View Full Version : Debate: - Humanity...
Ibn-Khaldun
10-24-2009, 22:16
What the hell is it????
I see people talk about it but still I don't understand it!
A Very Super Market
10-24-2009, 22:42
You mean as an exclamation? Like in the Hindenburg broadcast? Or as the scientific definition?
Ibn-Khaldun
10-24-2009, 22:53
No.. I mean your personal opinion.
Well first off Ibn-Khaldun. What is your opinion?
In my opinion it's everything that makes us different from everything and everyone else.
Centurion1
10-25-2009, 01:30
Hmmm, i see humanity as that essential something that separates us from animals. Mostly our intellect but also our morals system
Megas Methuselah
10-25-2009, 02:08
"Our species," would be my definition.
CountArach
10-25-2009, 02:10
"Our species," would be my definition.
Then that makes the statement that someone can "lose their humanity" quite literally impossible. We may have to go beyond this to having a sense of morality and (I believe) self-awareness. You have to be able to conceive of yourself as an entity I guess.
No idea, just throwing stuff out there.
Centurion1
10-25-2009, 02:24
yes is more than our species to be sure. I think it is really as ca said our self awareness. We are aware of our superiority, we are aware of our intellect, we are aware of our conscious.....
our superiority,
Hahahaha, oh would you believe it.
Then that makes the statement that someone can "lose their humanity" quite literally impossible.
Never heard of the expression. :inquisitive:
I go with 'specie'.
Fisherking
10-25-2009, 14:33
The Community of Man as we collectively try to improve.
That is why so many drop out...
:laugh4:
Centurion1
10-25-2009, 23:27
Hahahaha, oh would you believe it.
perhaps not physically sure. but intellectually and because of our intellect we are able to become dominant over other animals. As god said (christian) we must be stewards for his earth and all its inhabitants
perhaps not physically sure. but intellectually and because of our intellect we are able to become dominant over other animals. As god said (christian) we must be stewards for his earth and all its inhabitants
Yes, and we failed. Badly.
If there's one thing that'll :flower: this planet up, it's us. You won't see animals making holes in the ozone layer.
Heh, please. "Superior". Different, but certainly not superior.
Centurion1
10-26-2009, 00:03
im not goign to turn this into an environmental thread but please. Cows do plenty of carbon emissions all their own. Superior, yes we are. Maybe not in the right but we are superior by virtue of our genetics.
Evil_Maniac From Mars
10-26-2009, 00:22
Yes, and we failed. Badly.
If there's one thing that'll :flower: this planet up, it's us. You won't see animals making holes in the ozone layer.
Heh, please. "Superior". Different, but certainly not superior.
We are superior in terms of mental processes alone.
CountArach
10-26-2009, 00:25
Cows do plenty of carbon emissions all their own.
Not as many as us... oh, and who domesticated them again?
a completely inoffensive name
10-26-2009, 00:38
Anyone thinking that they are somehow superior over another creature, is suffering from the weakness that makes humanity no better then any other creature, arrogance. Arrogance is unique to humanity and serves to completely counter the "intelligence" that human supremacists like to flaunt by turning that intelligence from a tool for progress into a liability for the survival of the human race and the world around us. I don't see pigs almost launching a nuclear holocaust over ideology.
Megas Methuselah
10-26-2009, 00:43
Anyone thinking that they are somehow superior over another creature, is suffering from the weakness that makes humanity no better then any other creature, arrogance. Arrogance is unique to humanity and serves to completely counter the "intelligence" that human supremacists like to flaunt by turning that intelligence from a tool for progress into a liability for the survival of the human race and the world around us. I don't see pigs almost launching a nuclear holocaust over ideology.
I have, though, seen pigs do some pretty crazy things in my time.
A Very Super Market
10-26-2009, 00:52
By evolutionary standards, nothing is superior, just better adapted to the current circumstances.
Samurai Waki
10-26-2009, 01:42
By evolutionary standards, nothing is superior, just better adapted to the current circumstances.
well said.
Humans are weak, we're only mediocre at best with any one of our five senses, and while communication between humans can be done with relative ease, we are almost completely deaf to any other creature. However, we don't need superior speed, or any of the five senses, because our brain is a revolutionary feat that has thus far, been unmatched, it constantly evolves and adapts to world around it. It isn't perfect however, and our power of reasoning and logic may surpass other creatures, but what it lacks, that many other non-primate creatures without a sense of self awareness have, is the application to serve the community rather than the self.
a completely inoffensive name
10-26-2009, 02:07
well said.
