Society/Culture Are we; the same, different or all just special

[Cap]

I'm struggling to come to grips with exactly how society is trying to portray the "human race".

These days we all get told that we are all the same, yet its great to be different and we are all special.

Can someone please explain how we can possible be all those three things at 1 time.

We are either all the same, different or "special". Personally I detest special because quite clearly we aren't all special and lets face it some people are amazing generic which moves me towards the fact that we are all the same. But if you look close enough there are quite clear differences.

SO what is it? are we the same, different, special or something else that I haven't been told about yet.

 

[EasternTiger]

Are we human, or are we dancer?

 

[Unknown Caller]

My sign is vital, my hands are cold

 

[cancat]

Brian: You're ALL individuals!

Crowd: Yes! We're all individuals!

Brian: You're all different!

Crowd: Yes, we ARE all different!

Lone voice in crowd: I'm not...

Crowd: Shhh!

 

[placebo]

Reps to cancat for a Monty Python reference.

Negative reps to the other two for quoting that terrible song.

 

[Rustin Cohle]

Our individual uniqueness is what links us together. Everyone has at least one thing that makes them unique or different, even if it is something small and irrelevant.

 

[Dippers Donuts]

I drink therefore I am, that's what Descartes meant to say...

Serious-ish answer? We are just another species that's all. Nothing special, we just have opposable thumbs. Ie we got lucky. Our development as a species is stymied by the fact that the females' hips cannot extend outward enough to give birth to a bigger brained human. Damn wimmin!

 

[Pie eyed]

I'm struggling to come to grips with exactly how society is trying to portray the "human race".

These days we all get told that we are all the same, yet its great to be different and we are all special.

Can someone please explain how we can possible be all those three things at 1 time.

We are either all the same, different or "special". Personally I detest special because quite clearly we aren't all special and lets face it some people are amazing generic which moves me towards the fact that we are all the same. But if you look close enough there are quite clear differences.

SO what is it? are we the same, different, special or something else that I haven't been told about yet.

This thread reminds me of the 60's.

 

[bit_pattern]

I'll give reps to CC for that one too, even though I'm sure that if I really sat down and hard a good hard think about it that we'd vehemntly disagree.

SO what is it? are we the same, different, special

Can't we be all three?

 

[Pie eyed]

I'll give reps to CC for that one too, even though I'm sure that if I really sat down and hard a good hard think about it that we'd vehemntly disagree.



Can't we be all three?

There a half a dozen spin-off threads in the op alone.

 

[Dont be a lemon]

And I'm on my knees looking for the answer

 

[GeorgeGrljusich]

This thread reminds me of the 60's.

With less acid, sadly.
I'm different and special. I have a 6.1 inch penis.

 

[Cap]

Well as I said in the op i don't think you can be all three.

I think there is a great deal of similarities TBH and I reckon in any given country 95% of the country are generic with minor variations from the way they are brought up.

So we are different, it's too bad we always get told we are not.

 

[Jafa]

With less acid, sadly.
I'm different and special. I have a 6.1 inch penis.

It doesn't surprise me that you tend towards the smallish side.

 

[Andre]

So we are different, it's too bad we always get told we are not.

The 'problem' is as soon as you have differences you've got people better at somethings then others. Which gets the PC mob frothing that either no one is better, or if someone not of a minority is better at anything it's not due to hard work, it's handed to them due to their suppression of said minorities. So it's easier for people to just paint soceity beige.

 

[btdg]

I would have thought it was fairly obvious

For the most part, humans are the same. We share a heap of common characteristics - from genetics (>99.9% the same) to interests (family, work, etc) to emotions (love, anger, etc). In the political realm, certain identifiable 'rights' have also been established - life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, etc.

What makes humans interesting, however, is the small differences between them. Our immense complexity, particularly on an intellectual level, means that despite our many similarities, we can express ourselves in a vast array of ways. On a superficial level, I like "The Wire" while my girlfriend likes "Grey's Anatomy". But this also includes things like religion, culture, etc. In an economic sense, minor differences in physical and intellectual attributes mean that we can specialise, improving our overall productivity.

So we are the same in basic nature, but express ourselves and our relationship to others in different ways that make us unique.

The capacity for us to do this, and the unique nature of each individual, makes us 'special'. So all at once, humans are the same, individual, and special. I see no contradiction there.

Unless, of course, you have some anti-minority agenda to bash.

 

[GeorgeGrljusich]

It doesn't surprise me that you tend towards the smallish side.

The .1takes me above average. Which is special.

 

[skilts]

By the time we arrive, from nothing, we start becoming. When we stop becoming, we return to nothing. Therefore, in this extremely limited sense, we never really are being here, in a static way which might lead to the definition demanded in the OP. This is not to say that we are not actually here. To say that would render every discussion meaningless. Then again, this is BigFooty.

Other than that, there's probably not a lot which can be said of what it is to be human, which would apply universally. I don't see this as a problem, but I'm neither a psychologist nor a sociologist.

 

[skilts]

The .1takes me above average. Which is special.

George, you've got to give up this mere commentating and get involved in playing the game again.

 

[GeorgeGrljusich]

George, you've got to give up this mere commentating and get involved in playing the game again.

I shall leave now skilts, and my apologies. Philosophy was never my strength.
I am still trying to decipher your last post.