Kirryuin's Diary

28/12/2016

I have lots of questions all the time. Most of the time, I an mentally trying to answer many questions. One question that doggedly chased me to sleep, with no apparent answer, is "What is a human being?"
Now, I am sure many of you are asking yourselves, "What is this person talking about? You know damn well what a human being is."
And my strange, yet clear answer, is that I don't. Who decided that a race of bipedal mammals would be called 'human beings'? Who decided that one who fits a certain set of characteristics is defined as a 'human being'? Basically, who decided that we are human beings, and what set of definitions was used to identify a human being?
Please don't say God or whatever omnipotent yet painfully absent being defined that for us. He is not a source I can comfortably check up on. I thought about this a whole lot more than I thought I should, so I decided that it's time to put it out here. As one of the thoughts that define me. 
Ok, so shall we begin to try and decode what definitely makes us a human being?

Many of us agree that our physical disposition is what defined our human status. I would agree too, but I hear of serial murderers and the like dehumanized, people always saying, "They're not human." See, I used to just write that off. It's just an expression to show how inhuman their actions were. Then I realized. Their actions were inhuman. So by some definition, they have crossed the boundary of being human, yet they still maintain their 'human' physical being.
The first identifiable definition of a human being is one who does not kill or hurt one of their own without an acceptable reason. 
Ok, so that's something. We got something. Now we have to work from here.

There are some other human beings who kill or hurt others in the name of self-defense. They can be excused because their lives were in danger. The second definition of a human is that they protect their lives, even  if it means taking another. Self-preservation. Ok. Another one.

But then there's a paradox. In the name of self-preservation, there have been many atrocities that have been performed. Take, for example, the tragedy of the Holocaust. It all started with a short man with a rather strange mustache blaming life-threatening problems (poverty, starvation, general decrease of happiness in life) on a small group of people. This is the excuse people used in justifying their 'inhuman' actions against the Jews. (I put 'inhuman' in like this to highlight is so that we don't just forget the fact that those things were inhuman. It was not in defense of the disgusting actions of the people who did these things.) So, to 'preserve' their 'lives', humans 'dehumanized' other human beings so that it would be easier to blame them and commit atrocities against the group of 'dehumanized' humans. 
The third definition. Human beings tend to shove a small group of themselves down so they can stand higher.

Oh, humanity. Sometimes you embarrass me. Ok, let's forge on. OH!! I am getting this stuff off the top of my head. I haven't refined these thoughts nearly as much as I should have . For that I am sorry, but whatever. That's irrelevant. Y'all can refine them from me right?(　'∀｀)

So humans seem to have a superiority complex. Having something below them always seems to make us happy. (not for ukes tho. So I suppose they are a special case>.>)  I don't know why. I wish I did. But right there is another important definition. Humans pursue happiness. They pursue happiness relentlessly. It's ok, I suppose. (I just wonder why. Why do we pursue happiness? Where did these feeling of needing to be happy even come from? But a discussion for another day.)
They pursue happiness, but never seem to find their happiness completely. They may find this happiness, and it may last them a few years or more, then it doesn't cut it anymore. There is some happiness that is eternal I suppose. I can't find any examples, except the couples that stay together forever, but I'm positive there is some regrets here and there. Which leads us to the last thing for today.
Humans are insatiable, and they are full of regret.

But!!!!! That's just my bullshit thoughts. Don't take them as gospel truth. Please don't.

I still think that the only real definition for a human being is to have known and understood every human that was, every human that is and every human that will be, because we all very different, and naturally, many of us fall out of these tiny definitions that have been placed for us. I suspect that a set definition for a human being really doesn't exist, because 'humans' all vary. There is no one definition, and I suppose that that's fine too.

This entry is going to be one of the very few that do not come from an emotional place. It is a purely critical thinking entry, and I like those the most. Unfortunately, I also happen to be a very emotional human being, but whatever. Have a wonderful day!