“We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special.”

The cosmologist Stephen Hawking asserted the peculiarity of human beings, just by reporting one of the many characteristics that humans do not share with the other species. For instance, the ability to understand the universe. Addressing men as an advanced monkey breed who lives on an infinitely small planet compared to the whole universe, men have the unique faculty to understand its laws, its dimensions, its origin. In other words, to know the world in which they live. This capability renders the human race infinitely powerful. 

Powerful and yet different. I consider the human race as different, different from the others. It is not a matter of superiority nor a matter of race. This difference applies to the self-awareness that human beings have of their souls. Humans acknowledge that their soul, their spirit, is what differentiates them from the other living organisms. Intelligence, curiosity, will, all sides of the same coin.

On the other side, the coin has the qualities of major relevance: emotions, feelings, the ability to love, to suffer, and to rejoice. By way of explanation, men have that essence which enables them to satisfy their thirst for knowledge but still, to cry in front of a painting, or to feel anger when faced with injustice, or moreover, on the other hand, to give free rein to the imagination while watching the sunset. These aspects I mentioned, his emotions and his soul, make a human human.

A man is so different from the rest of the creatures to the point that he investigates on himself, and dedicates his life to philosophical speculations to understand the reasons for the things which surround him. Therefore humans do not live as pure instinct and brute nature. 

It is often claimed that animals actually have feelings. It has however been scientifically proven that they do not. Many people who own dogs believe that they do have feelings, that they love their owners. Animals though, follow their instinct, they follow that brute nature I have previously mentioned. Their instinct pushes them to protect their owners because they recognize the owner as the leader, as the master who gives them food and therefore they protect that master. That is the result of their instinct, of their nature.

To bear with the example of the dog, dogs do not have feelings when faced with a piece of art, animals don’t feel amazement in front of a fresco. Contrastingly, men do. Men have feelings. It is to say that men do many activities that are useless for their survival, that’s that what differentiates them. Humans could just provide themselves with food and shelter to fulfill their needs. Nonetheless, that’s not the reality. Men pursue the so-called ideal of “bello”, they pursue beauty, and their souls seek beauty and perfection. Humans greed for more than just fulfilling their needs. This need for a deeper fulfillment derives from their soul.

In order to support this concern about humans, many examples can be reported. I would like to bring in evidence from some of the most worldwide-trusted sources. The Bible, for instance. According to the Genesis: “Then the Lord God took some soil from the ground and formed a man out of it; he breathed life-giving breath into his nostrils and the man began to live.” Man thereupon wasn’t given a soul, because he was himself a soul. Indeed as a matter of fact, according to the ancient greek’s philosophy, human beings were themselves, pure soul.

Furthermore, the great philosopher Pico Della Mirandola, author of one of the most important passages concerning this topic, the Oration on the dignity of man, and precursor of the anthropocentric-based stream of thought, typical of Renaissance, defines man as the free and proud shaper of his own being. In addition, Pope Benedict XVI affirmed during a speech that “by nature, man is relation to the infinite” meaning that each one of us has been created in such a way as to establish a dialogue with God, with the infinite. 

Without mentioning any other well-known personality, it seems clear that the most enlightened minds over the time have all agreed on the exceptionality of human nature, not to determine the superiority of its race but rather to exalt its diversity. Without mentioning the Darwinian theories or the evolutional theories, I do not believe we cannot acknowledge the unicity of feelings and capacities of men, that transcend personal experience and draw from the universal experience of the world. These capabilities are the heritage that Stephen Hawking refers to, in his lectures. 

To conclude, if my arguments were not convincing enough, I would like to draw attention to the Sistine Chapel, in the Vatican Museums. Who, apart from men, could have ever created such a masterpiece? Its only contemplation should enlighten us on this gift that God gave us because human beings are created in God’s likeness.  

What are your ideas? Let me know!

Yours,

Dedu