What is humanity?
What is humanity?
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ ePortfolio Discussion Board ]
Posted by jheinzel
on Feb 1, 2007 at 8:52 PM:
As we progress further into Elie's story, Night, we begin to realize that the Nazis are able to advance their "Final Solution" and control their victims by stripping them of their humanity. Please comment on the following questions: What is humanity? What is the essense of a human? What makes us different, special? How were the Nazis able to take away these qualities of human-ness? What types of behaviors/views/emotions resulted?
Follow Ups
- Re: What is humanity? Brooke 5/3/2007 9:00 PM
I think humanity means being a distinct person it seperates you from everything i guess you could say personality and being human.
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Emma 3/15/2007 10:27 PM
I've been thinking about this topic and i came up with a question that has been bothering me. Is humanity only for human beings? Does it not apply to anything else, like say, animals? We are though that we are not the property of anyone, that we are ...
(3 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Hibble 4/9/2007 9:11 PM
Good question! I have an answer that, for the moment, satisfies me. I believe that "ownership" of another animal is a way of expressing something simple. We all say "own," but I think that maybe what is implied is "responsible for." Take these for examples ...
(2 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Rayvin 4/29/2007 7:03 PM
Well think about human sex trafficking. People feel that they ''own'' other people and can do what they want to with that person. People are kept in horrible conditions and are forced to do obscene, demoralizing acts. Its a kind of modern day slavery. ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Tiffaay 4/12/2007 2:23 PM
Yes, right. When you said "...animals that we buy...." i thought of how if you adopt, you have to pay a "donation" which is basically buying your baby. You have now become responsible for that child. Responsibility is a huge part of ownership.
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? geo flores 3/15/2007 3:52 PM
To me the word humanity is behaving in a civilized way. Even though everyone has their own standards of humanity there is a line that separates a human from and animal.On the other hand I think humanity is in the eye of the beholder, because we dont ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Chunny 3/14/2007 8:56 PM
The definition of humanity is the quality of being humane. Humane means kind or compassionate. The essence of a human is being able to have a soul. Having ahigher level of thinking seperates us from other things. The Nazis stripped the Jews of their ...
(1 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Tiffaay 4/12/2007 9:59 PM
You said that to be humane is to be kind or compassionate. I agree. The Germans took away those abilities because they were forced to worry only about themselves.
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? charissa 3/14/2007 8:22 PM
I think that everyone is unque in their own way. If we were all the same then no one would be an individual and the would unique mite not exist. The Nazis were able to take this away by calsiffying them all as JEWS and not the different people they were. ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Alenni Romero 3/13/2007 4:20 PM
The quality or condition of being human,human nature, that is what humanity means. the essence of a human? well essence means the the basic, real, and invariable nature of a thing or its significant individual feature or features and in this novel Elie ...
(1 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Tiffaay 4/12/2007 10:04 PM
Having a soul makes you an individual. The Germans ripped out their soul and made them empty shells. By empty shells I mean they lost the intangible ability to feel and love.
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Kayleigh A. 3/7/2007 2:15 PM
Humanity it seems is what defines human life as being different than any other species of animals in the world. Humanity involves rights, emotions, values, traditions, freedom. Though many animals have similar qualities as homo sapiens, we have rights ...
(7 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? brooke 5/3/2007 9:05 PM
I definatly agree witht his comment this truly difines humanity i never really got the concept or any definition but this realy helpsme understand.
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Tiffaay 4/12/2007 10:10 PM
I also agree that humanity sets us apart from animals. By taking away the humanity of the Jews, they became like animals all compressed in a small cage forced to do labor.
