On Thursday, we discussed that a horse has certain qualities that it possesses that is uniform for most horses. We also discussed that humans can have similar qualities, but to be human is to be more than just a list of qualities.
Why is it different for a human to possess certain qualities and for a horse possess certain qualities? How are humans different in that they can't just be described from a list of qualities? Why are we different from horses in that sense?
Horse qualities:
-strong
-fast
-obedient
-healthy
-beautiful
-good teeth
Human qualities:
-strong
-fast
-healthy
-beautiful
-intelligent
-language
These two lists may or may not help you, but notice that humans and horses share certain qualities. Discuss why a horse's qualities are different from human qualities. Think about how they're obtained and what it means to have them.
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8 comments:
It is different for a human and a horse to possess certain qualities because each may or may not have their own purpose. For example, a horse has its peed so it can run away from its predators in their time of danger and horses can also be strong in the case that they want to fight back. A human on the other hand has intelligence and that has come in handy throughout history. These characteristics are used to describe these humans and horses because those are what are essentially needed for them to survive. Humans on the other hand can also NOT be described from a list of qualities because humans are "things" that just sometimes can not be explained and not all have to have all qualities. Horses are mostly just born with it and live on with what qualities they have, where as we humans depend on whatever we get and we don't always get every quality as listed.
Horse qualities are different from the humans qualities in that horses are naturally supposed to have good teeth and humans, are not "born with that quality." The rest are mostly similar and there is that humans are not ALWAYS obedient whereas horses are claimed to always be obedient.
Angie's comment:
Humans are different from horses in the sense that we are multifaceted and very complex. We unlike horses have the ability to speak our mind and emotions, so therefore we can't just be a list of attributes. What we percieve as beauty is different for all because it is opinion based to put it simply. Also, unlike horses that are healthy and strong physically, human strength can be physical and mental. Horses require speed/agility to be a good horse but a human can be a good human even if he isn't fast. My view is that humans are different because we are better than them due to having a greater depth/ purpose of living. As the romantics said, the only thing that connects all human beings is that we are all different; thus we can not just be a list of vague characteristics.
Humans and other animals have one major difference, and that is sentience. A human is (most of the time)self-aware, with the ability to think and delibirate. Animals, however, also have different desired qualities between them, such as a cow might have a desired quality as 'produces a lot of milk,' whereas a horse, have the aforementioned qualities. Did anybody notice that all if not all of these qualities would make them more valuable to humans? If we judge these animals' qualities by how they can assist society, then obviously humans and horses will have different desired qualities. A horse helps society by doing manual labor, whereas a human can help more by being intelligent, and inventing medicine or making the government more helpful to the people. A horse cannot do this, and neither can a cow or another animal.
-Doug M.
Both humans and horses possess certain qualities required for their existence as human, or horse. However, humans differ from other animals in the fact that we are much more complex; we are multifaceted, capable of speech, and most importantly, have highly developed personality. Individuality is expressed in animals, sometimes to a major extent like in a dog; but the human being is immensely more complex. Man cannot be described by a list of qualities because we are individualized to this extent, and thus cannot all be grouped under the same umbrella as easily. Humans are self aware, and this and the complexity of our thought process gives us depth.
The good qualities of a human differ from the good qualities of a horse because what makes a good horse is different from what makes a good human. The good qualities of a horse are determined based upon a horse's understood purpose. For example, if an individual wanted a horse with which they could attempt to win races against other horses, some good qualities of this horse would most likely be agility, obedience, and health.
This will differ in comparison to the good qualities of a human because humans do not have a purpose that is so easy to understand. Humans have the ability to reason and disagree with others, while horses do not. If humans disagree as to their purpose, then their purpose cannot be defined. Humans and horses can be understood to have certain similar qualities, primarily concerning beauty, strength, and survival. However, even these understands are not definite because one can disagree as to what beauty and strength are, and similarly, one can deny the importance of survival.
The purposes of humans depends on individual perception, or opinion, and therefore cannot be defined - just like piety.
A horse has certain qualities that it possesses that are uniform for most horses. Humans can have similar qualities to the horse as well. However, that does not necessarily make man similar to a horse. The similar qualities between a horse and a human are more like the intersection of a vein diagram. In each circle, we would list attributes that we would associate with the following. Horses can be strong, fast, obedient, healthy, beautiful, and have “good teeth.” Characteristics thought of when discussing humans may be that they are strong, fast, healthy, beautiful, and have a more intellectual way of communication (language). As you can see, both the horse and man are seen as strong and fast by one person. This doesn’t mean man is a horse because he is fast or that horse is like man which it is strong. Although there are qualities that can definitely separate human from another animal, the common traits do not directly link us together. A man is a strong and fast horse that has the ability to communicate intellectually.
While qualities for both humans and horses appear, similar, they do not apply to humans and horses the same way. This is because humans are much more complex and have personalities. We can distinguish horses from the list of qualities. I have no doubt that horses have brains, and can therefore think. But they do lack individuality (expressing ideas through speech as well as action). Our complexity takes the task of contrasting humans with horses to a much more deeper level, because of our individuality. But because horses lack the ability to express through both speech and actions, it makes comparing qualities of horses and humans impossible
TYPO CORRECTION:
A man is NOT a strong and fast horse that has the ability to communicate intellectually.
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