone who has latched onto the darkness of the world and refuses to let go until his death during the final scene of the play. It seems that humans are fated to suffer in this hellish world from birth to death. But would life be worth living if it were not filled with at least brief moments of intense happiness? Many humans live every day while ignoring these ideas, while others accept a cruel destiny by their own hands in order to stop the inevitable suffering.

So does being human simply mean that we walk upright and have a big brain? No. Our tenacity to ask and answer this plethora of questions sets us apart from other animals for a start. But also, we are highly intelligent creatures who are capable of creating art, creating suffering, and creating happiness. We are special. You are special. Keep thinking, keep asking, and never give up searching for the answer.