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? charissa 3/15/2007 8:26 AM
I agree! they cant compare us to animals. Yes one could argue that animals have rights too...for instance when they live on preserves or something of that matter they can't be hunted. Some people seem to forget the fact that we arent animals. Onecould ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Chunny 3/14/2007 9:05 PM
I agree with what Kayleigh said about how humanity seperates us from animals. The Nazis used fear as a weapon against the Jews. The Nazismadethe Jews do things that they would have never doneon their own. The Nazis controlled theirlives by making all ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? E.FOY 3/8/2007 8:14 PM
I agree with the thoughts on what humanity is and how it sets us apart from animals. All of the what humanity stands for makes humans unique and strong. The Nazis took away the Jews humanity so they basically lost all there strengths as humans. The Nazis ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Ariel Moeser 3/8/2007 12:45 PM
I agree with Kayleigh's thought on humanity!:-)BUT I'm not sure if it was just fear that took away the Jews humanity. I think it was a combination of humiliation, confusion, FEAR, hopelessness, and frustration. When you get taken away from your parents ...
(1 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Charissa 3/15/2007 8:35 AM
I agree with this 100%!!! i dont think that it was just fear that took away their humanity. Fear is just uncertainty of something. Yes they were uncertain of what was going to happen to them but that wasnt the only thing. They underwent so much humiliation ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Hibble 3/6/2007 9:36 PM
I'm gonna take two approaches with defining this word. Humanity, as a group, is a term we use to loosely bind all homo sapiens into the same group. This is simply a synonym for homo sapiens sapiens (we actually have a trinomial name with a redundant ...
(1 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? jheinzel 3/7/2007 9:08 PM
Once again, I am very impressed with your lucid and eloquent musings on this topic. The idea that inhumanity is easier defined than humanity is contemplative and thoroughly defined and supported. The closing point concerning humans being the most (or ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Stan Hall 2/23/2007 11:55 AM
What is Humanity? That is a question that will be radically different to anyone that you ask. It is a question like what is your favorite ice cream. Some will say cookies and cream, others will say vanilla, and still others will say;I don't like ice ...
(1 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Hibble 3/6/2007 8:11 PM
Although I found your argument hard to follow, I think I have an easy enough grasp on what you were trying to say. You say that the Nazis overall saw nothing wrong with the "cleansing" of the Jews. However, this is open quite freely to debate. You base ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Jackie aka Tiffany S 2/20/2007 11:25 PM
Humanity is something that defines you. When we read The Inferno we talked about self worth and individuality. Humanity is what makes you human and what makes you different from the person sitting next to you. The essence of a human is something that ...
(7 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Miss Emi. 3/7/2007 4:41 PM
If I'm not being too bold. What exactly makes you human? You say humanity is something that defines you. You say that the essence of a human is something in which you possess. It's too vague. And can't be interpreted. I have a rough idea of what you're ...
(2 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Tiffaay 4/12/2007 10:17 PM
Ms. Heinzel has a good point on having a recipe for yourself. Everything that is in that recipe for yourself is what you possess. That's what I meant when i said that the essence of a human is something in which you possess. Does that answer your question? ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? jheinzel 3/7/2007 9:29 PM
Do you havea recipe for yourself, or are you trying to make a point about theambiguity of Jackie aka Tiffany S's definition?
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Hibble 3/6/2007 8:13 PM
Since everyone has humanity in this definition, would you continue this point further and say that everyone is humane?
(3 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Tiffaay 4/12/2007 10:20 PM
I wouldn't exactly say that everyone is humane. Was Hitler and his SS officers humane with what they did to the Jews? To be humane is to be kind, compassionate, and accepting. None of those apply to the German's who tortured the Jews.
(1 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Hibble 4/14/2007 10:47 PM
"Humanity is what makes you human and what makes you different from the person sitting next to you. " I'd say that Hitler wasa human who wasdifferent than most humans. That's why I asked if that point (by "point" I meant definition) should be furthered. ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? charissa 3/15/2007 8:41 AM
i dont think that everyone is humane. I dont believe that hitler was humane because of the acts he commited against those who didnt fit "the look" that he was striving to get. I think that being humane yes is apart of who we all are but i think that ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Cassandra Moreno 2/12/2007 7:08 PM
Humanity is basically the right to live and do on your own with out being forced to do something that you do not feel the need to do. People have the right to chose what they feel is right. Wearing what they want to wear, talking about what they want, ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? BACONMASTERsixfiftyfive 2/12/2007 7:45 AM
To comment on the second to last question posed by jheinzel, "Howwere the Nazis able to take away these qualities of human-ness?," i think i may be able to answer it. The Nazis obviously did a good job defeating the spirits of the Jews, and putting them ...
