Human Perception of Self, Art, and Nature

What makes us human is our perception of self--our ability to reflect, contemplate and aspire. No other species has the ability to analyze it's existence. Humans are uniquely aware of their own consciousness; they can ask questions about the meaning of life and "God". This notion of a higher being is uniquely Human. What if God didn't create Humans, but rather Humans created the idea of God? That's all God is in essence--an idea. Humans can represent their surroundings or their internal self through art. Whether it be through music, visual art, dance, writing, or the many other forms of art, Humans insist on communicating their feelings in a representational or abstract way. Humans act out of primal survival instinct as well as a developed ethical instinct. Some adult animals practice filial cannibalism, and eat weak or underdeveloped offspring as a way of rooting out inferiority (Hope Klug). In most cases, and of course there are exceptions, adult Humans will not eat their weak children. Why? Because it's completely insane from an ethical point of view. Our culture would find that person a nice cozy prison cell. But from an evolutionary point of view, eating weak offspring could save parents time and energy--energy that could potentially be devoted to raising strong, healthy offspring.

In nature, you will most likely see males taking the role of provider and females acting as the caretakers. This is the most common situation for Humans as well. As Human culture progresses, however, we see these roles warped. Gay, lesbian, transgender, and pansexual Humans (to name a few) have changed what is means to be a man or a woman. Their are chemical reasons men are attracted to women and vice-versa. So why does Homosexuality exist? Is there a chemical reason, or is it a uniquely Human trait sprung from our overactive, overstimulated, oversize brains? We might never have a definitive answer.  

Artists are those among us who are most in touch with their Humanity. Their ability to look at the world around them or the world inside them and create art is uniquely Human and should be highly valued. Most of us are artists in some sense, and it is possible for people create art without even realizing it. In some cases, people in themselves are art. These people are rare, and they are the most Human of us all. "I am a walking piece of art every day," claims Stephanie Germanotta (Lady GaGa). This is both true and false. There is a separation between the image she creates for the public and her "internal image" due to manipulation from other people. Usually an artist wont need fame to validate their work, but from an early age Stephanie was obsessed with fame (Wikipedia, Lady GaGa). So what if fame is in fact a representation of her inner self? Does she meet the criteria of being a true artist? I'm still undecided on this one, and frankly, any information the public has on her is heavily filtered by the media; unless you know her personally, you'll never know the true nature of her artistry. 

Other than being in touch with our artistic selves, another crucial aspect of being Human is accepting the fact that deep down, we are creatures of nature. We have primal instincts that can be ignored, but never eradicated. "Our insistence on cognitive knowing may already have robbed us of our capacity for being human" because by searching for and analyzing this knowledge we only distance ourselves from our roots in nature. Sure, we'll understand what we evolved from--but the beautiful thing about nature is that it doesn't need explaining. It just works. We don't need to look into our DNA or study our chemical make up. If we just let things be for a while, maybe we'll understand what it really means to be human.        

 

 

         

The Human Perspective: Intelligence > Humanity

To be human is to live in a state of complexity. To have emotions, a sense of self and a sense of right and wrong are all characteristics of humans. As intelletual beings, humans put a barrier up between the natural world and the "man-made" world. Part of this problem is that humans see themselves as supreme beings, those of a higher power, this creates a larger gap with our connection to the natual world. The space between these two connected yet seperated worlds consists of art, images,
intelligence, and the alpha beth; verbal and nonverbal communications.

The turning point in human existance happened to be when symbols were created. This idea was not the factor that seperated humans from the natural world, the symbols mostly represented animals and other life that occurs in the natural world.The next stepping stone in human expistance was the creation of the alpha beth. This lead to what we now know as the alphabet, which has no letters or "symbols" that relate in any way to the natual world. This seperation proves that humans think of themselves as supreme beings.

Before the alphabet and even previous to the alpha beth, art and images were brought about. Without written language, "primitive" beings drew and painted images of the natural world around them. Before written language, art was the way for humans to keep their cultures in tune with their environment. Their "primitive" styles helped humans and indigenous cultures appreciate and become one with the natural world.

