Human Nature and the Uniqueness of Each Person

Overview

The human body is very similar to the bodies of other mammals, but there are also great differences, even in the case of primates. These differences include a regular bipedal locomotion and a relatively larger brain with its particularly well-developed neocortex, prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes. But the main difference between humans and other species is not anatomic. Humans are capable of abstract knowledge and possess a rich language, reasoning and complex problem-solving abilities, creativity and a capacity for innovation, reflective learning, moral conscience, religion, funeral rites for the dead, behaviors that denote praise and punishment, and specific forms of social life and cooperation in the development of cultures and civilization.

Aristotle held that humans “share a rational principle” which differentiates them from other animals. The notion of the person stresses the uniqueness of every human individual and the corresponding dignity of each.

The human body, in many respects, exhibits a form consistent with an animal that possesses reason. For instance, the face and eyes have an enormous capacity to communicate feelings, emotions and thoughts, and the structure of the human hand permits it to use many complex artifacts.

Reason and other elements of conscious life are included in the concept of “mind,” often equated to the classic concept of “soul,” which some authors see as being separate from the body (dualism). Others, however, see the body and mind as a whole (monism). Among this latter group, there are those who hold that the mind is actually no more than the brain (materialism), while others think that the mind (or soul) is spiritual and therefore not reducible to organic material, but mind and body form a unity in each person.