Being Human
What’s the point? This whole thing has been called “Point of Being” and has discussed plenty of apparently random philosophical concepts such as “being”, “doing”, and logic. But at some point we have to come down from the clouds and start talking about something concrete and useful. There’s no point of discussing concepts or ideals if we’re not going to use them for anything, so perhaps it is time to get to the point.
The point of “Point of Being” is human beings. Similar to anything that has or will be written, this phrase has a double meaning and one must think a bit instead of only pretending to know. Being human can be a thing, a person, but it can also be an action that means “to be[behave] humanly” (Wait, is that the same as humanely/humanitarian?). “Being” is the noun used for the existence, nature, or essence of a thing (e.g. “there is/are human/living/alien being[s]”) and/or the verb which affirms that something is [occurring or taking place] in fact or reality (e.g. “being happy”). Being human is not merely an issue of “being” but also of doing. That is why it was imperative to discuss the connection between being and doing in order to be sure that we understand each other. And now that we have a common base, let us ask ourselves something whose answer seems obvious but is not so easy to explain: Can a human being be inhuman?
That is the question that Point of Being will explore. Everyone ‘knows’ that a human being can be inhumane, but does that mean she/he is inhuman? To put it differently: Where do we draw the line between acting inhumanely and being inhuman? Where is the border between human and inhuman or between a human being inhuman and a non-human being human? Are inhuman and non-human actions/beings the same thing? All of these questions are hard and an easy answer is not possible if and when we truly understand the problem. That is why before we reach this point, we must once again establish a common knowledge of gender/type, language, and personal relations. Maybe in the end we will discover how it is that we know such an obvious answer about what separates human, inhuman and non-human. But maybe we’ll reach the conclusion that we don’t truly know what makes a human… human.
