What makes us human

It is with thanks to our imaginations, we have evolved as a society. We innovated and cultivated our visions of seemingly impossible goals into fantastical realities. In a nutshell, we are dreamers and these dreams have shaped our world. The funny part!? This characteristic may lead us to our own destruction, but it also may be our only hope for saving diverse life on Earth. Did you know, we are the only species on earth that does not have enough natural protection on our bodies, to shelter us from the elements.

All other animals have hair, foot pads, claws, beaks … to name a few. Us poor, delicate humans have naked skin, yes of course with a touch of hair, but our need to wear clothes to protect us from the cold, the sun and the wind makes us innately human.

I mean of course the occasional nudie run is the one exception here! How good does an old fashioned cry make you feel? Well, when watching The Titanic , not after having your heart ripped in two. Altruistic behavior is possible through personal suffering in the short term to reach long term benefits for everyone. What is it that we are ultimately striving for then? At the end of the day we all want to go to bed with the feeling that today was a good day.

This eudemonic contentment, the human flourishing, is what we all aim for. Maslow described this process as self-transcendence with Being-Values like truth, beauty or perfection.

Underneath that idea lays the assumption that we are driven by a curiosity for what might come and that we want to improve our environment for ourselves and others. Ideally in a synergetic way , where our actions are at the same time selfish and altruistic. In order for our social system to sustain over time, there are minimum requirements that have to be present within that system however.

The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development identifies these requirements as our capacity for self-organization and learning, being able to find common meaning and having trust as well as diversity. In other words we need to have Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose to thrive as human beings, as these are our intrinsic motivations. There is a universal nature, with universal needs and aspirations, but there are individual preferences, perspectives and solutions, highlighting the uniqueness of every individual.

Ultimately we want to make our own lives better and contribute to the advancement of mankind. As already mentioned, if our basic needs are not covered, we act selfishly. Moreover, the reason why we make so many irrational decisions, which are from an outside perspective quite obvious, is because we are not a rational, machine-like homo economicus, but make choices based on the behavior of our in-group. And since we only know the behavior of our cultural group , we cannot even be blamed.

We simply do not know better. By design we humans are a social being that gets our skills, beliefs and values from the cultural environment we are part of. But even if we are aware of alternative behaviors or solutions, we struggle to follow through with our own actions , especially if the alternative is not conforming to the perspective of the majority of our cultural group. Being seen as an outsider as a social being is the least desirable situation we could be in.

In addition, it is easier to imitate than to create something new. That is why we use imitation to reach economic success, when it actually reduces our genetic fitness or threatens the sustainability of our social system and planet.

We make irrational choices, because we want to fit in with our per-group. No matter how strong his animal tendency to yield passively to the attractions of comfort and well-being, which he calls happiness, he is still destined to make himself worthy of humanity by actively struggling with the obstacle that cling to him because of the crudity of his nature. Evolution and thus our genes determine what we can become, whereas the socio-economic environment we are in brings out behaviors that match the skills, beliefs and values of that cultural group.

We are not a homo economicus that makes rational decisions like machines. Instead we are constantly struggling with defining our own social identity, reaching uniqueness and freedom, while at the same time not wanting to be seen as an outsider.

Our thrive for being virtuous and doing the right thing, based on what we believe and value, is constantly challenged by our need for social belongingness and fitting in with the opinion of the majority. However, we are able to make conscious decisions and follow through with our actions, fighting our own nature of instincts despite the external circumstances.

It is our moral obligation to make decisions and direct humanity into a direction that are on the long term beneficial for everyone, even if it involves personal suffering in the short term.

Our guiding principle is the effect we have on other people, a strategy of empathy, to reach our own goals and simultaneously help other people reach theirs as well. The authors have collected scientific perspectives that spread new light on the classic discussion if humans are the product of nature or nurture. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Currently you have JavaScript disabled. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page.

Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. To respond on your own website, enter the URL of your response which should contain a link to this post's permalink URL. Your response will then appear possibly after moderation on this page. Want to update or remove your response? Update or delete your post and re-enter your post's URL again.

Learn More. Home » Blog » Awareness » What makes us human? Evolution When defining a universal human nature the obvious starting point is to look at our ancestry. If you like this post, feel free to share it since sharing is caring.

Leave a comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Because human beings are highly social animals, they strive to understand one another and to contribute their individual knowledge to a joint pool, which promotes more rapid cultural evolution. In this way, unlike other animals, each human generation is more culturally developed than preceding generations.

Drawing on research in neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary biology, in his book, "The Storytelling Animal," Jonathon Gottschall delves into what it means to be an animal that relies so uniquely on storytelling. He explains what makes stories so important: They help us to explore and simulate the future and test different outcomes without having to take real physical risks; they help to impart knowledge in a way that is personal and relatable to another person; and they encourage pro-social behavior, since "the urge to produce and consume moralistic stories is hard-wired into us.

Suddendorf writes this about stories:. Thanks to their unique memory and ability to acquire language skills and write, humans around the world, from the very young to the very old, have been communicating and transmitting their ideas through stories for thousands of years, and storytelling remains integral to being human and to human culture. Defining what makes humans human can be tricky as more is learned about the behavior of other animals and fossils are uncovered that revise the evolutionary timeline, but scientists have discovered certain biochemical markers that are specific to humans.

One factor that may account for human language acquisition and rapid cultural development is a gene mutation that only humans have on the FOXP2 gene , a gene we share with Neanderthals and chimpanzees, that is critical for the development of normal speech and language. A study by Dr. Ajit Varki of the University of California, San Diego, found another mutation unique to humans in the polysaccharide covering of the human cell surface.

Varki found that the addition of just one oxygen molecule in the polysaccharide that covers the cell surface differentiates humans from all other animals. Humans are both unique and paradoxical. While they are the most advanced species intellectually, technologically, and emotionally—extending human lifespans, creating artificial intelligence, traveling to outer space, showing great acts of heroism, altruism and compassion—they also have the capacity to engage in primitive, violent, cruel, and self-destructive behavior.

Mariner Books, Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads.

Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors.

Share Flipboard Email. Lisa Marder. Lisa Marder is an artist and educator who studied drawing and painting at Harvard University. She is an instructor at the South Shore Art Center in Massachusetts when she is not working on her own art. Featured Video. Cite this Article Format. Marder, Lisa. What Makes Us Human? Fallacies of Relevance: Appeal to Authority. Hypostatization Fallacy: Ascribing Reality to Abstractions.