What does 'being' human really mean?

Question

As a species on this planet do we meet our responsibilty to it and to the rest of life?
Or are we all to selfish?
If we are selfish thats ok.
Can we admit it and grow out of it?

What i mean by, if we are selfish its ok, is, its ok to admit it.
Not be ashamed or judge the fact.
If its a fact then it is.
Lets be clear not sentimental or emotional.
Many would deny it! Or rationalise it.
Which is avoidance of the fact.
This question leads naturally to ,what is the origin of self ish ness?
I hope im not pushing the point to much!

Answer 1

Exploitation of the masses, Human quest on planet earth is to consume.

Answer 2

You mean, what is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything? I have Ur answer. 42. LOL, not really. Don't start feeling small. Don't question the universe too much (the game's not half as fun if you know all the rules). To be human means that U are part of a species. Not much else. How you live your life and what ppl think of it is really up to u and them. U can't think for them and they can't think for you. Realize that as a species, we do not think alike. At all. Two ppl can have the same thought, but it will always be in a different way. We hold no real responsibilities. Selfish is what you make it. Remember this when you start to think too much: it takes time for every sensation to reach our brain. A short time, like a fraction of a millisecond or something, but it's time. Therefore, everything we have knowledge of is in the past. Slightly. I take a great comfort in thinking in this light, because It makes me feel that everything is in it's place. I already happened. And we have no concept of reality. That's fine with me! Means that I don't have to deal with it! (don't think this way all the time or Ur brain will hurt. It happens to me all the time).

Answer 3

Err, selfishness is not exactly a human trait; it's been there in almost all animals. What is perticularly stupid and annoying is greed, and I think that is what we need to overcome.

Let me explain. No other animal other than the human being "hoards" stuff. A bird will build a nest and forget about it the minute its young are out of the house. Not so with humans. We must accumulate wealth for our next forty generations to be something close to satisfied. (And then some more)

This hoarding carries forward to other things. People buy books that they never will read (like me), others remember trivia that they can easily live without, and some people will buy clothes till they can't wear any dress twice because there's so many of them.

What's even more silly is that some people are not even interested in the stuff unless someone else is interested in it too. Example: no one was interested in buying green clothes (say) this year, but a fashion expert says he is interested in that color and lo and behold every one in town wants green colored clothes.
Like this fad of spirituality these days; no one was interested in it a decade ago but everyone thinks it's damn important now.

Sometimes I look at people and think we are so like the monkeys; stealing stuff from others that we don't need and don't know how to use and then thinking ourselves very smart for it.

About the responsibility thing, yeah we have a responsibility; we must learn to live and let live.

Answer 4

human is a word scientists use to describe us. it has nothing to do with 'how' we behave or what we become.

if someone has an outburst and punches a door in and says " i'm only being human" it is not true. not everyone punches in doors. so what does that make the non door punchers?? non human?? all this makes this 'human' is angry. we are not the only species capable of anger.

if someone walks an elderly person across the street and says" i'm only being human" it is wrong. not everyone walks the elderly across the street. so what does this make the non elderly walkers?? non human?? all this makes this 'human' is a nice human. we are not the only species capable of kindness.

so all 'human' means is we walk upright, can think ahead, we use all our fingers and all the other scientific jargon. it is a scientific term.

Answer 5

It is said, the human race was given Earth to take care of. It took a long time for the torch to be passed to somebody. We humans beat out the neanderthals, so we've got it. Humans have never really had to be responsible for the planet yet and even if we blow everything up, Earth will just keep clogging along and nurture will come up with a new keeper of life. Here is where things may get a little interesting. Humans are appointed to take care of the rest of life; however, life has always taken care of itself before and will after the human raceis gone. So here is what I think it all boils down to. As humans, we are letting things go and it could spell our own demise and only a handful of species will continue after we are all gone. So, wouldn't it be MORE selfish to care for life on the planet just to extend the life of the human race?

