Being A Human And What Is The Humanity Of Humanness

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Humans may be one of the most complex species on this earth thus far. We are the only known species who contemplates their existence so deeply and writes novels worth of work on it. But what exactly does it mean to be a human and how is our humanness defined? For centuries philosophers have written countless works on what they believe makes a person truly humane and how we differentiate between those who are “bad” and those who are “good” humans. In a world that is so subjective and that has so many opinions, routes, and options this may be one of the hardest concepts to define.
The word humane itself is defined as “having or showing compassion”. In this case it would mean that being a humane person is being able to show kindness towards others or feeling empathetic towards their feelings. Many great philosophers have argued what they believe make a person humane and exploring their beliefs and theories can help us come to a conclusion of our own.
Confucius believed that a person's humaneness came from how disciplined they are as a human being and how disciplined they were at wanting to be good human beings. His teachings say that in order to understand a situation we must thoroughly think things through, and try to understand why we must act the way we do before we reach a decision ( Bonevac, Phillips- page 39, paragraph 1). But before a person can make a decision and have true understanding they must acquire knowledge. They must have basic knowledge of the world as well as knowledge of tradition and knowledge of proper social behavioral rules (Bonevac, Phillips- page 39, paragraph 1). According to Confucius the superior person does the right thing in a situation because it is right, not for his or her own personal gain (Bone...

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...darkness that lives within, and that in order to be virtuous we must suppress that darkness and let the light of knowledge and discipline guide us. I however believe that we must do both. We are born into this world kind and soft and must learn to let go of hatred and negativity that may also live within us, and that we may also acquire through the cruelties in life. But in order to do so we must also learn how to to it and gain that knowledge. None of us are born knowing all there is to know in the world, and there are certain things we must learn and practice, such as being kind and knowing that money does not bring one happiness. We learn these things through our experiences as well as through our teachers, parents, and peers. Knowledge is power and the more you know about the world around you, the better your potential is to becoming a truly good human being.

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