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12A
DAVID, Ayla Marie Megan M. 24 September 2022
1 - Reflection # 1

READING #1: What Does It Mean to Be Human? (Joel M. Charon)

1. How similar or different do the disciplines – Natural Science, Philosophy, Psychology, and Sociology – define
what a human being is?

Some of the disciplines take on a logical and clear approach to defining what a human being is.
Politicians, for example, base this on one's citizenship, religion, ethinic group, gender, etc. Religious leaders
base this on the point of conception or the time when a fetus can survive on its own. Meanwhile biologists
(under natural science) define this as the time when the fertilization of an egg cell is complete. Other
disciplines differ by relying on more subjective and abstract ways of defining humans. Philosophers believe
that the presence of one’s mind – ability to think, decide for oneself, and come up with their own thoughts – is
what defines a human. Psychologists use a somewhat similar reasoning wherein the human intelligence –
ability to do critical thinking, solve complex problems, and understand & differentiate emotions – is what
makes a human human. Lastly, sociologists say that this is determined by one’s ability to use tools and
symbols to communicate. All these last 3 disciplines formed their definitions from how advanced humans
work and think compared to other animals; how learning and development through a society made our way of
living more complex. They only differ in which kind of human advancement (decision making, critical thinking,
or symbols) they focus on. – 206 words

2. Are we different from or just the same as other primates? Defend your answer with facts and examples.

Primates, from the Latin word “prima,” are defined as animals who are considered part of the
advanced or highest order of animals, meaning they were able to do more complex activities compared to
others, as well as have more developed organ systems. In a biological sense, humans are very similar to
primates. According to the American Museum of Natural History, the DNA of humans and other primates are
around 96% - 99% similar. Both have a relatively large brain and have more developed dexterous hands, giving
them the ability to perform various tasks. What makes humans stand out among the other primates is their
ability to walk on two legs (bipedalism), learn, apply these things that they learn to our future experiences,
make their own decisions, develop complex modes of thinking and communication, and have more advanced
social organizations. Humans are the only animals who have the ability to think and ask the question “why.”
Additionally, humans act based not only on instinct but also on things they learn from society. Other animals
base their actions on instinct and natural reflexes alone. An example which we may observe for this is learning
how to survive in the society we are born in. It is not instinctive for us to know (1) how to get the food we need
(in the present day, we would need to work to earn money to buy it or grow the food ourselves) and (2) that we
need to communicate with the people around us. Humans learn these things through socialization. On the
other hand when animals are hungry, they would just instinctively know that they need to look for food. – 275
words

3. Are the following important considerations in your life: cooperation, collaboration, alliances, asking or doing
favors, and helping one another? Explain your answer.

Every interaction is important to consider in one’s life. These experiences and interactions we hold
with one another are what made us who we are today and what will make us us in the future. Humans are
social beings, meaning we require socialization. From birth to the present, we have been constantly interacting
with others – from our families, teachers, friends, classmates, to the random people we bump into on the
streets or in the mall. These people may likely have influenced our hobbies and interests right now, whether
these influences be a recommendation from someone to join an art workshop or an inspiration taken from
someone which pushed us further to pursue an artistic path. It is commonly said by others that who you
spend the most time with can help someone determine a big part about who you are or at least determine
who you may be in the future. This is true due to peer pressure within the social circles you are part of.
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Through cooperation and collaboration, we get to learn how to work with other people. We get to
understand the differences in the ways we and others approach things. From these we get to learn new things
and apply it in our future experiences. In our group projects in school, we get to learn new insights, thoughts,
and information from the brainstorming activities. We then have a better understanding of the things around
us. Through alliances, we may be able to motivate one another and find ways to work towards the same goal
more effectively. Through helping others, we get to empathize, put ourselves in their shoes, and maybe even
influence them to do good too. All these interactions can affect the way we are acting, the way others are
acting, or both.
I noticed something similar to this a year ago. I loved Biology a lot, and didn’t like Physics and
Chemistry as much. I believe that this was due to my exposure on each subject or how I was taught in each of
them. The ways that Physics and Chemistry topics were introduced and taught to me weren’t as appealing as
the way Biology was taught. In the latter, I was able to see how DNA, cells, and microorganisms contributed to
nature and how they were important. The visual aids in the Youtube tutorials and lectures for these had piqued
my interest even more. If on the other hand, Chemistry or Physics was taught in a similar manner, I could have
loved either of these two subjects more than Biology. From this, it can be noted that social interactions, in one
way or another, have an impact in the way we view and value the things around us. – 455 words

4. Is socialization important in human development? Explain your answer.

As stated in the reading, we only are human because of socialization. Socialization is essential and
needed. It is through this that we get to learn how to act human, what morals and principles this world has
built, what ways we can communicate with one another (e.g. sign language and English using the ABC’s and
vocabulary), and how to survive in society. As my answer said in the previous question, the social interactions
we have greatly influences who we are. The successes and failures that we feel from society’s expectations
may push us to do better or may also demotivate us with what we’re doing. I’ve met a lot of people in school
and got to see how each differed in their reactions to one same situation. An example would be being labeled
as not performing well academically (may be through not being part of the Director’s list, not being the top 3
people in the class, or having grades that might get them kicked out of PSHS-MC). I’ve seen some who got
motivated, worked their way up, and made the effort to get the target grades they want, while there were also
others who did the opposite – getting demotivated, accepting things as they are, and just continuing on with
what they did. The latter often rethought things through and found out they wish to pursue other things more
such as arts, video editing, etc. In this situation, we can see that societal stereotypes and expectations can
significantly affect how people go on about their lives. As a result of socializations, humans are very diverse. –
266 words

5. Define in your own words what does it mean to be human?

There are a lot of factors that you need to take into account when determining whether or not
someone is human. In logical terms, being human is having the physical and biological characteristics of
humans – being a part of the Homo sapiens species, being bipedal, and having a relatively large brain among
others. In more abstract terms, we can define being human as having ethical and moral principles, being able
to know what is right and wrong, coming up with your own concrete thoughts and ideas, and being able to
identify and understand emotions. Personally, I base being human in a more subjective manner. Someone can
have the biological characteristics of a human, but not act like a human (also determined by others as
inhumane). I consider someone as human not only when they can do critical thinking and make their own
decisions, but also when they can tell right from wrong, understand and feel compassion towards others.
Looking at the bigger picture however, defining humans based on subjective ways can make things
complicated. There are a good amount of religious people who view people who identify themselves as gay as
a sin. Things like these lead to discrimination on women, race, gender, and age groups which can then result
to multiple cases of rights being infringed upon. Having a concrete definition for what makes humans human
is something that varies a lot from one discipline to another. Not everyone agrees with how each defines it, but
similarities can be found within some of these. – 255 words
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