What Makes Us Human? summary

So if genetics are just one piece of the puzzle, what is it that makes us human? Is it our large brains? Or perhaps our ability to develop languages and build societies based on complex cultures?

According to British author Susan Blackmore, our uniqueness boils down to the fact that we’re meme machines.

When we reflect on a memory, we’re “transcending” time. This uniquely human ability is made possible through our linguistic capacity and, according to psychologists Michael C. Corballis and Thomas Suddendorf, it’s what makes us human.

There are two types of memory: declarative and nondeclarative. The former refers to memories that can be consciously recalled and therefore “declared.” They can be described using language, unlike nondeclarative memories.

Genetically speaking, humans are nearly identical to apes. So why is it that humans have developed mathematical theorems, composed music and written books, while apes sit around and eat bugs off each other?

According to psychologist Robin Dunbar, we are unique because of our imagination. Humans have the ability to step back from the world and ask, “Could things be different from how we are experiencing them?”

It is often said that language is what sets humans apart from other animals. Yet physiologist Maurizio Gentilucci and psychologist Michael C. Corballis hold a different view.

They believe that it is not language but speech that makes us human.

Genes and culture play a major role in shaping who we are, but according to Reverend Richard Harries, humans are also molded by our ability to rationally reflect and engage in spiritual quests.

In his opinion, the human mind is much more than just a brain.

In recent years, scientists have made great leaps in understanding the human brain and how it works. But human consciousness, or the awareness of self, remains a mystery.

Social scientist David Hulme believes that the mind contains a non-physical force that goes beyond the physical brain, and because of this, explorations of the brain will never fully explain the mystery of the human mind. Yet Hulme’s idea doesn’t necessarily validate Christianity’s claim of an immortal soul within a perishable body.

So while we are descended from apes, how did our primate ancestors turn into the walking, talking, questioning creatures that we have become today?

Geneticist Stephen Oppenheimer says that physical and behavioral adaptations, such as a larger brain, enabled our ancestors to survive amid harsh climatic conditions.

We humans have always been keen to explore the world around us. This desire is driven by our curiosity, and according to the editor, biologist Charles Pasternak, it is this trait that makes us human.

Pasternak says that all organisms exhibit curiosity, but humans more so than any other. For instance, plants are curious in that they seek out sunshine and grow away from shadows, a trait known as phototropism.

Humans alone use symbolic systems such as language. According to paleoanthropologist Ian Tattersall, humans are unique in that we’re symbolic creatures.

After all, only humans can mentally divide the world into symbolic entities and further, name these different pieces of existence. These words and names can serve as stand-ins for concrete objects like “table” and “tree,” or they can refer to abstract concepts like “love.”

Psychologist Andrew Whiten claims that humans are the most social creatures on earth, and thus it’s our sociability, not our intelligence, that makes us unique. Whiten says humans have a deep social mind, consisting of four distinct elements.

The first element is mind-reading, meaning the ability to predict and explain the actions of others relative to a person’s state of mind, like thinking, wanting and believing. In other words, being able to see that other people are guided by a set of beliefs is a social skill.

Biologist Lewis Wolpert believes that our ability to perceive the relationship between cause and effect distinguishes us from other animals. This ability, which particularly sets us apart from chimps, has helped us develop tools, language and advanced technology.

Causal understanding is fundamental to the process of human thought. Consider how children ask tons of questions, wanting to understand everything about the world around them. By the age of two, a child knows that a rolling ball will make a standing ball move when the two collide.

So we’ve learned that we’re intelligent, social animals that understand cause and effect and use language to communicate ideas both concrete and abstract.

Primatologist Richard Wrangham argues however that biographer James Boswell’s description of a human as a “cooking animal” is both biologically and evolutionarily correct.