Humans are weak, we're only mediocre at best with any one of our five senses, and while communication between humans can be done with relative ease, we are almost completely deaf to any other creature. However, we don't need superior speed, or any of the five senses, because our brain is a revolutionary feat that has thus far, been unmatched, it constantly evolves and adapts to world around it. It isn't perfect however, and our power of reasoning and logic may surpass other creatures, but what it lacks, that many other non-primate creatures without a sense of self awareness have, is the application to serve the community rather than the self.
We have nine senses:
1. Sight
2. Hearing
3. Taste
4. Smell
5. Touch
6. Balance
7. Temperature
8. Pain
9. Kinesthetic
We have nine senses:
1. Sight
2. Hearing
3. Taste
4. Smell
5. Touch
6. Balance
7. Temperature
8. Pain
9. KinestheticWhere did you get that? :inquisitive:
Never heard of it...
There are theories that state we have actually 18/21/23 senses, but y'know, let's stick to the original ones.
A Very Super Market
10-26-2009, 04:58
Pain is pretty much touch....
Anyways, we aren't just flabby pink things either. We have very complex (And useful) appendages, very good day vision for a non-avian species, and advanced communication skills.
a completely inoffensive name
10-26-2009, 05:35
Pain is pretty much touch....
I disagree, i thought touch was specifically the recognition of having contact with another object while pain was the recognition of having damage inflicted upon you. I know nothing about the senses though, so I could just be an idiot.
I say humanity is our morals, when we say someone is inhumane it is because they are acting contrary to our set of morals.
There are theories that state we have actually 18/21/23 senses, but y'know, let's stick to the original ones.
Hey, lets not stop at 5, I say we cut it back to 3. Smell is identical to taste and hearing is just the sound vibrations touching your ear, so I say we cut it back to sight, taste and touch :yes: No need to complicate matters.
Samurai Waki
10-26-2009, 06:15
I say humanity is our morals, when we say someone is inhumane it is because they are acting contrary to our set of morals.
Hey, lets not stop at 5, I say we cut it back to 3. Smell is identical to taste and hearing is just the sound vibrations touching your ear, so I say we cut it back to sight, taste and touch :yes: No need to complicate matters.
:beam:
Don't some scientists believe Humans may also carry a "6th" Sense, like foresight? I know some animals seem to be able to sense something is going to happen before it happens, earthquakes being a prime example. Why not humans?
CountArach
10-26-2009, 06:35
:beam:
Don't some scientists believe Humans may also carry a "6th" Sense, like foresight? I know some animals seem to be able to sense something is going to happen before it happens, earthquakes being a prime example. Why not humans?
I am fairly sure you are right about the whole 6th sense thing, and I in fact have a mate who can pretty much 'see', or perhaps 'sense' anything that is thrown at him - from behind.
:beam:
Don't some scientists believe Humans may also carry a "6th" Sense, like foresight? I know some animals seem to be able to sense something is going to happen before it happens, earthquakes being a prime example. Why not humans?
Well, that would be a 10th or a 15th or a 22nd etc depending on what you accept as a sense. The "6th sense" doesn't really have any solid evidence to support it, but while I won't say it certainly exists, I have seen and heard of some strange things, and there's those situations where you can feel someone watching you. Something else you can try is to tell someone to close their eyes, and then hold your index finger so it's pointing between their eyes, close to their skin but not touching and they will feel your finger there, so it's a possibility.
There are several theories as to why animals can detect earthquakes and storms and what not, maybe they feel the vibrations in the earth, or changes in air pressure, but again there is nothing that's been proven.
This is getting rather off topic :oops:
Ironside
10-26-2009, 11:43
I disagree, i thought touch was specifically the recognition of having contact with another object while pain was the recognition of having damage inflicted upon you. I know nothing about the senses though, so I could just be an idiot.
They are handled by two different systems so you're correct. Basically you cannot stimulate a "touch" nerve cell into feeling pain, no matter how much stimulance. The pain nerve cells in turn have a certain treshold for sending out signals.
Then again itching got separate nervcells so that is also a sense if you start to be thorough.
rory_20_uk
10-26-2009, 12:01
"Our species," would be my definition.
I agree. Everything else is merely arrogance.
"We are the only ones that feel emotions"... "oh, in fact many animals do"
"But we are the only tool using animals"... "oh, primates, chimps, birds and even insects do"
"Memory"... "others too huh?"
"Playing?"... "Dolphins? Damn"
"Aha! Ethical code!"... "Pack animal interaction / primate groups act in a similar way as well as differing behaviour under stress"
Other animals do have wider senses than we do, ranging from eyes that can see into IR or UV, some birds that can sense magnetism, to fish that can sense electric fields.
~:smoking:
Rhyfelwyr
10-26-2009, 13:20
And you get those dogs that can tell when someone is going to have a fit 30 minutes before it happens.
