On the value of being human

Today we talked about what it meant to be human. In Life Extreme Ronnel talks about how dogs can identify each other and how she wanted to be a part of that. Maybe it's the way we feel connected with other humans. There was talk of having a mother. More talk of bananas and monkeys and sign language but ultimately we didn't reach any hard facts about what it was to be human. And I'm pressed to think there are few hard facts to be reached on the subject.

What I find much more interesting is what human beings are tending to do with said humanity. We seem to cherish it, if we didn't why would we go to such great lengths to identify it's boundaries. But if we do cherish it so, why do we also have this burning desire to change, alter, and in effect kill it?

With all this talk of futuristic possibilities and inevitable progressions like nanobots injecting entire new languages into our brains and reconfiguring the atom and genetically altering the human being, it seems we have very little value for the original human being. I have to ask, who cares what makes us human? We obviously don't; we're doing everything in our power to get away from it. We call it progress and in a sense it is, but if technology does take the reins and biology takes a back seat, we are faced with the possibility of losing the human race forever.

Yet is it not human to want to be better? So then are we not being better and more true humans by altering ourselves to be better?

My point, though sloppily presented, is that we do not know what makes us human. I do not know, and to be honest, it does not matter to me. I feel good or tired or hungry, that's all i know. What should be examined is how humans treat what is perceived to be their defining characteristics. Why do we claim to cherish humanity if we only seek to alter it?