WHAT MAKES MAN TRULY HUMAN?

Michael D. Moga, S.J.

such a monster that it does not truly

represent its species.

Human beings are not necessarily

human. Such a statement may sound
very puzzling but it is true for two
reasons. First of all, it takes much time
and effort for a human being to grow to
the point where his own nature has
reached full realization. When born he
acts like a little animal, not yet being
fully human. It will take many years of
training and education by his family and
society, many years of effort and
struggle on his own part before the
fullness of humanity can be achieved.
Until that state of full humanness is
attained we cannot say that he is fully
human.

Every acacia tree is necessarily an acacia

tree and every dog is necessarily a dog.
Every tree grows to full size in a few
years and is completely a tree, taking
nourishment from the soil and the air,
developing new branches and leaves,
producing seeds. Most dogs grow to full
size and maturity within a year. From the
very beginning ever dog is clearly a dog,
breathing, barking and smelling like a
dog.

Secondly, it is very possible that an

individual human being will not reach full
development at all. We recognize that
there are human beings which fail to
possess those basic qualities which are
required for full humanness. Sometimes
we use the word inhuman to describe
such persons. They may be cruel,
insensitive to others, irrational, or robotlike in their lives and dealings with
others. At other times we use the word
animal to describe persons who follow
their lower instincts and ignore their
consciences, their human dignity and the
higher values of human life. We judge
such inhuman people, such animals, to
be less than fully human.
That a human being can possibly not be
human strikes us as a puzzling paradox,
revealing that man is quite different from
all other living species. Every other living
organism very quickly grows to a state of
full development. Very rarely do we
encounter a plant or an animal that is

How strange it is that human life is so

different from the lives of trees and dogs!
The fullness of humanity not only takes a
great deal of time to reach but often in a
significant way it is not reached at all. We
are surrounded on this planet earth with
many human beings who sadly lack very
important human traits.
Such a truth challenges each one of us.
Am I as an individual going to realize the
full humanness that is possible for me?
Will I play a role in helping other human
beings to grow into the humanness that
they are capable of? For the task that
confronts me in my life is not only one of
coping with the problems of survival but
also one of achieving a level of life that is
truly human. I am challenged in life not
only to survive and to be prosperous but
also to be human.
But a question arises. What is this
fullness of human life which we human
beings can ttain? What are those
characteristics that we should strive to
develop? What makes man truly human?
This question is not a new one. In a
hidden, implicit way it has confronted
every human being that has ever existed

in the history of man. In the course of

human history philosophers have given
many different answers to this question,
many different ideals of being human.
We call such ideals humanisms. As we
study the history of human cultures we
discover many different humanisms
which have inspired and guided those
cultures. It is worthwhile to reflect on
these various ideals since they open up
to us many rich possibilities of human
life.

imagine
and
to
dream
of
new
possibilities. They can develop their
human sensitivity, becoming more aware
of themselves, of other people and of
nature. They can learn to think more
logically and to bring rationality more
completely into their lives. They can
become expert in one of the many
human sciences. They can become more
aware of the presence of beauty in
nature and in the human arts. They can
become more open to the realm of the
mysterious and the sacred. In many
different ways the human mind can be
developed.

The Greek Ideal of Full Development

Thirdly, human beings can develop

communication skills, learning how to
read and to write and to talk. It may take
years to develop these skills but, once
they are mastered, individuals are better
able to function as full human beings.
They can express their ideas clearly and
forcefully. They can bring understanding,
joy and beauty to those who read what
they write or who listen to what they say.

One very distinctive humanism that

arose in the past was that of the ancient
Greeks. The Greeks understood man as a
being composed of many natural
potentialities, many possibilities for
growth. They sensed that nature actively
guided
man
to
develop
those
potentialities, a development that was
meant to reach a state of fullness or
excellence. In such an understanding of
life the fully human person is one who
lives a life of a completely developed
human being.
First of all, human beings have physical
potentialities and it is possible for them
to develop their bodies and their bodily
skills. Some of these skills are connected
with sports and leisure as they learn to
run, to swim and to dance. Other skills
are practical: the ability to type, the
ability to drive a car or to fly a plane, the
ability to master crafts such as carpentry
or masonry.
Secondly, human beings have many
mental abilities that can be developed.
They can expand their capacities to

Fourthly, human beings can develop their

social skills in many different ways. They
can become loyal friends, good mothers
and fathers, active members of society.
They can become generals in armies,
religious leaders, effective leaders of
political communities. As individuals
learn to play their roles in society and
make significant contributions to society,
they fulfill some of their social
potentialities.
The Greeks conceived of nature to be the
guide
and
inspiration
for
the
development of all of these human
possibilities. This development was
pointed toward an ideal, the fullness of
human life, a life of excellence.