Cereal, serial

Being a human is the most complicated thing on the face of this planet. There are countless explanations and opinions on what it actually means to be human, but who gets the final say? What's the textbook definition of a human being? In my opinion these questions are unanswerable. They are open to interpretation. Sure, there is the medical aspect, the fact that all of us are a jumbled up mess of internal organs, bones, blood, and 70% water. But that's only a small piece of the puzzle. I am fascinated by the fact that all of us are so different from one another. No two person's finger prints are the same. However, we all share one thing in common: we all have emotions. Not one of us is emotionless. Yes, there are arguments in reference to people who have performed unspeakable acts, and that by doing so they must not have any emotions whatsoever. Take serial killers for example. Many have argued that since one person has killed another, they must not have any emotions, because what they have done is considered to be 'inhumane.' That one serial killer has just as many emotions as you or I, but they are just conveyed in a very different, radical way. 

Guys don't freak out, I'm not a closet sociopath trying to hint at the fact that I'm going to go on a mass killing spree or anything, or glorifying serial killers in any way. I have just put a lot of thought into what emotions are and why we ALL have them, regardless of how we choose to show them, and how we're all so different, yet surprisingly similar. "Our insistence on cognitive knowing may already have robbed us of some of our capacity for being human."We are all constantly trying to out-do one another, trying to know and achieve more than the next guy. We want the answers to everything- we seldom let things go unanswered; and that is one thing I think we need to stop doing. Not everything has a solid answer, not everything can be solved like an algebraic formula. Some things are meant to go unanswered.

So, how do we fix this? We need to let things be. We need to stop trying to invent a new thing every five seconds, we need to stop asking 'what if?' We need to appreciate what we have all around us, our natural habitat- the earth itself. The natural world does so much for us, yet we are so unappreciative of it. 

Seek What You Fear You Will Find

To be human means many things. It means being plagued by relentless questions, thoughts, opinions, and doubts. But are these a plague or a blessing? To think of love, new ideas, question corrupt systems and solve problems are among the glories of human existence. Are these the things that truly make us human? In part, yes. It cannot be denied that the thoughts and ideas of humans are wildly unique. From what other species can you expect spectacular structures created purely for the  purpose of worshipping a being that is not even known to exist? With what other earthly creatures can you find the ability to render and recognize representations of the world around us? 


Yet it is not simply the fact that we possess these talents that makes us intrinsically human. What makes us so unique as a species is the purposes for which we use our human facilities, the reason behind the method. People worship beings beyond the physical realm, deities and thoughts that exist solely in our minds. In addition to the idea that we can imagine the impossible is the fact that we as a species can communicate our ideas of the beyond to one another through symbol and interpretation. This is where the culmination of the human condition occurs. As stated by John Bowker: "Humans, however, do not simply respond to stimuli, they interpret them and identify them to themselves using symbol based recognition." Symbols have seen our transcendence, and they will ensure our fall from grace. Never has a species been so intellectually unified, yet by the same token, so desperately separated from nature. Our language, our symbols, have allowed for the transfer of deep thought from person to person, while at the same time severing the ties to the natural and spiritual world that carried us to this point. Leonard Shlain said it well in his Spell of the Sensuous: "The evocative phenomena - the entities imaged - are no longer a necessary part of the equation. Human utterances are now elicited, directly, by human-made signs."

Separation within our symbolic culture ties directly into the meaning of the quote from The Creative Impulse. The quote states that our capacity for being human has been diminished by our cognitive drive to explain things as they are, rather than how they may be perceived. In my opinion, this quote is in and of itself nonsensical. How can something so tied to our humanity as our cognisance detract from the human capacity? This is akin to saying that an orange loses something of its capacity to be an orange because it tastes too orangey. I suppose I understand what the quote is trying to say, that people are losing their feeling and spiritual oneness to the hard facts that we so constantly seek. In such a case I would say that the solution is to perpetuate the problem. Seek unanswered questions, and within them will be found the wonder and thoughtful provocation of the spirit that such a quote describes the fear of losing. 

When Art and Writing Meet

With the ability to process intricate thoughts and emotions as well as create a written language, we as humans become unique from all other living beings. Over time, we have distanced ourselves more and more from the animalistic characteristics we once possessed in favor of an ordered society. Yet this distancing does not mean there are no longer similarities between humans and animals. Both humans and animals reproduce, live in groups with those similar to them, and have a form of communication. It is the human being, though, that has advanced throughout time with the help of a higher level of thought, emotions, and language.

For reproductive purposes, a man and a woman are necessary to keep the human race thriving. The man generally provides the woman with food, shelter, and protection from dangerous forces, which enables the woman to give those things to her child in turn. Men are considered the logical left-brained ones, while women are the emotional right-brainers. These two ways of thinking combine to create a deeper understanding of the world. The father teaches us skills such as hunting and the mother enriching our expressive side. The combination of men and women’s ways of thinking enrich our world and our ability to be our unique creatures.

Although art is right-brained activity, there are also left-brained ways in which it can be approached. If an artist carefully plans what they are going to create and uses a logical approach to how and what they are creating, he or she uses the left side of the brain. The right-brain approach entails a more free-form style based on a feeling. Both styles are able to produce incredible pieces of work that evoke an emotional right brained response.

The Creative Impulse states, “Our insistence on cognitive knowing may already have robbed us of some of our capacity for being human.” Sadly, this is true. As the human brain has developed, many have forgotten the old ways of living. The invention of writing stopped the use of cave paintings and story telling to retell a group’s history. There was little need to tell the stories because they existed in a form that could change hands even after a person passed away. With this transition came a lesser connection to the spiritual world. The trances people once underwent that lead to the creation of the cave paintings no longer transpired. While writing has made communication much simpler, it has put a damper on art today. The Australian Aborigines are the some of the only people who live in a world similar to how it was thousands of years ago. Their art it of animals because they feel a connection toward them and believe that if they paint an animal it will secure the population so they can hunt it. Although we have dominated Earth with our writings, the combination of writing and art separates humans from animals as we think and feel in a complex manner.

Natural Power

Nature has everything to do with the experience of being human, because an immersion in nature or a withdrawal from it will totally define a human's life. The degree of involvement in nature by any particular person will (most likely) totally define someone's personality. This defining quality also effects how a person views him or her self, and even dictates what it means to be a part of the human race. Whether or not a person is religious, an involvement in nature tends to create a sense of an all-knowing power, and can instill a feeling of awe deep within a person's soul. This tie to the natural world defines every human.

Every man, woman and child sees the world around them differently, even if they are seeing the exact same things. As John Bowker states in God: A Brief History: "Seeing God in and through the natural order is common throughout the world... even if God is believed to be distinct from the natural order". This explains the way in which humans use the natural world to define themselves. Even though it tends to be the view of Americans and other highly technological societies that humans have conquered the natural world, that is far off of the truth. Natural disasters prove to some that God exists, and to others exactly the opposite, but to all it is a display of the great power of the natural world.

To a man in the past, nature was the life giver. In the times of hunter-gatherers, men needed nature to support their families and communities, but many times the women of the very same community were scared of the destruction that nature could bring without so much as a second thought. By exploring this view of the natural world and contrasting it to our thoughts on nature today, it is easily seen that nature has effected our life to a degree unimaginable by today's standards. On the show Life After Humans it is stated that in just a few short years of the absence of humans, the natural world would reclaim what it has lent to the human race, so our culture as a whole must respect the world around us, or eventually be claimed by the greatest force on earth.

The Human Mind: Unique and Important

Being human entails being unique from all other animals. Humanity has existed since human devolvement diverged from the development of other creatures. To be human is to focus one’s life on the attributes that set one apart from the rest of the natural world. In Karen Armstrong’s A Short History of Myth, several of these attributes are considered. She points out humans’ desires to know of their origins and find ecstasy in their lives (2). Additionally, Armstrong states that a “characteristic of the human mind is it’s ability to have ideas and experiences that [it] cannot explain rationally (1).” This idea leads to the fact humans not only have minds, but also that they classify them as different from their brains.

The human mind is what enables the possibility of imagination, which in turn enables play, and story telling. Humans can think without logic, can create imaginary worlds for themselves, and can describe these things to others. And humans do tell their stories. They are passed down from generation to generation, a chronology of humanity. In God: A Brief History, John Bowker discusses the different types of stories people tell within families, tribes, and nations. Bowker maintains that story telling in groups of people is not only unique to humanity, it is also “the glue that helps hold [the groups] together (110).” So story telling is not just made possible by the distinctive human mind, it is a necessity of being truly human.

However, while it is the differences held by the human race that really makes them human, a connection with the rest of nature is also required. As Armstrong says, “humans, animals and nature [are] inextricably bound up together (2).” Dennis Sporre writes in The Creative Impulse, “[Humans’] insistence on cognitive knowing may already have robbed [them] of some of [their] capacity for being human.” This quotation ties strongly into the texts of David Abram, John Bowker, and Leonard Shlain. These texts all share the notion that written language, developed as part of humans’ “cognitive knowing,” separates people from the rest of the natural world, as well as from each other. In order to ensure the retention of basic humanity, people must not cease to focus on those aspects of their existence that make them fully human. People must continue to search for their origins, seek happiness in their lives, and depend on their imaginations.

Battle of the Brain: What Side Are You On?

What makes us human? Is it our opposable thumbs? Our looks? No, it is our ability to use our brains. Without our intelligence we would probably be an extinct species by now. Don’t get me wrong though, our brains can be also our demise. As our brains become more intellectual our sense of our true being diminishes. The brain uses two sides, the left and the right. In Schlain’s The Alphabet Versus the Goddess, the right brain is connected to emotions, instincts, art, and being while the left is associated with linear thinking, language, and doing. Both a vital part of being a human and what makes us different from the rest of species.                                                                                                               

As time goes on left brain usage becomes more frequent in society, especially today. We put logic over faith. Being a left brain thinker does not, however make an individual bad, but merely blinded. We try to prove everything through science and mathematics to show how we are humans, when we should just look around us. Our beginning history is painted on many caves throughout the world. Due to leaning on one side of the brain, we become unbalanced, and simply lose a bit of our humanity. For example, we have lost our connection with nature, and are on the course of destroying it.  

There are those who still keep the ways of the use of the right brain alive. Take an artist for example; they use mostly their right brain in a left-brain society. Today though, art is not treated as equally as science when it comes to figuring about our species. Take the Australian Aborigines, they were spiritual people, who understood the ways of nature and treated it with respect. They drew cave paintings to keep in touch with the spirits of the Dreamtime, whom taught them to preserve and cherish the earth. Without these connections we lose a bit of early knowledge.

Who or What am I?

 What does being a human mean? I believe the answer to that question is as unique as each individual. There isn't one way to interpret that question.What being human means to me maybe different than it is to you or someone else. Personally I believe humans are given a conscious, opposable thumbs, and the high cognitive abilities to serve the world around us. I believe it is my duty as a human being on this earth to help people less fortunate than I am. That is the answer from a more emotional standpoint.

From a scientific standpoint what seperates humans from animals is our cognitive thinking. We have an ability to process information and act based on stimuli from the world around us. Animals have that an ability too, but they are unable to express that through language. Dolphins have a wide variety of sounds they use to communicate with other dolphins in their pod, but they cannot express that in a written way. That's language seperates us from animals as well as our ability to evolve. 

Humans are the smartest creatures on this earth there is no question about that, but along with that intelligence came a curse. We are never satisfied with our lives. We are constantly seeking the newest phone,  or the best car. We have evolved faster than any other species. While the new technologies are great, the constant need to upgrade our lives, has held us back from really enjoying life. When I see dolphins (I have an obssession...sorry!) in the wild they are always happy, and playful. They lead relatively simple lives, but you never see a dolphin with depression over lack of an ipod.

After going to Belize and seeing the poverty there I came to realize something; the people there had far less than I do, they had no ipods or cell phones or even running water, but they were far happier. The lack of technology, as well as the lack of societal pressure to "go, go, go" , allowed the Belizian people to enjoy their day to day life, and form stronger communal ties. Without our incessant drive for cognitive knowledge, we may be able to sit back and really enjoy the beautiful world around us.

More Than Our Dna

Being human is one of the biggest mysteries of life, yet we all share it.  Anyone reading this is human,  therefore probably feeling dominant over things that can't, but we are all mystified by our creation and what makes us human.  Well, what does make us human?  To me, being human is being labeled as so when you are born.  If you were born, and your parents never mentioned that you were human, you wouldn't know.  Yes, in the future your friend or the internet would spoil it and say you're human, but for the first few years you would have no idea.  Days before writing this I was thinking of summarizing what being human is by showing emotion and responding emotionally to events.  I've changed my thoughts though because my cats aren't human, and I think they show more emotion than I do on some days.  It's a great feeling when I come home from school and my cat leaps off the couch and charges to greet me.  This makes me believe animals are capable of greater emotion, and that humans may not be as dominant in some aspects as we think.  Just like being human, I think being a man, a woman, or an artist is the same thing:  being one of those is classified by others to show its difference, but if those were never classified people's differences wouldn't be apparent observations.

