What makes you human?

[Baron_BJ]

Being able to question my own existence. Humans are the only sentient beings on the planet. I think that pretty much sums it up.

Sentience implies free will. Almost all living animals have free will, like dogs, bats, cats, rats, they choose what to do and how to do it (a dog may be trained to respond to a whistle but it still chooses to respond). Some creatures are almost entirely instinct (like germs), but that is beside the point.

 

[Yoshisummons]

The real question is, what makes humans different from these cats and dogs you mention.

 

[DudeD1020]

I am a human because like Dragon Age: 2 Elf and Dwarf were not options. But on a more serious note it was because long before written history, slight changes that allowed survival and specialization happened and started a process that lasted millennial. And then My Mother and Father decided to be normal people and decided to mate with humans.

 

[katsumoto03]

I am a member of the human race. That makes me human.

 

[bushwhacker2k]

Well, what defines us as humans seems to be what sets us apart from other life-forms.

At the moment, sentience and the ability to use tools (opposable thumbs).

It's kind of funny how much thumbs sets us apart from other species, a few million years of having thumbs and we are building sky-scrapers and exploring space.

 

[barbzilla]

OP: I agree with the second half of your thoughts, we are human because we call ourselves human. Though it goes deeper than that as well. We are human because we believe ourselves human. If you notice that the cultures who identified with animals tended to be animalistic. This is because we shape our own reality through perspectives.

 

[Irony's Acolyte]

Because I belong to the species Homo sapiens? I mean sure we're the only sentient species on the planet (that we know of), but I doubt we're unique in that respect.

That sentience is a huge difference though and our mastery of tools does make us a very powerful species (in relation to others), but that doesn't make us "human", just "people".

We're humans because we are born of human, nothing more.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

I make mistakes and fuck things up?

 

[emeraldrafael]

I think the fact that we can use inductive reasoning and question whether or not the fact we are human makes us human enough.

Or you can say because we are Homo Sapien we are human, if you want to get scientific.

 

[Astoria]

Philosophy and religion are two very different things.

...no they're not

YES they are.

NO they're not.

Pretty sure they are. Philosophy is always up for debate but religion isn't.

 

[Planetoid]

Purely genetics. I don't think there's anything besides genetics that separates us from any other creature. Sure, we make extensive use of tools; sure, we're the only species to have demonstrably ended another species; sure, our balance systems are incredible considering we walk bipedally and vertically without the use of a long tail; but what "unique" characteristics couldn't you highlight on any other creature?

I'm going with genetics because I've seen no evidence that we can philosophically distinguish ourselves from other species; after all, we've never been able to dependably and effectively communicate with any other species.

 

[WOPR]

*snip*

I've never really considered myself human on the account that I've never been treated human

I think more along the lines of "doppleganger"

no matter what I do there's always something about me that get's me excluded and treated like crap (look up the phrase "surrounded by bigots")
I look human, I seem to be human, I try my best to be human
but no matter what I'm not treated or accepted as one

(to clarify it for you, I don't doubt that I'm a functioning human being, I just doubt I qualify for the psychological meaning behind the word "human")

so someone think about that... please I'm actually finding it rather funny that this short post is bringing out me want for an answer to the question "why aren't I treated human despite physically being one"

 

[godfist88]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human

There you go

ah, i see what you did there?

 

[jojoemon]

Our genome makes us who we are. Sortof.. I mean, you can swap the wing coding gene in birds for the arm coding gene in humans. They're the same gene. If you take the gene from a bird and put replace it in a human sequence, the kids arms will still develop normally. So really, its not our genes themselves but how they're organized and activated during development that makes us human.

 

[WOPR]

Philosophy and religion are two very different things.

...no they're not

YES they are.

NO they're not.

philosophy = The critical analysis of fundamental assumptions or beliefs.

religion = a belief pertaining to supreme beings afterlives or forces at power

 

[Sneeze]

I'm gonna say culture, there's plenty of other species out there that are plenty intelligent and will use tools, modify the environment and other some such things. There's none that will appreciate art or culture. You could count birdsong I guess, maybe... I dunno for sure.

 

[HandsomeZer0]

Organs, mostly.
Cell structure, genetic code, logic, being self aware, Being able to question and adapt.

 

[StormShaun]

I guess I cant say anything since im part cyborg.....what a life

But since im part human ill say my intellegence to question life and my morality

 

[Planetoid]

I guess I cant say anything since im part cyborg.....what a life

But since im part human ill say my intellegence to question life and my morality

How can you be part-"part-machine"? You're either a cyborg or you aren't!

 

[Henrik Moeller]

Being able to question my own existence. Humans are the only sentient beings on the planet. I think that pretty much sums it up.

We're not, heck most computers are sentient.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentience