Thread: Seriousness What is it that makes us human?
View Single Post
Old 04-24-2009, 06:38 PM   #20
slayda
Retired & reading more!
slayda ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.slayda ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.slayda ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.slayda ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.slayda ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.slayda ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.slayda ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.slayda ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.slayda ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.slayda ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.slayda ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
slayda's Avatar
 
Posts: 2,764
Karma: 1884247
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: North Alabama, USA
Device: Kindle 1, iPad Air 2, iPhone 6S+, Kobo Aura One
Well by DixieGal's definition, I guess I'm not human.

However I believe that zoologists define us as Homo sapiens or more commonly as humans, so by that definition, I'm a human.

You might as well ask is a tree a tree? or is a dog a dog? The term human is just a name we have more-or-less agreed to call ourselves. A more interesting question might be, "If you took a living human brain and encased it in a robot body with appropriate life support for the brain, would that entity be a human?"

And no a chimp is not a human. Neither is a dolphin, gorilla, dog, horse, etc., etc. They are classified differently.

I think that under the US legal system, a human can be considered as a non-person, and a legal entity, of some sorts, can be considered a person. However I don't think that addresses the purpose of the question.

Another question, "If you think I'm not a human, does that make me a non-human?" No. As Popeye said, "I yam what I yam." Your opinion doesn't change what I am, although it might change what my legal status is.

So whether I'm a human, I yam what I yam.
slayda is offline   Reply With Quote