Being human being and philosophizing about what it even means to be human, I did some research approximately two years ago. How is humanity explained in Wikipedia and dictionaries, what did philosophers in the past had to say about this, etc. Today, there are still humans among us, who have forgotten that we are human beings and not gods, wizards or superhero’s.
Humanity
On Wikipedia I did read this:
Humanity is the human species, and may also refer to: Humanity (virtue)
Humanity is a virtue associated with basic ethics of altruism derived from the human condition.
Humanity differs from mere justice in that there is a level of altruism towards individuals included in humanity more so than the fairness found in justice. That is, humanity, and the acts of love, altruism, and social intelligence are typically individual strengths while fairness is generally expanded to all. Peterson & Seligman in Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification (2004) class humanity as one of six virtues that are consistent across all cultures.
“humanity, and the acts of love, altruism, and social intelligence are typically individual strengths while fairness is generally expanded to all”.
“One of six virtues that are consistent across all cultures.”
My perception: Humanity may be regarded as typically individual strengths, I do believe we all possess these strengths. In addition, no matter where you were born and raised, you can not use ‘your culture’ as an excuse to be inhumane.
Human Rights
Human rights are moral principles or norms that describe certain standards of human behavior, and are regularly protected as legal rights in municipal and international law. They are commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights “to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being”, and which are “inherent in all human beings” regardless of their nation, location, language, religion, ethnic origin or any other status. They are applicable everywhere and at every time in the sense of being universal, and they are egalitarian in the sense of being the same for everyone. They are regarded as requiring empathy and the rule of law and imposing an obligation on persons to respect the human rights of others, and it is generally considered that they should not be taken away except as a result of due process based on specific circumstances, for example, human rights may include freedom from unlawful imprisonment, torture and execution.
This is, what I notice, is often forgotten. As humans we have fundamental rights, regardless of nation, location, language, religion, ethnic origin or any other status.
Being Human Being
I also write articles about humanity and human rights, however, maybe it is more important to look into the words human being. In the average dictionary, human being is described as;
A man, woman, or child of the species Homo sapiens, distinguished from other animals by superior mental development, power of articulate speech, and upright stance.
What strikes me personally is the word ‘superior’. Because we are the only species, that knows it knows (Leen Mees) and we evolved mentally different as other animals (yes, you and me are animals too), that doesn’t mean we are ‘superior’.
Human beings thrive better together as a group and that is a fact we should not forget either.
We have an obligation to respect human rights of others, our mental abilities signify our responsibility to care for others. We can blame everybody for all what is going wrong with regards to humanity. However…
Humanity is the human species.
Let’s start with being human beings again.