Although these examples give us an

understanding of human fulfillment in
terms of an individual human being, this
Greek ideal was also meant to be
realized on a social level. A human
community
can
achieve
full
development. This fullness of social
development
would
include
many
elements such as peace, economic
prosperity, the rule of law, active
community interaction as well as the full
development of education and the arts.
Thus, from the Greeks we have a clear
ideal for human life, the development of
all human potentialities to the level of
excellence. It is a humanism which has
inspired and guided many peoples over
the ages.
The Oriental View
A distinctively different understanding of
human life is found in the classical
writings of oriental religions, in Hinduism,
Confucianism and Taoism. In these
traditions human existence is understood
not to be a matter of living a full life as a
separate individual but to be a matter of
living as part of something greater. In
these traditions living wisely as a human
being means that an individual finds his
true place in that greater reality and
conforms himself to it. In a true sense the
wise man seeks to lose himself in that
greater reality. From this oriental
viewpoint any understanding of human
life is primarily an understanding of a
greater reality of which the individual
man is a part. This sense of human life is
expressed in different ways in each of the
various oriental traditions.
Hinduism conceives the greater reality to
be divine and calls it Brahman or Atman.
This divine Brahman is the only thing

which is truly real and everything else is

only real to the extent that it is part of
Brahman. Brahman is like a great sea
and all the other beings in the world are
just drops of water in that sea. Such
drops do not have their own distinct
individual existence but exist as drops of
water in a great sea; they are elements
of something greater.
Mans life is thus conceived by Hinduism
to be rooted in a divine totality, drawing
its ultimate truth and reality from this
root. Of course, man can ignore this truth
and live superficially, absorbed by the
happenings
and
ever-changing
experiences of his individual existence.
But such a way of living is foolish. A wise
man lives in terms of the basic divine
reality of which he is a part. He draws
meaning from Brahman and seeks to lose
himself in it.
In a similar way the Chinese tradition of
Confucianism understands the life of man
in terms of something greater. In this
case the greater reality is human society.
What is really important in human life is
society as it is concretized in family and
friendship and the state. Mans major
concern should be to act in such a way
that these social units are preserved in a
traditional and correct form.
In this philosophy of Confucianism the
individual human being is understood
precisely as a part of family, friendship or
state. The purpose of his life is found in
his fulfilling of his assigned role in these
various social units. From family and
state he has certain clear obligations
which he must endeavor to fulfill. He
lives wisely and his life is truly human to
the extent that he fulfills these

obligations, and his family and state

prosper.
A third prominent tradition in oriental
thought is that of Taoism, a way of
thinking that arose in ancient China. In
this tradition the emphasis is on Tao, a
mysterious, all-encompassing reality. Tao
is the source of everything. It is an
ultimate power that actively guides
everything that exists in the heavens, in
the earth and in human life. Tao is thus a
way that directs all of these various
levels of nature.
As an ultimate reality this Tao is
conceived not only to be all-powerful
(guiding the existence of all beings) but
also to be wise (guiding those beings to
move in the best possible way). Because
of this the individual human being is wise
if he trusts Tao, is sensitive to its
guidance and follows it in his life. He lets
go of his own plans and his own efforts to
control his own life and lives with natural
spontaneity. By doing so the wise mans
life becomes the expression of his own
individual desires but of Tao.

Each of these three ways of life

(Hinduism, Confucianism and Taoism)
presents a picture of human life as part
of something greater. In each of them a
human being is truly human when he
loses himself in that greater reality. To
ignore that greater reality is to go astray
and to live a life which is foolish. Such
understandings of life present deep
wisdom that has guided the lives of many
millions of people for many centuries.
The Hebrew Understanding
A third quite distinctive understanding of
human life is found in the Hebrew

tradition. In this tradition human life is

conceived to consist of a situation where
man constantly faces challenges and
expectations and is called upon to
respond. In this situation man lives in a
truly human way to the extent that he is
sensitive to these challenges and
responds to them in a noble and worthy
way.
This Hebrew sense of human life is
concretized in the story of the father of
all the Jews, Abraham. Abraham was
called by Yahweh and told to take his
family and possessions and to go into a
far country where Yahweh would bless
him. Abraham was challenged to believe
in this call from God and to carry it out.
He responded to Yahweh by trusting in
His word and by fulfilling faithfully what
was asked of him. He achieved greatness
in his life by the way that he was faithful,
responding to Yahwehs call. All believers
in the Hebrew tradition understand their
lives in terms of this model of Abraham.
They see themselves challenged and
called by God in all of the happenings
of their lives.
This Hebrew model for understanding
human life is not limited to a situation of
religious faith but can be understood in a
broader context. Every human being can
see his life as a matter of challenges
where the meaning of that life arises
from the way that he responds. It is
evident in life that every individual is
constantly confronted by challenges
arising from nature, his family, his
friends, his community and his God. He
experiences his life as something more
than simply being alive, occupying a
place in a quiet situation. Mans situation
is rather one of being constantly
challenged, of facing expectations at

