man and all his wonder

8/7/2019 Man and All His Wonder

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Zane Hellmann

Mr. Leventhal

Jewish Philosophy

18 March 2011

Man and All His Wonder?

In the 14th

and 15th

century secular philosophy took a turn with the idea of humanism

coming to the forefront of thinking; however, the mere idea of humanism puts emphasis clearly

on the idea of what it means to be human, as shown by the philosophys title. The idea of being

human has changed since the beginning of time, and with the development of modern science

and verification of Darwins theory of evolution the line between humans and animals has

become more blurred in the last century. Further, as our ability to create more advanced

machines- that can now beat us at games we invented- the differentiation between man and

machine has also become less defined. However, as humans we are sure that we are different

from the animals around us and the machines that assist us in our everyday lives, yet it seems

that as science and technology continue to develop at every increasing rates our ability to express

why we are different becomes convoluted and obfuscated. Philosophy and religion seem to argue

how we are human in very different ways, but in essence what they state defines us as human is

very similar.

The initial claim that man is no different than the complex plumbing works that plumbers

deal with on a daily basis is completely false. The analogy of man being like a set of pipes like a

plumbing system is merely used to allow biology students in high school to imagine what certain

parts of the human body are analogous with. Though plumbers may think that what they are

working on is complex, the human body is far more complex than any machine that could ever

be built by man.


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It is not complexity that separates man from machine, it is mans brain. It is true that

machines have been taught to out compute man, but we as humans still posses the ability to

reason at a level that no machine could achieve in the near future. There is a major difference

between running an algorithm to figure out a problem, and coming up with the problem in the

first place. Though Watson, IBMs super-Jeopardy playing computer, can beat most humans in a

game intended for humans, the questions that Watson answers could never be created by a

computer without human assistance. Further, even Watson is not perfect at playing Jeopardy,

Watsons inability to recognize word play and sarcasm inhibit him from doing well in categories

that require outside the box thinking. Also, recent studies show that human integration of data

is twenty times faster than the fastest super computer. We only believe that computers are out

pacing us because a lot of the data we compute seems insignificant to us. However, the amount

of data that we store in the form of memories after one hour equals the amount of data stored in

all the books within the Library of Congress. Moreover, while trying to model a human brain,

scientists realized that no computer could possibly produce a model that had neurons that fired

similar to ours. Further, scientists cannot program a computer to reason. Computers do not have

the ability to judge- they can only compute.

The complexity idea works while trying to argue against how man could be separated

from machine, but this argument fails when trying to separate man from animal. As man has

become defined more as an animal and less as human being, veterinarians around the world

could make a strong argument on why they should be allowed to treat humans. Humans

biologically are not much different from chimpanzees the species closest in relation to humans,

yet research on the human body is far more in depth. Therefore, doctors should really be the only

individuals giving humans medicine.


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However, according to many, our ability to reason is what separates us from animals,

who act purely on instinct. Yet even though this may be true, there is a much deeper separation

that creates the divide between man and beast. When Adam ate the forbidden fruit though he

may have gained knowledge, Cabbalists say that really a barrier was created which created the

idea of the individual within the human mind. This barrier is what makes man different from

beast. The barrier prevents us from being connected with the world around us. Many say that is

why we pray in order to connect with G-d and the universe that he created. Science has shown

that this is actually what happens when Jews and non-Jews pray for extensive periods of time.

Our left brain is what creates the idea of the individual; it is essentially what was created

after Adam ate the forbidden fruit. The left brain creates the idea of I, something that no other

animal has. No other animal can call itself an individual. Further, when individuals pray for long

periods of time the left brain almost turns off, which creates the feeling of being one with the

universe, the idea of nirvana, or touching G-d in some cases. It is this ability to feel one with the

universe that so many aspire, yet for animals it seems as if this is their natural state of mind.

When confronted with problems like vets who wish to treat humans the same way we

treat animals, we must not only show them that scientifically we are very different from the

animals that they normal treat (cats, dogs, and mice), but we must also explain how humans are

different from animals not only according to religion but also philosophically and scientifically.

Further, vets and plumbers do not go to school to learn how to treat humans. It does not matter

how skilled they think they are. If they want to treat humans they must go to medical school and

become approved to treat me as an individual. Finally, if vets were allowed to treat humans we

would be degrading man to the level of animals, an idea that was utilized by the NAZIs with

terrible side effects. After all, who really wants to be an equivalent to a bitch?

man and all his wonder

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