What does it mean to be human?

What Does It Mean to Be Human?

What does it mean to be human?

This is a question asked by many people, but what inspired me to question it myself was reading a manga called Homunculus. Homunculus is about a man named Susumu Nakoshi. He gets a hole drilled into his head, which allows him to see other people's psychological pain. After helping and “curing” different people, he begins to ask himself, “What does it mean to be human?”

When you hear that question, you might think, “Well, we're Homo sapiens. We have two arms, two legs, and we're sentient!”

That makes sense, right? We are a species that is more sentient than other life forms, and that makes us stand out. But if that's the only thing that defines us as humans, then we could also call a chimpanzee a human. If you think about it that way, it might make sense, but we know that chimpanzees aren't humans. So what actually makes us human?

The answer to that question is rather simple: appearance and emotion.

Appearance

Humans look... well, like humans. We can't really describe it any other way. We know how to tell a human apart from an animal because we have learned that humans are our own kind, while anything that doesn't look like us isn't human.

Our brains naturally group and categorize the different species in the world. What is a pigeon? A bird. What is an elephant? A mammal. What is a salmon? A fish. We categorize them based on their appearance, characteristics, and where they live.

In the same way, we categorize what looks like a human as human. That's why we often judge other people and animals based on appearance. Our brains are naturally inclined to recognize things that look like us as belonging to our own kind.

Emotion

Emotions are trickier. They play a major role in many of our decisions, although some people can ignore or suppress their emotions because of how they were born, how they were raised, or what they have been taught.

Emotions are an interesting subject. When we're angry, we might become more aggressive or raise our voices. When we're sad, we might cry or become depressed. Pretty basic, right?

But if we lived without emotions, life would be incredibly dull. We wouldn't feel anything toward beautiful things, and we wouldn't be moved by motivational speeches, art, music, or the people we love.

Honestly, I love emotions. They are one of the reasons I live: to be moved, to love, and to be loved. I think that's one of the most beautiful parts of life.

Not everyone gets to experience happiness or love, but when we do experience those emotions, they make us feel more human.

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