How do we define being a human?
Being a human, from a philosophical point of view, encompasses five concepts: the nature of being human, consciousness, self awareness, agency, moral responsibility, and existential inquiry. Consciousness lies at the core of human existence. In this process, people allow them to perceive their own thoughts, feelings and desires, reflect and introspect. This self-awareness allows people to reflect on their own existence and embark on a journey of self-discovery.
People are driven by a deep need for connection, belonging and love that contributes to their personal growth and well-being. But is it really the constant drive for improvement that makes a human? Can we fulfill our humanitarian duties by standing still? A complex web of experiences, aspirations and challenges follow one another, making each individual’s journey unique and filling human existence with depth and meaning…
Assuming that an individual lacks any consciousness, this challenges our conventional understanding of what it means to be human. Without consciousness, many of the qualities typically associated with being human would be missing, such as self-awareness, agency, and moral responsibility that is relative. However, we can point out that there are rare medical conditions or altered states of consciousness in which the consciousness is inactive, where they can still retain some aspect of their humanity.
In such situations, the definition of being human may become more nuanced, and other factors such as physiological traits, genetic makeup, and social affiliations may also play a role in determining a person’s human identity. The question of whether a person who cannot find his or her own self can still be defined as a human contains philosophical and ethical dilemmas that require careful scrutiny and research. If I were to express my personal opinion, if a person does not strive for himself and gets lost in the continuity of the order he is in, he will be swept away in this life dependent on endless variability.
As we’re getting to the end, In order to exist, we must create our own reality and be aware of our motives while performing the action. When we go deep, we are doomed to exist in the state of our essence, actions and stances. We are human and free because we are never ourselves. A person who has simply put himself in a certain mold has sacrificed his own efforts in order to become more ‘human’. Humanity is completely abandoned to the unbearable necessity of peculiar facts, down to the smallest detail, without any special effort. Being more ‘human’ and striving for it is a sign of the nothingness of existence.
”To exist for oneself is to nullify what is within oneself.” Jean Paul Sartre