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Sociologists, Anthropologists, and Psychologists have all attempted to answer the big question, “What does it mean to be human?”. This essay will be referring to the contributions of Psychology, Sociology, and Anthropology and how they helped determine what it means to be human. The Sociology concept of Structural functionalism focuses on how humans are the only known species to have social institutions and classes such as the rich and the poor. The Anthropology concept of primatology and special human characteristics focuses on what makes us so unique from other species and why it makes us human. The Psychology concept of the isolated child, Genie, shows how important it is for human children to socialize and how it can affect them physically and mentally. The concepts, Structural Functionalism, Primatology Special human characteristics, and Isolated child helped determine what it means to be human.
Firstly, the sociology concept of structural functionalism helped determine what it means to be human because it talks about how society is stable when social institutions(e.g, religions, schools, etc.) meet the needs of its citizens. Human beings are the only species known to have social institutions like schools, mosques, churches, etc. Without social institutions, our whole society would collapse. One of the reasons why Structural Functionalism plays a huge role in what it means to be human is that humans are actually divided into classes, the rich and the financially unstable. Unlike other species, humans do not work together to better the community instead they work to benefit themselves. A part of what it means to be human is that humans have belief systems such as Islam, Christianity, etc. Without our belief systems or cultures/traditions, humans would not have a purpose. Given this information, the sociology concept of structural functionalism helps determine what it means to be human because of human social institutions and human belief systems.
Secondly, throughout Anthropology, the concept of Primatology and Special human characteristics helped determine what it means to be human. A part of what it means to be human is what makes us unique from other species. Throughout our evolution, our ancestors(the homo-sapiens) had to learn how to adapt to the changing world, they evolved unique characteristics and skills that make us uniquely human. Ian Tattersall said, “It's not 'what is human,' but what is unique: our extraordinary form of symbolic cognition”(Tattersall). There are many special human characteristics that make us uniquely human. The first characteristic that differentiates humans from other species is the ability to change our environment. Other species like primates do not have the ability to change their environment to their liking. Because of the ability to change the environment, humans have the ability to overpopulate at an uncontrollable rate since they can live anywhere. The second characteristic that makes us uniquely human is language. Humans are the only species known to create and use a grammatical language with the physical ability of speech in order to protect, share knowledge, and express feelings. Obviously, some species do have some sort of method of communication, but humans are the only species known to have the ability to say a full sentence. The last characteristic that differentiates humans from other species is their learning capacity. Humans' brains are known to be bigger than any other species like primates to be exact. Humans have the ability to learn things quickly and use their intelligence to evolve. In conclusion, being human means having special characteristics like the ability to change our environment, language, and learning capacity, that differentiate us from other species
Lastly, throughout psychology, the concept of the isolated child(Genie) helped Psychologists determine what it means to be human. The tragic incident of the isolated child occurred when a beautiful baby girl was raised in complete isolation and captivity. This incident captured every psychologist's attention during that time. Because of this incident Psychologists figured out that “being human” means having exposure to human contact and other caring adults. Because Genie was raised in complete isolation and had a lack of comfort, she lacked a lot of aspects. Genie could speak a few words, such as “blue”, “orange”, “mother” and “go”, but mostly remained silent and undemonstrative. She shuffled with a sort of bunny hop and urinated and defecated when stressed. Doctors called her the most profoundly damaged child they had ever seen(Carrol, 2016). This essentially means that humans' exposure to other caring adults is more important than genetics. After scientists started working with her, Genie had the ability to play, chew, dress, and enjoy music. She expanded her vocabulary and sketched pictures to communicate what words could not. She also performed well on intelligence tests. This essentially means that, with proper human exposure, Genie was able to communicate and express her feelings. Without proper human exposure, humans would not be able to eat, communicate and do other basic stuff needed for humans to survive. In conclusion, being human means having proper human exposure and comfort from other caring adults.
In conclusion, the contributions of sociology, anthropology, and psychology helped determine what it means to be human. The concept of sociology, structural functionalism, helped determine that human societies function differently from other species. The concept of anthropology, primatology, and special human characteristics determined what it means to be human because they proved what makes us unique and distinguishable from other species. Lastly, the concept of psychology, the isolated child, proved that one of the things that make us human is our exposure to other caring adults.
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