Best Regards
Jon

Answer 6

The meaning of being human is almost indefinable dont you think? Generally speaking,we have bascially evolved into being programmed to behave accordingly to what society deems is acceptable. The majority go along with the majority. We have our clique groups; maybe that sstems from our roots as 'cave' men and women? Psychologically speaking, the question is asked: what is normal? What is selfish? As a species on this planet, I dont think that alot of people care about their responsibility to it; however, some do. But the way in which we have evolved and the way we live our 'modern lives' , it seems that we will never be able to achieve a duty to our environment. Most people would like a utopian ideal, but we will never achieve this either. We seem to be utilitarian. We can admit that we are selfish.....Grow out of it? I dont think that we will see this in our life time. Is it too late? Being human means many different things to people. Wow this is a fascinating subject!!! I simply cannot give a short answer to such a diverse question. I dont think anyone has a complete and definate answer, there are so many ramifications regarding us convoluted humans. Its amazing how we are all built the same and look basically alike, yet we differ in so many ways.

Answer 7

I don't think we meet our responsibility but we damn try to make our world a better place. Otherwise, humans would have been extinct or diminished a long time ago.

Selfishness is an ailment we all are trying to deal with like obesity, diabetes, depression. . .

Admission of our trait, as in selfishness, is a good thing. It's OK because it liberates us from guilt. However, it doesn't necessarily make us a good person if we continue to hold on to that trait. Selfishness is basically bad and eventually nothing good will come out it.

Growing out of it is simply a matter of decision. We have the gift of free will to be selfish or to be self-giving.

Answer 8

Humans are really just very intelligent animals. We are still animals just the same. Selfishness is a product of our survival instincts, survival of the fittest. The problem is we have evolved to the point that we can have devastating or amazing impact on our surroundings. With that power comes responsibility that is often at odds with the selfish impulses.

It is ok to be a little selfish, and if we do grow out of it we had better hope that we never need to rely on our instincts any more.

Answer 9

We are a very selfish species. As the most intelligent species of this planet we do have a responsibilty to look after our home and all this lives on this rock.

We can't even take care of our own kind, so how are we expected to take care of planet. We create things and carry out ideas without any thought to the consequences. We simply pile more dirt on the garbage we make.

Taking care of our own needs and wishes involves more than just looking after yourself. I admit I am selfish at times, but I don't feel good about it if it effects others.

We can only be human and nothing else. Being human means to take responsibility and care for everything that makes us human and everything that allows us to be human.

Answer 10

"Being" human, means different things in different cultures. Being human, even means different things, in the same communities, sometimes. If we go by moral codes, then anything that allows us to live in a close-knit community means being aware of, and on guard against, violating the community's peaceful pursuits. An individual's rights in the community, sometimes, takes a back seat when you decide to do something that affects the whole of the community. Communities make laws to guide us through this process, and sometimes that means giving up some perceived individual rights and liberties we enjoyed in the past, when we were a more open society. I think that is why urban areas have the appeal to a lot of people, less structured laws and rules than in the city they choose to work in, but not necessarily live in. The problem with that is, it grows too, and begins passing more laws designed to let all get along together in a denser community.
This may, or may not, address your question head on, but I think it explains why some never can, or will, be able to just get along, and act "human" to others. A lot of people just resent having others mandate how they should act.
...jj

Answer 11

Ouuu, I just love "ponderables"...!!!

Yes, like any species, we are selfish.
Let us take that as a fact.
We are also at the top of the food chain.
This leads to our responsibilty to the bottom rungs on the ladder.
Being the caretakers of this planet,
it behooves of us to set our petty selfishness aside for a time.
If we do not, we may indeed wake up one morning and find that the world that we're intended to care for has gotten it's own dose of selfishness and has now taken over. The world can rebuild itself after destruction....the human body (after too much) cannot.
Let us think about that. The world rebuilds. Humans just think they can. Who's really in charge?