[ESSAY] What Makes Us Human

There are so many different features and aspects that make up a single human being. The thought of what makes us human beings bring to mind an endless list of reasonings, both positive and negative. Curiosity, conscience, self-awareness, symbolic cognition, and the need for bonding are some traits that distinguish us from other species. The definitive characteristic of a human being is our mind.

The human mind forms our thoughts and it is what sets us apart from other species. The ability for our minds to function, think, and plan in time is an important aspect in terms of the past, present, and future. We are able to set goals for ourselves and have aspirations to achieve in life. We also have the ability to be creative. Us human beings are like no other species, especially in our concepts of development in art, music, literature, and so on. Our creative abilities allow us to adapt to new situations and solve new problems. In addition to creativeness, we think abstractly. For instance, an architect can visualize a building, and lay it out on something known as a  blueprint. The architect then passes the blueprint to a builder who will obviously do his job and construct the vision that first formed in the mind of the architect. Most of the things human beings learn is through the five senses: smell, touch or feel, see, hear, and taste.

Humans have the capability to establish diverse languages. Our minds learn how to comprehend connection between distinctive numbers, words, and even letters. In addition to that, we have the skill of learning or at least choosing to learn, also understanding a particular language as well. Human beings have the desire to experience emotions, whether it is happiness, joy, pride, anger, sadness, depression or excitement. Our emotions can most likely determine our personality, environment, habits, and maybe even physical appearance, but keep in mind that human beings have the option of chosing right or wrong behavior. We can distinguish what is good from what is bad. Although some people choose the wrong path in life, which is their mistake.

Our minds have the intelligence to expand our economic system. We have the desire to work and be productive. That includes development and experimentation of theories, working at a job, and even at providing a living. We also have the talent to perform mathematics (plus other studies) and operate machinery and computers.

The human brain is very complex. It is an advantage for us because we are able to transfer information and knowledge to further generations. We have the potential to deal with a variety of conflicts. Our minds come up with solutions for our problems by simply our perspective on things. The human mind has the capacity to appreciate. We are able to appreciate beauty, humor, people, etc. For example, if you were to go to an art gallery, you would be instantly driven to the artwork on display. If you were to take your dog to an art gallery, your dog couldn't possibly care less.

In my honest opinion, I feel the human mind is one of the most important factors that make up a human being. One obvious factor that makes humans, human is our exterior features. One example is our body. Our muscles and bone structure determine the shape and size of our figure. Secondly, our face. All the distinct features that make up our face, like the shape of our eyes and eyebrows, the size of our nose, the length of our mouth, etc., but our interior is just as important. Even if you can't physically see it.

Human beings would not be able to function properly if it weren't for our mind. Each individual human being has his or her own individual, unique mind that makes them who they are. Our conscious tells us from what is right from wrong. Our mind lets us be imaginative and come up with all sorts of crazy thoughts. Plus, we are able to memorize certain events and other important stuff. Memory  is the ability to preserve, retain, and  recall knowledge, information or experiences.  The human species is so caught up in their daily lives and what goes on in the world, that we sometimes don't have the chance to really take the time to understand what actually goes on in our heads. I think the word for this is "metacognition". That is when you are thinking about what you are thinking. The concept of our mind is to perceive thing in many different ways, concentrating on all sorts of topics. Our thoughts are based upon things in the world and how we are able to interpret it from another.

Humanity is made up of many, diverse components, but I believe that the foundation for all of those components is our mind. Our mind has the knowledge to respond to the world in a meaningful way. For instance, cause and effect. If something spontaneous were to occur, we would most likely have a certain reaction or response to whatever it was. We often have conversations with ourselves "inside" our head all the time, or at least I do. That would be kind of abnormal if you don't. It is not necessarily talking to yourself. It is more like how we "make up" our mind. If ya kow what I am trying to say... No one has access to our thoughts.

We have the skill to make decisions and reason. We store our kowledge inour mind which will eventually produce our thoughts. It is a like a (very short) chain reaction. We use our senses to acknowledge something, then we understand it by using context and/or previous experiences/activities.

The definitive characteristic of humanity is simply our mind. All the unique, yet complex distinctions of the human mind is vital to how our species live today. I think that human beings are one of the most magnificent creatures of all time. All of the amazing abilities our mind has taken upon us is incredible and we barely even notice it.