"Our insistence on cognitive knowing may already have robbed us of some of our capacity for being human."  Humans are always insisting and achieving to know more and more.  This separates humans from other animals that do the same things every day and don't learn more than they need to survive and keep surviving.  Like I said above, animals show plenty of emotion, but they lack the cognitive knowing to wonder what happens after death, or of there is death.  Their biggest priority is when the next meal is.  Using a scientific viewpoint, humans should be just another race of animal, but we separate ourselves from this race when we continue to learn and apply new skills to survive and succeed in the world.  Our insistence on cognitive learning robs us of being human because we never stop learning and applying, and this makes us something more.

We can achieve or regain our full humanity by spending more time with and appreciating the source of our survivaly on Earth:  Mother Nature.  Nature is what gives us the ability to live, by providing food, places to create food, water, natural shelter, natural resources, and more.  Rather than being stuck in an urban office all day wondering when work will be over, one can reunite with humanity by realizing there's a world outside of the office.  This world is what lets us live, and this world is the creator and mother to many creatures and living beings.  Without realizing the spleandor and beauty in our creation and surroundings, we could lose what it means to be human and how to protect our humanity.

Bee Leaf

To be human means an ability to both process the world intellectually while feeling it instinctively. It means combining emotion with reason, nature with technology. As Leonard Shlain explains in his work The Alphabet Versus the Goddess, "We need the cooperation of both hemispheres of the brain, and we use both areas of the retina and we employ both hands," we cannot separate our logical left brain from our intuitive right brain. Unlike any other species, we alone have the ability to process our world on a basic, survival level and a higher, emotional state. On page 23 of The Spell of the Sensuous, David Abram speaks of rebuses, in particular the idea of using a pictographic bee and leaf as a visual pun to represent "belief." This exemplifies the base concept behind what it means to be human: that we take the physical around us and interpret it both intellectually and emotionally. We see a bee and a leaf as they are: parts of nature, but we are also capable of making the leap to a phonetic "belief" and the connotations which are attached to that word.

Man, typically having a dominant left brain, is forced to struggle with his ability to relate with his surroundings on an instinctual level. It means a clash between his rational processes and the basic need to interact with the environment to survive. It means having a detachment from the physical world, brought upon him inherently by his biology, but also by his development of speech and the written word. Shlain writes of this throughout Nonverbal/Verbal, and specifies that man gains an advantage over woman once the written word has been created. This means that woman, due to the written word including Adam's power in the naming of Eve as "woman," is now subject to a natural position of submission. Woman, naturally intuitive and emotional, is fated to struggle with man's ruling logic and reason. She does, however, have the advantage of remaining closer to her surroundings. The artist has one of the most difficult tasks mankind has given itself. To be an artist means being responsible for expressing emotion in color, in shape, in sound, in a form with which humanity can relate.

The Creative Impulse states "Our insistence on cognitive knowing may already have robbed us of some of our capacity for being human." In saying this, the text explains that our logical left side brain has separated us from the intrinsic human ability to see more than is there. We insist on objective science and logical reasoning rather than allowing our intuitive emotions to help us to see the world. We distinguish ourselves from nature, and even other humans around us, slowing down our capacity to care and to understand our world on more than a surface-level basis.

We have already lost so much of our connection with nature and each other, as Abrams shows throughout The Spell of the Sensuous, through the written word and loss of magic in our landscape that it seems difficult to regain any of this lost ability of humanity. However, perhaps our humanity could be regained should reintroduce a more oral aspect of communication. It is common knowledge that much of language is processed through gestures and intonation, and so increasing face-to-face socialization will help us to reconnect with others in our society. Not only in casual conversation does this apply, but in the telling of stories as well. The sense of magic that comes with a live story teller makes the tale all the more intense, and the additional human element of voice and gesture provide us with an easy connection to the plot, characters, and settings of the story. Should we return to our oral roots, it will help us to reconnect with that intuitive side of ourselves and regain some of our humanity.

