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.