J24 - What Makes Humans Different?

There’s a game that some of the students like to play, where they bring up the idea of objective value and start talking about different amounts of utils that various things must have, thereby arousing my indignation that such a nonsensical theory could still be being taught in Western schools. I know that they only engage in this conduct because they get a kick out of seeing me get upset. But I really don’t care. The subjective theory of value is one of the greatest intellectual developments of all time. It reveals to us the fact that the human mind is the source of all meaning in the universe. To misunderstand the theory of value is to misunderstand the world and humanity’s place in it. How could I possibly not rise to its defense each and every time the topic is raised? 

Alex Gugie wrote a journal, some time ago, in which he discussed the Las Vegas Shooting and presented a “secular view of the sanctity of human life,” or a scientific method of appreciating other human beings. He claims that understanding the complexity of the human mind, and the millennia of evolution that produced it, should instill a sense of awe in all of us, an emotional response that makes us adverse to terminating the existence of such complexity (killing a human being). Two questions arise when reading this explanation of the value of human life. First, why do we appreciate this complexity; why does a full apprehension of the complexity of the human brain strike us with awe? And second, why is this complexity worthy of this awe? A system of morality, the subject of Alex’s overall project, is a set of norms, a series of “shoulds.” It’s one thing to marvel at the billions of neurons in a human brain, and to feel that the delicate complexity of the network they form should be protected, but the question of whether this complexity should cause such a response in us must be, at some point, considered in a project such as his. 

These questions have simple answers, but answers of incredible significance. First, we are awestruck by the complexity of the human brain because we are builders, and we cannot fathom how such complexity was built. It’s like seeing a stunning piece of art, or walking through New York City. How could this be? It seems impossible. We are impressed by complexity because we aspire to build complex things. The complexity of the human brain is still beyond our understanding, let alone replication, and the fact that this complexity was not the result of any conscious design, leaves us builders feeling rather small, awestruck. Second, this complexity is worthy of awe and sanctity because it has produced builders.

There are many creations of nature that are so incredible and unlikely that a full list would take a lifetime to enumerate. Why is the human brain, in particular, worthy of more respect than any other brain? That is, why is Alex talking about human life, instead of all life (the existence of life, itself, is a wondrous ultimate given)? Yes, the human brain seems to be the most advanced of the primate family, but is this difference in degree really enough to distinguish between the sanctity of the species? What sets humans apart? What makes us different? 

We are builders. And this is not a simple concept. Building is the arrangement and use of means in the pursuit of various chosen ends. But, means and ends and arrangements are themselves products of the human mind. Iron ore is merely an arrangement of chemical elements until the human mind classifies it as otherwise. Moreover, metal hand-tools do not exist in nature. The idea of them originates in the human mind. That alone is a tremendously distinguishing aspect of human beings: we imagine. What other species can see something which does not exist? I believe imagination is a severely unappreciated topic worthy of greater study. Regardless, the human mind gives the chemical elements of iron ore their meaning and significance by connecting them with the idea of a nonexistent metal hand-tool, and then the human mind develops a plan for transforming the chemical elements of iron ore into the metal hand-tool, shaping the world into a version that suits the mind better. No other species does this. No other species looks at the world, imagines a different world, and acts to bring this imaginary world into reality. What makes humans different is that we have created the world as we know it by giving the arrangement of elements around us meaning, and act each day to change this world into a better world, a new world that is even more the product of the human mind. 

This function of the human mind, this is what sets us apart. Whether or not the human mind can be wholly attributed to the human brain (to be discussed in other journals), the human brain is certainly what made this human mind possible. All of evolution has been a series of steps bringing life from 1 to n. The difference between the brain of a toad and the brain of an ape is just one of degree. The human brain is different. The human brain represents something new, a leap from 0 to 1. It represents a singularity in nature, whereby a species is no longer just the product of its environment, but its environment is a product of the species. With the advent of human beings, an element of purpose was introduced into a world of unconscious processes. Humans imagine, they choose, they act to change things, they build. This, this is what is worthy of our awe and respect. The complexity of the human brain makes human life sacred only because this complexity brought us from 0 to 1. Human beings are not special because we have complex brains; our complex brains are special because they have created human beings.