Poll: Are you Human?

[Jezzy54]

That is the second dumbest question I know of.

 

[guntotingtomcat]

Off course I'm Human, I am a member of the species.

I think what you're trying to talk about is personhood, which is different. For reference look up the trek episode where Data has to go to court with starfleet for ownership of himself. (Great episode http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PMlDidyG_I)

 

[luclin92]

i am yet im not.

 

[FrostyChick]

...I don't know D:

But does that make me a bad person?

...Well it makes you an honest person, which is a good quailty to have, so I would have to say no, it doesn't make you a bad person.

OT: I don't know either T^T

 

[aubreym]

A faint veil to an otherwise existentialist orientated question. well played, but honestly, the depth of the subject is too tedious to regurgitate for myself. And i also have strong doubts that people will have time to slow and appreciate the philosophy. I wish you the best my friend.

 

[Stollos]

Yeah, i'm human. I have my flaws. They aren't fatal, but they're there, and likely more numerous than I would care to admit. But ultimately, I always try my utmost to be the most decent and compationate person that the situation allows for. I value loyalty above all else. Loyalty to those whom I deem worthy of my ultimately limited time on the face of this earth

 

[teh_Canape]

no, I'm not

I'm a miserable little pile of secrets

but enough talk

 

[Sun Flash]

I have morals. bad things makes me feel bad. Doing good things fills me with a warm fuzzy feeling. I believe this elevates me above other animals (like lions) in the animal kingdom. ergo I am human.

That may be true, but nearly everyone can say that. Don't take this the wrong way, but have you ever wondered if these "reactions" to these good deeds or bad deeds that we experience on a daily basis were more like "generic programs" that our parents or mentors install into our brains at a young age?

Granted, we can change over time and with each new experience. However, what really perplexes me about it is that none of these reactions are solely unique. Sure you may believe that your morals and reactions are just, and they are. It just seems that for each reaction or moral you have, there are probably 500X that many duplicates consistent within millions of other people around the world.

I guess what I'm really trying to get as is this: has society made we humans more like machines because of what we collectively believe to be fact, or the morally just thing to do?

I see what you're saying, but the point I was getting at was that I have the ability to "self regulate" myself with things like morals (regardless of what my actual morals are). A large part of humanity is that of self regulation, which I think other animals lack. I have the ability to think "no X is morally wrong, I shouldn't do that" and then go "I am proud of myself, because I followed through on my morals" or " I am sickened by myself because I went against my morals and did it anyway".
THAT is what I believe makes me human. Society, is merely a collection of everyone's morals, which creates an environment for these collective morals to be hardwired into some people's subconscious that would not have otherwise had that moral stance. I suppose you could argue that therefore, this human construct of the society we live in has thereforedehumanised some people, but I don't buy it (sorry, I don't have another argument for that other than my brain just going "No")

Plus, if we removed society and just had generic humans occupying a bland landscape, I believe that many of the normative morals that are "popular" today would remain popular, so that what I beleive makes me personally human, also makes alot of other people.


Also, I'd just like to tell everyone reading this; I'm a 17 year old student with too much spare time on my hands, and I don't know if the way I've written seems hostile (I promise I'm not) and that any of my opinions are in no way fact. If they were we'd all be doomed.

 

[Blunderman]

I'm a human by definition. Any other answer is entirely irrelevant. Still, I'm just an animal, and part of (not above, nor the custodian of) a world that cares not the slightest what happens to me or humanity in its entirety. The planet could disintegrate and it wouldn't mean jack shit to anything.

What am I? Free in an infinite playground without rules.

 

[Fetzenfisch]

I am a sapiend animal, an individual out of the primary race of primates that inhabit this planet at the moment. So yes. i am Human.

 

[razuk]

No, I'm an Elf.

 

[Denamic]

Yes.
Why?
Because my parents are human and my genes says I'm human.
What does this mean?
Absolutely squat.
It's just a name of a species I happen to be a part of.