(11 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Stan Hall 2/23/2007 12:12 PM
I would just like to say humans are not the only animals who posses things. For example squirrels have been known to take shinny objects and hide them so only they can have them. Monkeys have been known to make baskets and not let other monkeys use them. ...
(3 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Hibble 3/6/2007 8:20 PM
You bring up a valid, but purposely evaded point. Travis lists examples of items that are not generally wanted amongst other animals to avoid this confrontation. My dog has a red hippo with black dots on it.
(2 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? jheinzel 3/7/2007 9:27 PM
I am intrigued by this criteria of "human-ness:" ownership of property or possession of material things. I cannot attest to other species' attachment to objects as I do not have any pets or make it a habit to observe such behaviors in random animals, ...
(1 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Hibble 3/9/2007 8:59 PM
"Humans are the only animals thatbelieve clothing is important, and are we the only ones that believe trinkets, and dining sets, as well as everything else, are important." These things he listed seem to be secondary items of want. Clothing, maybe not ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Cassandra Moreno 2/12/2007 7:25 PM
Although the Nazi's did defeat the moral of the Jews, I can't say I agree when you say their less human because of their lose of Material items. The Nazi's made them feel less human because they separated them from their families, they threatened them ...
(6 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? BACONMASTERsixfiftyfive 2/13/2007 8:09 AM
you said, "... we have made a society where all races and beings can live alike, animals kill each other and hunt each other and battle over food and where it is that they are going to live." How is this any different from how humans act? we kill and ...
(5 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Stan Hall 2/23/2007 12:20 PM
Sorry to have to post against you so much Bacon master, but animals do care for their family's. For example when a mother African elephant has a baby, and the baby dies the mother will starve herself to death out of sadness. This is also true of horses, ...
(4 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? BACONMASTERsixfiftyfive 3/1/2007 7:39 AM
This is true, and it is a detail that i overlooked. However, humans are capable of taking mourning further and further to the point that it overwhelms us. Much like the Elephant whom you say would starve itself. on the flip side, humans are also able ...
(1 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? jheinzel 3/7/2007 9:35 PM
I like that you are able to be flexible in your mindset in light of new perspectives or new information. Continue to be firm, but keep your open mind!
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? SML 2/26/2007 8:24 AM
Yes you are right that some of these animals do mourn, but not all of them. half of the animals out there don't care if they live or die, carnivores kill things so that they can eat and they don't guve a crap that they killed something, half of the lion ...
(1 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? PFIVECB 3/1/2007 7:38 PM
I agree to this, but only to an extent. With carnivores, its there instinct to kill because that is their only way of survival. A majority of the animals who are not born with this instinct inside them mourn just as previously stated. I think that we ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Miss Emi. 2/9/2007 9:16 AM
To me humanity is just a word. We as humans have a desire, a need to appear superior to all other species. We set ourselves apart. We were able to advance much further technologically than the majoirty of other animals. We're thinking, feeling beings. ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Leslie. 2/5/2007 8:42 PM
a lot like what zach said.. humanity was a word created to make us sound superior and to set us apart from animals. let us not forget that we, ourselves, are animals. we had brains and weapons, but animals could rip the skin of our faces if we were armed ...
(1 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Hibble 3/6/2007 8:30 PM
1) Did you use "primitive" in sense that contradicts what you're saying about us being the same as them? I really can't tell if it's sarcasm, because the sentence leading up to that unintelligible. 2) Would you expect another species to have a language ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Mariah Shevchuk 2/5/2007 8:23 PM
Humanity is, by definition, the quality of showing benevolence and kindness, neither of which are shown to Elie or anyone else in the concentration camps. It is also defined as human nature, and what I don't understand about Hitler and the Nazi's was ...
