What does it mean to be human?

[2wordsperminute]

I'd recommend watching gurren lagann for a take on "humanity" even though it extends a bit farther beyond just humans.

 

[Nolff]

Maybe they started to like develop sexual attractions to furniture or pan.

The ex-overlord has said it! Those who grew likings to a body pillow are now inhumane!!

*Sweats Bubbling Pitch*
What? Uhhh... What a silly question! Of course, I know what makes someone human, being a human myself. Why wouldn't I know the answer to this question? The answer is so obvious, I will let someone else answer it.

Ah, I see you are doing a dodge. What a flawless move you just did, Mister Eldritch.

To be numvah won.

So I'm writing a scene where a character sacrifices "Everything that connects me to humanity" and I wanted to see what you guys thought would be appropriate to lose when sacrificing something like that. Would they lose emotions or some physical appearance or something else? Essentially, what makes someone human or part of humanity?

A being made of flesh, bones, and blood. Imperfect but balanced. Each of them is proficient at nearly everything.

Love, laughter, anger, depression, those are what they're known for.

Intuitive, innovative, and aspiring, is what their leading pack has.

Greed, cunning, lazy, uncaring, are the things the negative pack of them does.



One will say "Being expressive is the reason why we're human." Those with eyeglasses will say "Common senses are what makes one a human".

But, only a small part of humanity understands the thing that makes someone a human.


They know how to live. They know how to appreciate life. And they know how to enjoy life.


Are we human?

I will take my leave.




Sincerely,
A bystander.

 

[QuercusMalus]

Kinda tangentially related but this is a problem I have with many vampire depictions- they are too human. If you've been alive centuries, can't see the sun, can't get sick, watched all the changes that have occurred in society, watched everyone and everything you knew change, how do you not become adrift and alien to it? This is also why the sparklevamps, a la Twilight, bug me. You're 400 years old, why do you act like a whinny preteen?

 

[LillyWhite]

Emotions.

@QuercusMalus vampires are still human nonetheless, unless they've become incapable to feel emotions after 400 years, at best they've become jaded, and depending on the author's interpretation, they could be fully empathetic creatures or the traditional lore ones or something weirder, it depends.

For example in my story vampires are just a species of humans (biological vampires), the oldest one shown in the novel so far is Dumitra who is 400+ years old. She just does anything to have fun and 'feel' something, she's incredibly bored. She does still feel human though, in a creepy kind of way, you really can't tell what she's thinking or why she's doing specific things.

Migi from Parasyte is an example of 100% something that can never be a human (if they had a human body for example). Migi just does not have emotions or desires outside of survival.

 

[QuercusMalus]

Emotions.

@QuercusMalus vampires are still human nonetheless, unless they've become incapable to feel emotions after 400 years, at best they've become jaded, and depending on the author's interpretation, they could be fully empathetic creatures or the traditional lore ones or something weirder, it depends.

I would expect that after 400 years of life, a person's desires, goals, values, their wants and needs, would change. Especially if they expect to keep living. Massive acquisition of wealth to ensure a comfortable nest would be a priority. But what about interests? Travel- after 400 years, you probably have seen a huge portion of the world so the novelty is wearing off. Food? Assuming vampires can eat, same issue with the travel. After 400 years you start doing stupid things like adding ghost peppers to French toast for variety. Hobbies? Spend a decade or two on something and then move on, but after awhile finding something new and mustering enthusiasm is just another chore.
Even if they started out able to feel the same emotions, after a few centuries I would see just being worn down and exhausted, and resorting to extremes to feel something new (or something old as the case may be).

For example in my story vampires are just a species of humans (biological vampires), the oldest one shown in the novel so far is Dumitra who is 400+ years old. She just does anything to have fun and 'feel' something, she's incredibly bored. She does still feel human though, in a creepy kind of way, you really can't tell what she's thinking or why she's doing specific things.

Functional insanity to break the monotony. I could definitely see that.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Would probably need more details to give a useful answer - does he go as far from humanity as the protagonist in "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison? Or is it more like succumbing to the darkness within as in the various World of Darkness RPGs?

Most likely, the character would sacrifice any sense of empathy or compassion for others, becoming solely focused on himself above all else. But it could just mean he goes berserk for a while (or forever until slain), or he turns into some completely different type of creature.

