What Does It Mean to Be Human?

Man has lived on Earth for millions of years with organisms that have preceded man for billions of more years. Yet we are the superior beings? Humans ,with our shorter existence, are more capable, intelligent, and evolved? With that said Man has wondered what does it mean to be human? Is it certain actions that humans take or specific characteristics that are human nature? Overall the question I am tracking throughout history is what does it mean to be Human and eventually sharing my own conclusion with you.

To begin this philosophic quest i choose to begin with one of the early instigators of philosophy, Socrates. In answering the question Socrates divides Man into three characteristics that are unique to humans. The first part of man is Reason. Socrates says that Reason is the governing faculty in Man, in other words Reason is the brain. The Second part of Man is Spirit. Spirit is governed by Reason and represents Man's need for faith and religion. Lastly the final part of Man in Desire. Both Reason and Spirit working together, govern the appetites or desires. The temperate man is therefore, one whose three parts are in harmony and where the intellect rules. Socrates ideas are at the least a fantastic base for future philosophies, but some of his conclusions seem less reasonable to me. For example if Reason controls Desire then Man would act reasonably, logically, or at least rationally. This is not the case because humans are naturally irrational creatures. Everyday humans do things that do not make any sense but they do it anyway. Whether its a white lie that is easily caught or the murder of an innocent. In this aspect Socrates philosophy is not as applicable today as it might of been in his time.

Moving on to the religious era of Augustine. This man came to the conclusion that Human beings are the ultimate God seekers. We are always seeking something to fulfill that void in our life, the hunger for meaning and understanding. The idea that because Man thinks about God and searches for meaning has made all the difference between animals and humans. Augustine's ideas i have some disagreements with. first i believe that churches and organized religions are corrupt systems that use the bible or koran as a shield to new ideas and realities. Though the philosophical search for meaning and understanding is a definite characteristic that sets man apart. The ability to think outside of the box, abstract thinking, is incredibly influential to the meaning of being human.

After Augustine we shall hear from Aquinas. For Thomas Aquinas, the human is a paradox. As "rational animals", we are the only species that straddles the divide between matter and spirit. We do not just inhabit the material world - we interpret it, discern order within it, derive meaning from it and act decisively upon it. Our intellects transcend their material confines with a unique freedom and imagination.Again this is characteristics of higher order thinking that along with Augustine is very important to differentiating humans and animals.

To quickly follow Thomas is the famed Machiavelli.For Machiavelli, people are compelled to obey purely in consideration to the superior