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What makes humans human?



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Wed Dec 09, 2015 7:03 pm
mfigurski80 says...



I am writing a speculative fiction novella designed to delve into what exactly makes a human different from an animal, or a machine.

The answer is obvious. Conscience, or the embodiement of free will (presuming both exist). The you, the inner self, the soul...
The problem is, how does a conscience change behavior? Theoretically, of course, if we were to remove the conscience from a human, how would he function?

Please present any ideas you may have. Anything at all, it might all be useful.
My leading theory is that a conscience is strictly tied to morality. Conscience makes sure that we first decide if a goal is 'good' before we even formulate a plan to achieve it.
  





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Wed Dec 09, 2015 8:56 pm
Holysocks says...



Well having a "conscience" means that, like you said (or implied), most human's are more or less bound by integrity. A conscience is a tool we have that helps us determine right from wrong.

I suppose it could go either way if conscience is just determining right from wrong. Than what the person does with that information is... well... certainly an insight into their character!

I guess animals don't always know what is a morally good thing to do, and what is bad, unless you teach them, and they're willing to be taught. But that's the same with humans: we start off pretty oblivious to what's good and bad. There's lot's of perfectly good people in the world, that as yearlings, hit their siblings or stole something. Did they know that was something society considered as wrong? It's kind of hard to tell- but I'd say in the first few instances, they had no idea. But I'm still not sure about that myself. I guess all I'm saying is sometimes what we perceive as "conscience", might be more of a taught knowledge, instead of born (I'm pretty sure this is at least the case for some people), and animals can be taught it too- or have it, as well.

For an example, we often hear about the gorilla that adopts a kitten- that's a bad example though, because you can argue that that's simple a maternal instinct. But take my sister's cat for an example. He knows he's not allowed on the table. His conscience tells him that if he does it, his mommy will be mad at him. So he weighs the risks and decides the pumpkin pie is worth it. But guess what? She catches him in the act. And he knows he was bad. You can see it in his eyes. And then he tries to sweat talk her.

Is that the same though? I'm not sure. It seems similar to me. Anyone that tells you animals don't have souls, probably only ever had poodles as pets (maybe I'm quite bias in this department :-P ).

I'm really not sure what else to say right now. I hope my rambling was somewhat helpful, or useful, or something!

EDIT: I think I completely forgot about your actual question!

How does conscience affect behaviour?

I think it's sort of basically what you already know. When you're aware of right and wrong, and if you have integrity, you feel compelled to do what you feel is right. If you don't have very much integrity though, I doubt you really care, as long as you are being benefited.

Not sure if that helps. XP
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Wed Dec 09, 2015 10:50 pm
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Zolen says...



Humans make humans human. Everything else is speculation and fancy dressing that humans think up to make themselves feel special.

We are human because as a whole we accept ourselves as such. Nothing more, nothing less.
Last edited by Zolen on Wed Dec 09, 2015 10:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Wed Dec 09, 2015 10:51 pm
Carlito says...



My background is primarily in psychology, so that's the angle I'm coming at this from.

Lawrence Kohlberg proposed stages of moral development in humans. This is broken into three levels and within the levels there are stages.

Level 1 = preconventional (typically children under the age of nine). Our morals are shaped by adults and their standards/rules. Within that there is Stage 1 (Obedience and Punishment Orientation) - you want to be good to avoid being punished because being punished is bad. And Stage 2 (Individualism and Exchange) - you understand different people have different view points about what is good and bad and right and wrong.

Level 2 = conventional (typically adolescents and adults). Our morals are shaped by internal standards of valued adults. Morals may depend on group norms. Within that there is Stage 3 (Good Interpersonal Relationships) - you want to be good so others see you as good. And Stage 4 (Maintaining Social Order) - you want to uphold the law to avoid guilt.

Level 3 = postconventional (not everyone makes it here and that's okay). Our morals are shaped by our self-chosen principles and our individual rights and justice. Within that there is Stage 5 (Social Contract & Individual Rights) - you realize rules and laws might exist for the greater good but don't always work with specific cases. And Stage 6 (Universal Principles) - you have developed your own set of moral guidelines that may or may not fit in with the law and these moral guidelines apply to everyone.

You can read more about Kohlberg's theory here.


Another thing to look at is humans that seemingly don't have a conscious and how they behave. In the world of psychology the people we typically look at in this situation are those with anti-social personality disorder or people that are labeled as sociopaths (which are two different things - ASPD is in the Diagnostic Standard Manuel of Mental Disorders and sociopathology is not as well-defined). These people, as a general definition do not care about social norms or values. They don't care about the rights of others. They lie, are deceitful, are irritable and aggressive, and they don't show remorse for their actions. Many but certainly not all of our prison population fits this category (although obviously not all in this category will become incarcerated).


I know that doesn't answer the question, but perhaps it gives you some additional things to think about! :)
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Thu Jan 14, 2016 8:22 pm
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Rosendorn says...



The thing is... those aren't exactly qualities that separate humans from animals.

There is some evidence that animals exhibit free will. Dolphins will help out others and torture others, depending on mood and personality. Chimps will wage wars and murder for no apparent reason other than free will.

The more people start studying animals, the more they notice that they form societies, make choices, seem to have some levels of morality, there's tool use, and a whole host of other things. There is language and caring and adapting and modifying the environment among a huge variety of animals.

Part of me thinks what makes us human is stories, but who knows— we might discover one day they have some.

Make of that what you will, but I wouldn't write off the question as "easy". In Jane Goodall's research, she once heard back from her mentor with: "we must now redefine 'tool', redefine 'man', or accept chimpanzees as humans." The more research is done into animal societies on their own terms, and how much animals have mental functions very similar to humans (research that is often not done because it exposes extreme levels of abuse towards animals), the more science realizes that animals are extremely complex beings.

It is very much not a clean cut question and while you have a whole book to figure it out, you might want to do more research into animal behaviour to draw your own conclusions. The results of those studies might surprise you.
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Thu Jan 21, 2016 4:52 am
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Monsters says...



I feel like you all sort-of missed the obvious here. The one unique thing that we have and that other animals don't is a prefrontal cortex which is accredited with planning complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, decision making, and moderating social behavior. We have what they refer to as 'three brains in one' when matured a primate brain, a brain like a cat/dog and a brain like a lizard. Examining it through behavior runs into problems like @Rosendorn suggest; we cannot assume things without studies, and even from professionals, it is plain bad science to try (past the hypothesis step in the scientific method).

By the way, I'm a professional Computer Scientist, but I am no means a biology/physiology specialist.
  








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