 

[LillyWhite]

I would expect that after 400 years of life, a person's desires, goals, values, their wants and needs, would change. Especially if they expect to keep living. Massive acquisition of wealth to ensure a comfortable nest would be a priority. But what about interests? Travel- after 400 years, you probably have seen a huge portion of the world so the novelty is wearing off. Food? Assuming vampires can eat, same issue with the travel. After 400 years you start doing stupid things like adding ghost peppers to French toast for variety. Hobbies? Spend a decade or two on something and then move on, but after awhile finding something new and mustering enthusiasm is just another chore.
Even if they started out able to feel the same emotions, after a few centuries I would see just being worn down and exhausted, and resorting to extremes to feel something new (or something old as the case may be).

Functional insanity to break the monotony. I could definitely see that.

Well. Let's put it this way. She was so bored it just turned traumatic and awakened her psychokinetic gifts (trauma is required to awaken them), and since then she is just terrified of being bored. This is a thematic of my world, trauma awakens the force (of some sort, very specific talents), and you become constantly terrified of feeling that way. Oh, and the trigger to activate that gift is the opposite of the emotion that you felt when awakening.

 

[QuercusMalus]

Well. Let's put it this way. She was so bored it just turned traumatic and awakened her psychokinetic gifts (trauma is required to awaken them), and since then she is just terrified of being bored. This is a thematic of my world, trauma awakens the force (of some sort, very specific talents), and you become constantly terrified of feeling that way. Oh, and the trigger to activate that gift is the opposite of the emotion that you felt when awakening.

So kinda like in 'Worm'?

 

[Anonjohn20]

So kinda like in 'Worm'?

That was my first thought too.

 

[LillyWhite]

What's that?

 

[Rhaps]

In my opinion, humanity is the ability to think and act without logic, so by abandoning your humanity means to discard emotions and only act with the most logical choice. You don't protect the weak because its the right thing to do, you protect the weak because its logical to prevent the lost of life.

I came to this conclusion after watching Shin Ultraman, a highly intelligent alien species learning what it means to have humanity.

 

[QuercusMalus]

What's that?

It's a web novel. In it you have parahumans who have special abilities. Many/most were unlocked by them experiencing traumatic events.

Worm

A Complete Web Serial

parahumans.wordpress.com

By the way, your avatar is giving me serious Tokyo Ghoul vibes.

 

[LillyWhite]

It's a web novel. In it you have parahumans who have special abilities. Many/most were unlocked by them experiencing traumatic events.

Worm

A Complete Web Serial

parahumans.wordpress.com

By the way, your avatar is giving me serious Tokyo Ghoul vibes.

Oh wow, interesting novel.

We do have ghouls from TG in here (shapeshifters, basically werewolves but they just turn into those to troll). They can fight like a ghoul or like beast boy or turn into titans from AoT.

My profile picture is Gwenhwyfar, the main villain of SaR (well not quite, she doesn't really do much to earn that title, she's more like a rogue servitor from Stellaris that is a bit sadistic).

 

[QuercusMalus]

Nice. Looks very Fey.
I think you would like Worm. Gritty distopian with a hefty dash of nightmare fuel.

 

[Lyric44]

Humans have wants, desires, emotions, goals. They are irrational. Erase that and you are left with an empty shell. I really think that you cannot create a character and remove their humanity entirely. At that point they are just as good as dead.

Take an Ai for example. This isn't a human obviously, can they feel what we feel, have goals that aren't pushed forward by a human command?

No, losing one's humanity means losing everything that makes up who you are. You either become a perfect artificial being that cannot make any mistakes due to rationality as there isn't any sense of right or wrong. Or, a useless discarded character.

This is my belief, and I wouldn't take any offence if anyone disagrees, but I really think that wiping your character clean from their humanity will do you more harm than good.

Removing emotions while keeping goals and beliefs is probably the best way. That's the route I have decided to take, and even if its a struggle to write sometimes, its fun to bring back the color in the character's life.

Anyways, good luck with your scene. I know you're probably in a dilemma as this would interrupt the entire course of your story. byebye

 

[Jocelyn_Uasal]

Just sounds like getting a lobotomy