A Human Being

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A little philosophical question:

What defines a human being, what makes me, you, the other 6 billion people on this planet unique??

 

what makes us unique is 0.5% of our genes.

You could well ask "what defines a cat?"

People may think we are the most complex being ruling over all other animals and creatures. But I find this is not the case.

Humans are the only animal that have grasped the concepts of grouping together and constructing things to make our lives easier -often at the expense othe other animals though.

Beliefs, weather, family, friends, thoughts, aims, achievents, love, suffering, wealth. These help define who we are, what makes us 'Human' perhaps. There are many arguments on what make us human. Some may say how we were created, some would say how we evolved, some would say how we live.

This should be an interesting topic

 

People talk. Cats meow

 

Just because we don't understand how cats talk doesn't mean they don't - that's like saying French don't talk because I don't understand them

 

You didn´t quit get me 8people, so I reform the question:

What makes me, you, another person unique from the other 6 billion humans?

 

A soul.

/me runs for cover as the tomatoes and other rotten fruit are hurled at him.

 

I personally don't believe in the existence of a soul so I disagree with you, C'Jakob

What makes us unique is our mind and way of thinking/character as well as appearance that no other person can have. It consists of an extremely enourmous number of random (?) factors that make it impossible for two people to end up with the same combination.

That's what I think

 

I imagine if we studied two of any other species, we would find plenty of differences, despite the fact that they are of the same species. We could look for differences between any two members of any specides, and they would all be different. I think that it is only because we ourselves are human we notice all the difference between human and human.

 

So picture this, if we copied a human being, as in physical as in mind.

Would it then still be the same person?

 

If an extremely enormous number of random factors being coincident is impossible, then evolution by the same argument is impossible.

 

I agree with C'Jakob.

/me hurles tomatoes, rotten fruit, spoiled eggs and cowdy at anyone who disagrees

 

How is an extremely large number of random factors being coincident impossible? It is just as possible as any other set of extremely large number of random factors. Say I roll a die, d12 to be precise. There is only a 1 out of 12 chance that i could get a 3. Does that mean 3 is impossible? There is also only a 1 out of 12 chance i could get a 7. So if there is a 1 out of 99^(99^(99^99)) chance that any given random thing could happen, then each given random thing has the same chance of happening. It is only a matter of happenstance (coincidence) that thing #whatever happened.

As to the topic- what makes us individual is the fourth dimension. Even if we could plausibly clone the mind and body, two individuals could not occupy the exact same space at the same time, and therefore could not hear the same sounds, see the same sights, or at least not quite the same. From their inception, they would already differ if only on the basis of location. From here the number of divergences could only grow. I am an individual because of everything I've done. My genetics, my mind, all of those things can be plausibly copied, but no one has done has or can do the same things I do. Ever.

Amon-Ra

 

Memory makes us unique. Basically, I agree with Amon-Ra.

[ January 03, 2003, 04:55: Message edited by: TheBlackRose ]

 

Beer.

Beer makes us unique.

NO one else on the planet makes beer. Certainly not in kegs, and certainly not cold filtered.




Beer is the answer you're looking for.

 

Well, beer and cheap wine coolers. And feeling the need to add 'toys' to stimulate sex. How many squirrels are there that you know of that go up to the squirrly that they think is a hottie and say "Hey sweetcakes. How's about you plug that puppy in and we'll see what we can do with it?"

But, to get back on topic, I have to agree with the idea that each person's memory and life experience make them unique. No two people go through exactly the same experiences at exactly the same time for their entire lives, and that's what seperates one person from another. I also feel that's why people who tend to have similar life experiences and memories tend to feel connected to one another. And that's why many of the truly close and loving relationships that I have known of have two people that have gone through many of the same things. It's the closest you can get to being the same person.

 

Two cloned children, a nanosecond old, had no time to hear, see, feel, know. So basically their mind is the same in the first nanosecond. In that time, are they the same?
"No" you say, so their is one difference, maybe something the society refers to as "soul", or maybe the really are the same but your unconcious tells you different because your logic tells you otherwise

[ January 03, 2003, 13:01: Message edited by: Morgoth ]

 

genetical, social, cultural
the way we grow up
the way we are moulded by our parents, teachers, friend, idol, religion
everyone is a bit different right after birth, it is the what we experienced during lives made we unique...

 

We are featherless bipeds.

Socrates refuted that definition of humanity by throwing a plucked chicken into the room of the "philosopher" promoting that idea.

 

Memory does make a person unique, but I think that a lot of people do underestimate the power of nature over nurture. Science has shown that genetics does contribute a huge part of our behavior and personality even with memories and experiences. Of course, time does change every person, but I don't think it can be taken to a universal extent.