What It Is To Be Human :: essays research papers

What It Is To Be HumanThe torso is socially constructed and in this piece of music we explore the various andever-changing constructions of the body, and thus of the embodied self......The one word, body, may therefore signify very different realities and perceptionsof reality.....(Synnot 1992, 43)It has been said that in club to go steady life and society, we as nation must first understand ourselves. Who argon we as a people? Who argon we asindividuals? Who are we as humans? These questions all present themselves whendiscussing a topic much(prenominal) as this. I believe that it is indeed important to askquestions much(prenominal) as these, and also as important to answer them. All of this assuming of course, that there is one specific answer. My problem begins here,in that I do not believe that there is one defined answer to these questions.As you will clear, many "great philosophic minds" have different views and beliefsrelating to these questions, and it is my contrast to sort through these differentbeliefs and discover...... What it is to be human     It seems that for ages the human body has been studied and inspected.However, literal "inspection" only takes us so far. As humans, we all know thatthere are parts of our "being" that are intangible. Take thoughts, dreams, andthings of the like. We know they exist, yet they are unable to be inspectedscientifically (to any valuable degree at least). The distinction betweenbeliefs begins here. How one views this intangible side of life with respect tothe tangible, is the factor that defines ones beliefs.     There are several ways in which one may view the body. A dualist is onewho views the body and mind, or tangible and intangible, as two fall apartintities existing together to form one being. The principle of "Cogito, ergosum," or in english, "I think, therefore I am." The "I" meaning the mind, and"I am&qu ot meaning the body. (Synnott 1992, 92) The tangible side of the personbeing bounce of course, by the laws of biomechanics and gravity, and theintangible being bound by nothing further the laws of reasoning.".....the body, from its nature, is always divisible and the mind is completelyindivisible." (Descartes 1995, 70)     Like anything, dualism comes with its pros and cons. Many peoplechoose to believe in the idea of dualism because of its truths. Obviously, wecan all see that indeed, the body is real and tangible, and that the mind on theother hand is the intangible, although it withal is real. Likewise, as evidence ofdualism we have undoubtedly felt the physical as well as the non-physical.