The Connections.

Connections. Creatures make connections with their surroundings, but no creature can make the same connections that a human can. Humans evolved from primates, and it is connections that led humans into being conscious. The first humans made associations with each other and their surroundings. This led to the beginnings of language which boosted primate-humans into the modern design of people we see today. To be a human, it is required to have a state of awareness that allows thinking and processing to take place.  Although people are unique in their thinking and processing, there is always a woman, a man, and an artist within every individual.

From an anatomy standpoint, a woman is defined as the child bearer, the one with the uterus. She is the provider for the infants up until the ability to provide is gained by the infants, and usually well past that age. Certain traits follow the definition of a woman: breasts, excessive emotion, maternal instincts and the list goes on. Men start off in the womb as females. This has lead to the belief that men carry a piece of maternity within themselves although most would not admit to it.

Men are defined as the leader, the provider, the one with the testes. He does not have to stay around to see the repercussions of sex or children. However, if he is paternal, he will want to see the final product. Men seem to either be paternal or flighty, but the same can be applied to women. Certain traits are defined as being male qualities such as: paternal, physical strength, lack of emotion and the list extends. Woman can have these traits, yet the lower levels of testosterone within the woman's system makes some qualities unobtainable. A trait that both sexes share equally is the want for expression of deeper feelings.

Art allows one to express his or her inner soul. An artist is defined as one who creates, whether it be sculptures, home decor, music or a meal, it is all creation. The creation allows humans to feel emotions that are unique. "Music in its many different forms allows people to express their feelings and emotions and it also evokes emotional responses from them." (Music, God: A Brief History) The desire to know everything about everything has taken artists from what they create. As The Creative Impulse states: "Our insistence on cognitive knowing may already have robbed us of some of our capacity for being human." The first humans created and focused not on knowledge, but on tradition and tribe survival. Humans have made many connections with the fruit of knowledge and at this time it is unrealistic to regain the humanity we have lost.

The Decline of Our Humanity (and Hope for the Future)

This question is perfect example of what it means to be human. No other species has the ability and desire to explore such existential and philosophical questions. We have evolved to the point where we have subjugated Mother Nature and are no longer subject to her whims. There is no need for any further physical evolution, leaving only our minds room to expand. By contemplating deeply philosophical questions, we grow on the personal and societal level. Discoveries about ourselves ensue, encouraging further growth and expansion.

However, philosophical thought is not the only trait that defines humanity. Humanity is a many-faceted concept. It sets us apart from all other species, whether extant or extinct. Unfortunately, our humanity has diminished as we gradually become jaded and detached from our baser instincts. We see ourselves as supreme beings and pride ourselves on our ability to suspend emotion and instinct and think the cold, unfeeling thoughts of logical, objective thinking. Our culture and lifestyle has become so enamored with knowledge and complete cognition that we have largely abandoned the another pillar of our humanity; emotion. When the basely human thing to do would be to display and act upon emotion, we instead rely on our intellect and cognitive abilities to resolve the situation.

Our emotions are further smothered by the proliferation of communication technology. Much of contemporary communication in industrialized regions has been reduced to extremely limiting text-only messages. This is almost completely impersonal and allows little, if any, of our humanity to shine through the black-and-white characters on a electronic display; emotion is extremely difficult to convey through such a medium. There are no visual cues and body language that our right brains are so adept at interpreting. We rely on these visual cues to indicate emotion, intent, and interest and adjust our language, both verbal and physical, accordingly. There are precious few situations in which such relatively intimate communication is still readily available, due to the portability of texting technology.

Fortunately for us, it is not too late to undo much of the harm we have wreaked on ourselves and every other component of the natural world. We must strive to encourage one another to express emotion. Face-to-face communication is a necessity, which requires a reduction in our reliance on technology. Individuals must once again care for one another, regardless of race, socioeconomic status, religion, and all other points of discrimination that infect our species. Perhaps we may one day achieve a lifestyle and culture that can allow us to live in complete harmony with each other and nature for 40,000 years as the Australian Aboriginal people have.