(5 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Rachel D. 4/9/2007 7:25 PM
I agree with Mariah on this one. The Nazis completely stripped people from the human-ness. However, the thing that I don't understand is what made them think they were better than them that could allow them to do so? I know this is similar to Mariah's ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? SML 2/26/2007 8:09 AM
The reason that the Nazis did that is because Hitler felt that the Jews had stabbed Germany in the back. The Nazis thought that they were doing the world a favor by killing all of the Jews. The Nazis were aware that they were killing many many people ...
(1 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Hibble 3/6/2007 9:00 PM
I think you don't understand at least two things here: 1) Hitler's reason 2) Nazi justification Hitler's reason not only lies with back-stabbing, which I'm sure is a factor, but with influence. A paper, written by Addy himself (I linked to it in my reply ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Leslie. 2/5/2007 8:44 PM
has it occured to you, though, to look deeper into WHY the Nazis did such things and why they felt they needed to do so. you say you dont understand WHY they felt that way, but do you really want to know?
(1 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? jheinzel 3/7/2007 9:45 PM
Your last question seems to imply that Mariah isn't really interested in delving into the "whys" and that youhave an answer that is too horrible to reveal. Am I misinterpreting your meaning?
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity Veggy Killer a.k.a. Zach W 2/4/2007 4:40 PM
Humanity is a word created by humans to separate themselves from the rest of the animal kingdom, and I for one think it's funny that we do this. Because ultimately if we were put in the right situation (or wrong situation) we would be forced to run off ...
(6 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity Hibble 3/6/2007 9:09 PM
How does it separate us, by your or anyone else's definition? I figure if you say that we invented a word (which you can narrow down to English-speaking humans) to separate us and you find that silly, then you might as well get rid of the classification ...
(2 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity jheinzel 3/7/2007 10:01 PM
Was the word "humanity" invented for the purpose of separating Homo sapiens from the species in all of the other biological kingdoms, or does the word surpass anatomy and physiology? Does the word describe or represent an intangible quality? I don't ...
(1 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity Tiffaay 4/12/2007 10:39 PM
You asked if the word represents an intangible quality. In my response to your original question, i did mention that there is an intangible quality. I meant our personality, morals, feelings, etc. is part of what humanity is. Humanity doesn't only set ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity Raissa 2/5/2007 4:00 PM
Humanity does seperate humans from animals , but I disagreehumans are not any more complicated than any other animal on this earth wwe arent smarter than any animal either. I believe that we were all put on this earth to coexsist . I dont think that ...
(2 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity BACONMASTERsixfiftyfive 2/15/2007 7:44 AM
perhaps all in all we are no more than just animals, but we have the greatest intelligence quotas in all of the animal kingdom. perhaps by some greater power we were meant to coexist, but it has been proven that we ARE smarter.
(1 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity jheinzel 3/7/2007 10:15 PM
I have to agree with BACONMASTERsixfifty five. Humans possess the most complex brains of all animal species. A tapeworm is an animal,but I'd like to think I'm a little smarter than a creature with just a bundle of nerves for a brainthat eats andexcretes ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? emma f 2/2/2007 12:01 PM
Humanity is what separates the human race from every other living being in the world. It is what makes us value ourselves. The thought that we have rights, and that others are bound to respect those rights. We are protected by humanity because it does ...
(3 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? Miss Emi 3/7/2007 4:34 PM
I'm slightly confused. Can you please explain to me what you mean by "we are protected by humanity because it does not allow others to treat us like animals, like slaves..." This makes absolutely no sense. Because what about the African Americans? Did ...
(0 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? BACONMASTERsixfiftyfive 2/9/2007 7:47 AM
And by saying this, are you not also saying that humanity is the love child of our egos and arrogance? What it protects us from is the arrogance of others? Is our whole system of morals based around arrogance? ARROGANCE????
(1 response(s))
- Re: What is humanity? jheinzel 3/7/2007 10:20 PM
Could you elaborate on your thoughts concerning humanity being the "love child of our egos and arrogance?" I don't follow.
(0 response(s))
Post a Followup
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ ePortfolio Discussion Board ]
|
|