every moment. In life he is never left

alone.
The Hebrew tradition thus presents us
with an ideal of human life which is quite
distinctive. The ideal human being in this
tradition is one who is first sensitive to
the challenges of his situation and who
then responds to those challenges with
courage, generosity and fidelity. Through
this sensitivity and this responsiveness a
person becomes truly human.
Other Humanisms
Besides the three humanisms presented
above there are many other ideals of
human life which have guided and
inspired men and women through the
ages. Let us briefly consider a few of
them.
There can be a type of moral humanism.
Here the ideal human life is a full living of
morality. This can be found in a life of
correctness where an individual follows
exactly all the moral laws of his religion
and society. A slightly different version of
this ideal is found in a life where moral
virtues are lived in a full way, virtues
such as love, courage, prudence, patient
endurance and loyalty.

In such a moral humanism the fully

human person is one who is good.

There can be a humanism which

emphasizes creativity. The ideal here is a
person who is creative on all levels of his
life, in his artistic productions, in his
expression, in his relationships, in his
religion, in his personal growth. Such a
fully human person is always open to
new life as he constantly moves into new
ways of living. His life is growing, full of
surprises.
For such a humanism of creativity the
idea is embodied in an artist.
There can be a religious humanism. Such
a humanism would be based on the
understanding that a human being is
basically the image of God. According to
this understanding the ideal human life is
achieved when one becomes a full child
of God, living fully ones relationship to
God. This life would include many
different things, including the fulfilling of
Gods will in ones life, setting God as
ones primary goal, and emphasizing
prayer and worship in ones life.
According to this view a person is fully
human when he lives fully as the image
of God.
In such a religious humanism the ideal is
the holy person, the saint.
There can be a humanism of love. Human
existence is understood here as basically
a matter of relating to other people. The
ideal human life is achieved when a
person
establishes
deep
human
relationships with others and lives those
relationships fully. One strives, for
example, to be loving friend or a loving
mother or father. Included in this ideal
life is a high level of compassion and
sensitivity. The ideal human being must
be one who understands what others are

experiencing and who is deeply sensitive

to the needs and feelings of others.
The Question
This question (What is the ideal way to
live human life?) is not a mere theoretical
problem. In our lives in todays world we
make major decisions based on our
preference for one or other of these
humanisms, one of these ideals of
human life. An example of this might be
found in the ideas behind womens
liberation. Many modern women feel
that their lives are somewhat empty
when their existence consists merely of
being wives and mothers. They want
more in their lives than just the living out
of such roles. They seek fulfillment in
their lives, a fulfillment which they find in
a career. In such a choice they are being
guided by the Greek ideal for human life.
A student may set aside her career in
order to work and to gain money for the
education of her brothers and sisters.
The welfare of her family is more
important for her than her own
development. In acting this way she lives
in terms of a humanism which gives
priority to commitments and to a larger
reality (a social group) and makes
individual
development
secondary.
(There is a similarity to the Hebrew and
Oriental humanisms here.)
Another example of conflict between
models is found in the contemporary
emphasis
on
involvement.
This
emphasis urges young people to go
beyond their concern for their studies

and success in their careers and to

commit themselves to some form of
social action. Those who stress such
involvement are guided by an ideal of
human life which looks beyond human
development and fulfillment. This ideal
conceives human life to be fully found in
a life of response to the needs of ones
community. (There is an echo of the
Hebrew humanism here.)

Modern environmentalists urge us to cut

back on our efforts for economic growth
and to live in tune with nature, limiting
our usage of natural resources. Such
people are guided by a Taoist ideal of
human life where life is understood in
terms of conformity with nature and
economic growth is secondary.
Some people today choose to step aside
from the world and to give their lives to
God in religious or contemplative life.
These people conceive God to be all
important and they choose to live in
terms
of
Him
alone.
Personal
development and human relationships
are conceived to be subordinated to this
greater reality. (There is something
similar to Oriental humanism here.)
These examples show us that our ideal of
human life has great influence over the
choices that we make in life. We began
this chapter with a simple question: What
makes man truly human? It is clear now
that the answer we give to that question
will have a great effect on our lives.