Regression is the Way

There is a time between elephants we call the "Elephant Reunion." These creatures travel miles to see their relatives, bellowing at a quarter mile away. When they finally unite, liquid drips from their temporal glands, their tusks intertwine, and their ears flap (PBS). These elephants, along with many beings in our Animal Kingdom, display emotion. Feelings aren't unique. Monkeys use small sticks to remove insects from holes. Tools aren't unique. All animals reproduce; sex isn't unique. The only truly different human quality is the written language. So, to be human is to communicate in a written language.

The moment we began to write was the beginning of our separation with the natural world. However, the writings worked together with nature. The glyphs were visual depictions of what the first writers saw. Slowly, however, the written language digressed into the Greek alphabet. This alphabet had no almost no relation to the natural world, taking language to a new place (Shlain). The symbols didn't relate to what they described. This began to dominate language. Now, our written world has a natural separation from the natural world because of our obsession with language.

Our biggest flaw as humans is what defines us the most. We have separated ourselves so far from any point of nature/language combination that the two can't live in tandem any longer. Language dominates nature, not respecting it. It's impossible for us to combine these two aspects. It's lodged so deep, even in our brain make up, that nature and language are natural enemies. Our brains are so language oriented that we have lost some emotions and thought processes that separate us. We are so rational and left-brained dominant that some feelings and ideas can never be regained, like acceptance of spoken word as completely functional. I pity the right hemisphere and nature's defeat; they deserve more recognition. And, it won't get any better until our material, overly-logical world progresses so far that only complete regression would save us. We have discovered what it means to be human: language. Now, we need to discover what it means to live like an animal, harmoniously with nature.

Humanity: It's the Little Things that Count

To truly be human, and deserve distinction from others of the Hominidae family, one must utilize our god-like ability to create. If not, you are wasting the great potential that is exclusively a  human gift. Man, woman, or artist, we all have something original and new to contribute. Some may argue that animals create all the time. New woven nests, new towering mounds, new tunnel systems, but unlike humans these creations have been built the same way since creation with no new innovation and therein lies the differance. A crocodile still grabs and rolls to tear limbs, a bird still uses grass, mud and spit to build a home.

 Humans, however, can not stop innovating and engineering. There are new materials, books, paintings, and words all the time. Humans have built pyramids and palaces. We have concored not only the land but the sky and moon as well. But in this inffinant conquest of the world and achevement in mathmatics, science, society and the written word, have we destroyed a part of humanity? Have we let our linear, dominent left brain smuther our emotional, instinctual right?  Has “our insistance on cognative knowlage…robbed us of some of our capacity for being human?”

Modern, left brian, linear life is essential to society. It helps us communicate over distance, record inventory, keep  a timeline and speak. the left lets us “conceptualize… abstract words”(Shlain 16) and concepts. With out it ideas like freedom, justice, and economics society would not exist. Society is action and result oriented, but  this one lobe view of life is missing “being” and thus perhaps the meaning of life it self. 

The right has a lot to offer: the ability to apreciate beauty, authentic feeling-states like love and estacy, even faith (Shlain). The right brain give life depth that we, as people, ignore. The few individuals that embrace the oldest lobe, the great artists of time, have truly experiaced humanity and thruogh there works have expressed it. The only way to fully regain our right-brained humanity is to encourage unrestrained personal expression in the arts. Have you ever been transported by a piece of music, cried at a movie or even noticed someone telling a lie? That is the right brains subtle work and through those small instances humanity is slowly healing.    

More Than an Ant

There are millions of creatures dwelling on this planet, but one species seems to differentiate from the rest. That species is humans. We do not just rule over all the other foreign animals and living things because we have opposable thumbs; we dominate other existences because we have the ability to care, share emotions, rationalize, and we have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Having these unique abilities we separate ourselves from any other reptile, mammal, or fish inevitably making us human.

Although we possess these wonderful qualities, our desperate need to continuously find answers about the unknown has caused us to slowly lose our humanity over time. “Our insistence on cognitive knowledge may already have robbed us of some of our capacity for being human.” Focusing on nothing else but the discovery of something new has switched our brains way of thinking and functioning completely. Being so scientifically work driven our brains have learned to love technology and test tubes and become disconnected from nature. Maternal emotions and caring capabilities, whether directed towards nature or a friend, start to become lost. Once we lose part of what makes us who we are, we can no longer call ourselves entirely human. We can however call ourselves highly intelligent animals that have the ability to rationalize and will do anything to find the truth in everything around them. Again, that is not compassion or human as a whole. Can we get back to a state of emotion again, back to the right side of the brain? “The right brain’s feeling states are authentic.” (Schlain15). Is there any balance between both sides of the brains, the left and the right?

