What does it mean to be Human?
What does it mean to be human? No question could be deeper and
require more rational thinking. We were asked to submit a paper at the
beginning of this course answering this question, and now we are also asked to
write a final essay regarding the same question. My initial paper had covered
this question taking different perspectives, which I thought at that time
better since it is covering more aspects of the question. In fact, even though
that pluralism in the answer took different views that complete each other, it
also had kept me away from being deep dig into the reasons. However, I
mentioned some qualities that make what I call real human, groveling with God,
standing for liberty, and rejecting dictatorship. Throughout the course of the
class I learned that some philosophers have totally different opinion than what
I believe, which helped me in two ways, either to adopt a new opinion or to
strengthen my old opinion. Rousseau and Sigmund Freud were the two philosophers
whom I disagree with the most, I disagree with Rousseau in his theory of the
relationship of freedom and society which I believe the reason of our existence;
and with Freud in his opinion regarding God existence which I believe the cause
of humanity.
Speaking about freedom and its connection to society, I mentioned
names like Bashar Alasad and Adolf Hitler describing them as devils, because
they have lost their humanity when they stole people’s freedom and made them
slaves. So the need of being free and live with freedom of mind are the main
reasons of naming those people by the word devils. I have not said that clearly in my
initial essay, because I did not know that what I call freedom some
philosophers call slavery, and what I call messier and savagery they have
called freedom. - Rousseau says that people think they are free because they
have no masters over them, however; they are not because they still obey the
general will and community’s rules which made them slaves. And then he said
family is the only nature community, that do not make people surrender their freedom in order to get
certain benefits unlike other types of community.- I believe that
Rousseau is wrong here, because people cannot be slaves for something that
ensures the public interest, which effects their own interest and preservation
as a result. By surrendering some unreasonable desires that Rousseau called needs
-such as having no laws to follow or no social intercourse that might control
the person-, people will live their lives safely without fears about the future
or difficulties of time. However, if people were under the condition of the
free well, people who have crime obsession will fulfill their needs for
example. At the moment life will turn to be a war of all against all as Thomas
Hobbes described.
Rousseau had claimed that humans now are fallen creatures and no
longer as God created them, he said that humans were spoiled by the society
that they invented, and the only natural society is family; also he said that
people are born equal but the equality was corrupted by our lusts such as
marriage, romance, wealth, and education. Rousseau was not being realistic in
his argument, and he was pretending the perfectibility. First of all People are
not born equal, that is why you find some children walk before others, and some
start talking before others. This is why you find people with different body
abilities, and with different levels of intelligence. In fact, no human is
complete, which is the reason why people need each other to live. As children,
they cannot live without the help of their parents. And continues as adults, people cannot live
without marriage, love, and the help of each other that ensure them some needs
that the individual alone cannot gain. Therefore comes the need of a system of
relationships that ensure people’s needs, otherwise, humanity could have extinct
if people did not complete each other’s Shortage.
Moving to an important part of the initial paper, which was
groveling and obedience to God in order to be called human, otherwise the human
would lose his humanity to evilness. Sigmund Freud did not even believe in the
existence of God, so my argument will be rejected by him. He said that God is
wish-fulfillment, and it is just an illusion. Freud argued that the impression
of helplessness in childhood aroused the need for protection which was provided
by fathers, but this time got more powerful until people invented the myth of
God, so Freud is claiming that there is no God. There are several questions
should be asked here to examine if Freud is right or not. Why is there
something rather than nothing? Why do we exist? Why does earth exist? And why
there is universe rather than nothingness? Some opinions say that reality is
illusion, but wait! Descartes said “I think, therefor I am,” this statement
blows up that opinion, so since people can think and feel the real world, it is
not an illusion.
Other philosophers, and Freud is one of them, say that existence
existed itself, which mean reality would have exist before it existed. This
statement falls under the false statements because nothing can cause itself to
exist, and suppose that something created itself or caused itself to exist,
which mean that reality has existed before itself, which is nor rational and
could never happen. Furthermore, scientists believe that the universe has a
beginning –big bang theory- and what has a beginning could never be eternal. As
a result, all that guides us to the fact that there must be an eternal power
that has neither beginning nor end, which is God. And since God created people
on the earth, people should obey him and follow what he had sent to his
prophets, to achieve the goal of humanity which is developing the universe and
preparing for the afterlife.
In conclusion, to be human is to work for the benefit of all and
the preservation of the community, and never act against the rest to avoid
falling under beast category which contain selfish creatures. Human should
develop their relationships with each other, which make them able to complete
their shortage. Also to be human people should never forget their holy mission
that God sent them with, and should always be ready to meet God someday. To be
human is to follow God’s commends and be thankful to him, since he is the reason
of the existence of humanity.
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