And you get those dogs that can tell when someone is going to have a fit 30 minutes before it happens.
Or an earthquake or sense that a person is possibly up to no good.
Askthepizzaguy
10-27-2009, 02:22
Our humanity, if you're not talking about the species itself, means our compassion and our morality. When we find an abandoned baby squirrel who fell out of a tree, apparently rejected by it's mother, and we nurse it back to health and set it free, it is our compassion, our humanity which causes this. It feels good to do a good thing, but even so, we do things we know will cause good because of the impact it has on others. It is selflessness.
Human beings can close touch with their humanity, or never develop it to begin with. Some are capable of terrible cruelties. Others attempt to heal the wounds caused by those cruelties. Our humanity is our better half. It is why civilized society exists; why we don't simply discard the lame or the sick or the old, even though they are a drain on our resources. It is why we do not torture criminals. It is why we do not lock people up for political differences. It is why people are polite, caring, and charitable. It is why many people become doctors or teachers or social workers or physical therapists; they want to help people. It is why we pass laws to protect minorities from abuse, and offer understanding instead of shunning those who are different.
Humanity is something that crosses borders, and unites races, and causes peace, prosperity, and understanding. It is apolitical; it is something that exists in progressives and liberals and conservatives and those with no political perspective. It is the thing that is lost when selfishness and hatred and prejudice prevail over reason and peaceful coexistence.
It is this humanity which is synonymous with most, if not all, of the virtues advocated by many religions. It is this humanity which is also advocated by many of the non-religious. It is a transcendent quality that makes a human being better than just a human being.
This compassionate, caring, moral quality exists even in many other species. We've observed animals raising other animals as their own, even if they are different species. We see creatures risking themselves for their human friends in emergency situations, or risking their lives to protect their family or their community. We see creatures behaving together for mutual advantage. Do they do this always because of purely selfish interest? Perhaps in some cases, but not always. I believe that compassion is not just limited to our own species. But the default seems to be selfishness. If people are not taught compassion, only pride or fear, then they will behave like wild creatures. They will attack those they do not know, and not care about those they do know, and behave only in self-interest.
Human civilization could not reach its present stage of development based purely on selfishness. We would be a group of savages killing one other in squabbles over food. There would be no sharing, no charity, no teaching, no medicine, and no law besides brutality. What keeps us from becoming heartless, ignorant cretins who harm one another whenever we feel like it, is that quality we call humanity.
That's my take on it anyway.
ICantSpellDawg
10-27-2009, 02:33
You can't get rid of your humanity in this life no matter how hard you try. It is a loaded and archaic buzzword.
Fisherking
10-27-2009, 12:06
You can't get rid of your humanity in this life no matter how hard you try. It is a loaded and archaic buzzword.
Sure you can!
What do you call the human monsters that kill and molest children, go out of their way to be cruel to everything and everyone?
Or a Ted Bundy or Jeffery Dommer?
This is what is meant buy losing Humanity.
Humanity are two things to me.
1. The human race and to a degree it's works and culture.
2. a certain kind of behaviour or state of mind where members of the human race try to understand and help, not harm, other members of the human race. Called humanity because it is seen as a default standard to always further the development of your own race, not harm it. This is debatable of course since some animals also kill members of their own species and animal/human(as humans are animals) behaviour is usually the basis for this kind of definition.
Fisherking
10-27-2009, 19:04
humanity may be a word for the human race in total, but it is not our species.
humanity is the quality or state of being humane or the quality or state of being human.
If you give in to more base animal impulses then you can be said to have lost your humanity. The same holds true for being inhumane.
Homo sapiens sapiens is the species proper.
Strike For The South
10-27-2009, 21:28
Smile; it'll all be over soon enough
Ironside
10-28-2009, 11:14
Personally I've always felt that the assumption that the opposite of being humane is being animalistic, is horribly flawed.
Are the nutters beliving that they're animals murderous bastards? No.
Are your pets murderous bastards? No.
Is a simple minded person that acts on instincts a murderous bastard? No.
To be truly inhuman, you must first and foremost be recklessy selfish at the cost of others, follow destructive impulses (that not everyone have) and devote your human mind towards fulfilling it. Patience, repression, planning and preparation is not an act of instincts, but some of the most important things that creates a human mind.
Take torture for enjoyment for example. First you must understand what that means to the other being, then you must plan ahead, be patient and keep yourself from being to eager to prevent the victim from dying. Undoubtably inhumane, but to be able to do it, you must be human.
Azathoth
10-31-2009, 04:37
All this raises new questions.
Such as...
What can change the nature of a man? :idea2:
Megas Methuselah
10-31-2009, 04:59
All this raises new questions.
Such as...
What can change the nature of a man? :idea2:
A woman.
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