Humanity may be damaged, but it has not completely vanished. In order to regain one’s full humanity one must go back to the purest of all things: mother nature. Cities, technology, and science must all be left behind for the uncontaminated outdoors. We have to rediscover how to cherish other people in our lives. Nature will allow people to reconnect with what we all originally came from. The grasses and hills that bore us, we just choose to not remember. To be honored with the title of human again, it is our duty to remember.

Humanity - Lost Forever?

To be human scientifically means to be a Homo sapien. This is that a human is a being different from that of an animal or alien. However the Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary also indicates that the there is something more than physically different to being human. It says that human means “1. Of or characteristic of a person…” and humane means  “1. Having what are considered the best qualities of mankind; kind, tender...” (883-884). These definitions show that we as humans believe there is something more to being human than being in a human form. Humans have the unique characteristic to risk their life to save another and to feel the need to improve their life and the life of others.

Art captures the world around us. Some artists say that the purpose of their art is to inspire and capture the little things in life that others overlook.  To be an artist one must aspire to capture human interactions, nature, or human creations. The quote “Our insistence on cognitive knowledge may have already have robbed us of some of our capacity of being human” from The Creative Impulse shows a humans overwhelming need to create and improve everything. To be a success in America today one must become wealthy through being the best. But as we improve ourselves and strive to be the best we lose sight of the meaning of being humane and through this how to be human. We still hear stories of people risking their lives for others and of people improving the world for everyone but these become headlines in the news which often seems to undermine the action the person did.

Actions have become more for show and fame than for the people the actions are helping. In the excitements and meaningless improvements in our lives we as a community lose the sense of community and our personal communications along with the emotion it creates. We now communicate primarily without logical left-brain as “speech gave the left brain the edge to usurp the sovereignty of the mind from its elder twin” (Shlain 16). We have taken the emotion out of communicating when it is not entertainment.

 In the government the officials must promise the public many things that they can never do in order to win people over through their emotions. This causes our emotions to become a stumbling point rather than an asset. The officials on the other hand need to have or show little emotion because to us an emotional candidate is a weak candidate. This does come from human nature as shown by Shlain in The Alphabet Versus the Goddess when he says “Although the male paid a price for his relative isolation from his right-brain emotions, he gained the ability to shut out feelings that might otherwise distract him…” (17). The protector male lacks in emotion in order to become better protectors but today this has become a means to become influential in politics.

In today’s society one of the few ways to reconnect with nature is to go on a vacation. Vacations are now becoming more like our society so less people are connecting with nature. The vacations that help one to connect with nature are those in the mountains, in the woods, or by water where there is no theme park and few night lights to be distracted by. We will never regain our full humanity if we continue to take away the true nature of vacations. When we take our electronics on a trip we remain closed off to true emotional communication. We also lose the objective behind a vacation and may feel farther away from humanity than we did before the vacation. Trips of mercy and community service are maybe one of the best ways to, even just for a little while, regain our full humanity.

Some Tips

• Each blog post has to have its own original title. You cannot use titles used by other students.
• Put spaces between your paragraphs. Indentations don't seem to work.
• Each post must be between two and five paragraphs long. A paragraph is considered to be five to seven sentences long.
• I will provide you with some prompts, but there will be times that you have to gather your own thoughts for a blog post.
• The best blog posts make references to class texts (literary and visual) and class discussions.
• The tone of these posts should be somewhere between an analytical essay and a personal essay. It is okay to use first person.
• You will write two comments on posts written by other people. Each comment must be at least a paragraph in length.
• I will grade your posts and comments according to a rubric provided by the National Council of Teachers of English.
• On the day that posts and comments are due, I will hand out a sheet in which I need you to write down your real name, blog name, the EXACT title of your posts, and the EXACT date of your posts and comments. I need this information so that I can grade your posts and comments in a timely fashion.
• Remember that you are member of an educational community. Treat your community members with respect.