The Thinking Sapling

In a recent class, my professor posed a question for us to take home and wrestle with: what makes us human? Looking at my recent reflections, I’ve been circling around this thought for sometime now, but I never quite addressed this question directly.

Naturally, I ended up spending an entire afternoon trying to wrangle my answer into something vaguely coherent. I’m rather happy with the answer I sent to my friends for discussion, so I’d like to preserve it here.

There was definitely a lot of inspiration from Heidegger’s work, and this framework will heavily argue for care as the fundamental building block for existence with my twist for defining humanity. But like most thoughts from a philosophical amateur, I suspect I’ve subconsciously inherited most of it from somewhere.

Anyhow, without further ado, here was the answer I texted my peers.

What makes us human?

Short answer: care and concern for the world and meaning.

Full answer:

1) Human vs Non-sentient Objects

Both humans and objects exist within a world shaped by a past they didn’t choose. Neither a rock nor a human can decide where they are at this moment. Our location, emotions, and memories are already there when we wake up.

But unlike a rock, we might wish to be somewhere else. We worry about our loved ones. Unlike a computer, we don’t just process information. We think and reflect because we care about what happens. Our thoughts aren’t neutral computations; they’re expressions of concern. We care, and that care gives meaning to the world around us. This concern is what makes us sentient.

2) Human vs Other Sentient Beings

Of course, other sentient beings, like animals, also exist in a world they didn’t choose. Many show care, for example, a mother protecting her young, or an animal grieving. But we still see human caring as unique.

As a society, we’ve learned to identify certain kinds of care as humane. These are forms of concern, like empathy, grief, love, and hope. When someone “gets it,” we feel a sense of solidarity, like we’re speaking the same language.

And when people act outside those bounds, through cruelty or apathy, we call it inhumane or even monstrous. So, to be human is not just to care, but to care in ways that align with the emotional and ethical responses we expect of one another.

So, to conclude briefly, to be sentient is to care about the world you’re thrown into. To be human is to care in a way we’ve come to call humane.

This is probably not the final word, and I am bound to change my mind about something. But this feels rather honest at the moment and provides a great checkpoint for later musing.