Being Human...

So last Thursday, I went to a talk hosted by the Portsmouth Skeptics called ‘What does it mean to be human?’ given by philosopher, blogger, author and public speaker Jonathan MS Pearce. I’d not heard of him before but saw the event on facebook and was intrigued by the introductory blurb, which read:

What does it mean to be human? What is personhood? These are questions that have interested philosophers for a long time. But it is also important for morality and politics. How does it affect abortion or animal rights? When did we start being human? And what does it mean for the future? Jonathan MS Pearce looks at this from a philosophical angle and probably asks more questions than gives answers…

Well he certainly did! It was one of those talks where you wish you could press pause every few minutes and take a moment to think and reflect on what he’d just said, but instead the next few minutes were full of another round of philosophical questions and concepts and paradoxes! He started off by saying you can reduce what ‘being human’ is all about down to each person’s unique DNA – and what he was really interested in exploring was the whole concept of ‘personhood’ – what it means to be a ‘person’.

He started with a brief but fascinating history of philosophy and went on to explore a wide range of different theories about the nature and origins of personhood (which I’m afraid I cannot remember well enough to summarise in any meaningful way here I'm afraid!).

In the end, he suggested that, although the concept of personhood cannot easily be defined, there are certain principles which most people would agree constitute what it means to be a person, such as language (spoken and written), consciousness, rational thought, a sense of self, free will (a whole other minefield in itself), the ability to reflect, and so on. He then suggested that the problem with this kind of loose definition is that at what point do humans first acquire these abilities (e.g. a newborn baby cannot talk so are they not a person?!!) and can we lose our personhood later on in life through dementia or other mental impairment...?

It was a really fascinating and thought-provoking evening and since Thursday I’ve been reflecting on what I think it means to be human, which I approach in a slightly different way as a Christian, as a person ‘of faith’. In my view, a human being is more than just the sum of their component parts – we are mind, body and spirit – regardless of whether we believe in any kind of God/divine energy/eternal creator or not. We are deeply complex and deeply emotional beings, with the capacity to create the most amazing pieces of art, literature, music and expression. We have intuition and ‘gut feelings’ and the ability to take great risks in order to push the very boundaries of human achievement.

We are also capable of making huge sacrifices for others in the name of love and even capable of altruistic acts for complete strangers, all in aid of some ‘greater good’. It’s that unconditional and sacrificial love, that capacity for grace and compassion and wisdom and altruism that makes us human. There is something much greater, much deeper, much more soulful that connects each of us together and connects us with something greater than all of us. It’s impossible to prove or measure or define. But it’s that that defines us as human beings.