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.
Does cognitive knowledge really separate us from each other? I understand the point that boiling down and translating the world into writing distances us from nature but writing and the sharing of ideas seem to bring humans together. take this blog for example (pretend it's not mandatory) we are people discussing the same topic together all with views to share. We seem to have a pathological need to share what's in our minds and writing gives us another vehicle of communication. Another vehicle to express the linear stories to tell. Story telling does require some measure of organization and logic to be told. can one communicate complex ideas with out words which a re cognitive by nature. Words boil down thought and let thoughts be shared and some words are needed to tell the stories to bring us together.
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