 

[antidonkey]

I'm a sack of mostly water.

 

[370999]

I am human as that is the species I belong to. Am I a person in terms of some social definiton? Depends on your definition. All i can say is I try to live a relatviely moral life and get on with people.

 

[DanielDeFig]

Yes. Because i (and everyone else on this site) fit the scientific and psychological definition of a human being:

Self-conscious animal (makes us people), and since we were born on earth, it makes us human (rather than people from a different planet than earth).

 

[WOPR]

Just a simple question to ponder as you go about your day. All I ask is that you stop and think about your answer before you give it. Rash or hasty answers can ultimately affect the "true" answer you otherwise are not aware of. Remember, this is asking whether or not you believe you are human, not physically a human being. I'm not asking if you think you're an alien.

If you answered Yes:
-Why? What makes you strongly believe that you are human? What makes you unique and worthy of the life that was given to you and had yet to be taken away? Do you value this life? Are you happy or content?

If you answered No:
-Did you fully understand the meaning behind the question? Why do you feel you are less than or more than human? What traits do you possess that warrants your existence over another, or vice versa? How do you view the world? Or do you wish to be something more?

If you Do not Know:
-Are you thinking to hard about the question? Do your emotions conflict with your morals? Do others live your life for you? Did you take the time to truly explore the meaning behind the question, or your answer? Do you feel dissatisfied or trapped?

Once again, this question is worded simply and is open to interpretation. Using what you have learned in your past years combined with your emotions and personal views, try to answer the sample questions offered under each category. Of course, you always have the option to forego these questions if you feel that you do not wish to answer them, you simply don't understand, or you do not have time to. However, I do hope that those who read this take the time to really question themselves about how their lives are currently running, and how they may or may not have truly lost themselves to the mechanized world of modern society.

No,
I've been treated so IN-human all my life I honestly don't feel human
I don't care... it's just weird

 

[crudus]

Yes I am. My DNA sequence says that I match what we have defined as human. I am not happy or content but those aren't prerequisites for being human. I only value it as much as my instincts tell me to.

Yes ... because I look like one

If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae on our hands.

(Douglas Adams)

 

[AgentDarkmoon]

I have a conscience. When I do something bad, I regret it. Do you ever see a cat walk up to something it broke and look remorsefully at the object? No! It goes and finds something new to do. Do sharks cry when they kill dolphins/become vegetarian? No! They eat their meal and move on. Is there an unspoken law of the weakest getting killed in nature? Yes! Whereas we keep things alive in the hospital or fix things. I have these characteristics that make me human, as do most human beings.

That's part of why they call unconscionable acts 'inhuman'.

Also, part of what bothers me about your question for yessers- "What makes you unique and worthy of the life that was given to you and had yet to be taken away? Do you value this life? Are you happy or content?" What does being human have to do with being worthy of being alive? If you go with the conscience argument perhaps, but they aren't mutually exclusive things. And whether or not I value my life has nothing to do with being human, unless you define humanity by such a thing, which I choose not to. We're not the only species to kill ourselves. And happiness or contentment also have nothing to do with being human. Someone with a conscience could be happy or unhappy, as could someone without it.

 

[BlastedTheWorm]

Everyone in this thread is Human, and who the fuck are you to question it?

 

[Snake Plissken]

This is, by far, the dumbest question I've heard all year. It's thinly disguised as some sort of philosophical quandary, but fails in every aspect. How you feel, whether or not you feel you are unique or "worthy", how much you value your life, etc. does not indicate whether or not you are human, as much as some may believe. You are classified by your taxonomic traits, period. It's simple. Occasionally, empathy is listed as a trait necessary to be deemed human, but that is usually where it ends when it comes to anything remotely as subjective in regards to taxonomy. I am human. You are human. We are all human. Quit pondering this question, drop out of your philosophy class and replace it with a biology class, and move on with your day.

Thank you.