Have you ever stopped to wonder what makes humans the most successful species on earth? There are many theories as to what exactly sets us apart from the other animals on our planet. But is it really one specific thing? Or is it a combination of many things? That is what this book strives to answer.
Looking at unique perspectives from a number of professionals across different areas of expertise, we can begin to understand how humans are unique. From our genes to our cognitive abilities, there are many things that make us human.
In this book summary readers will discover:
- What geneticists believe makes us human
- How language and communication makes us human
- Memes, memory and imagination
- What biology has to say about humans
- Religion also has a view on what makes us human
- Humans cook
Key lesson one: What geneticists believe makes us human
The easiest thing to be considered when trying to find out what makes us human is our DNA. Geneticists have taken a look at our genes and tried to pinpoint what makes Homo sapiens different from our closest relatives. Geneticist Walter Bodmer took a look at the genes of humans and compared them to our closest evolutionary ancestor, chimpanzees. The DNA between chimps and humans are almost 99 per cent shared and the one per cent that is different could potentially hold the answer to our cognitive ability. However, this one per cent is actually a 250 gene difference which somewhat complicates the situation. Research into this identification continues with geneticists getting closer to the answer.
But beyond the identification of the exact gene sequence which is responsible for our cognitive ability, geneticist Stephen Oppenheimer believes that physical and behavioural adaptations played a part as well. Specifically, a larger brain helped humans survive harsh climates. How? Well, in harsher climates, finding food would have been more challenging and a larger brain would have aided in the hunt for food. Studies have proven that our ancestors who emerged after an icy period had larger brains than those before – 2.5 times larger to be exact. So, how come it didn’t happen to other animals? Language is the answer. Human brain growth was driven by the development of language. When humans began to communicate, it favoured their survival and in favouring their survival, natural selection occurred. This ensured that only those who could communicate and therefore had larger brains, survived, thus driving evolution.
Key lesson two: How language and communication makes us human
Psychologist, Michael C. Corballis and physiologist, Maurizio Gentilucci don’t agree that language is what us makes up human but rather speech. Language existed before speech by the use of gestures to refer to objects and actions. Eventually, verbal communication began with the use of facial expressions and sounds. It is thought that verbal communication became necessary from a need to multitask. Communication would still be possible even if hands were occupied or over further distances.
Communication also influenced the way we socialised. Psychologist Andrew Whiten believes that humans are the most social creatures on the planet. Whiten also theorises that it isn’t intelligence that sets humans apart and instead is their sociability. He goes on further to explain the four elements of this sociability. The first element is mind-reading. Humans can comprehend the actions of other humans relative to their state of mind. This is a social skill. The second is culture. Humans acquire information socially, passed on by those that surround us. This is reflected in our thoughts which is strongly affected by culture. The third element is language. Language allows humans to let their thoughts be known to others in a social situation. The last element of sociability is cooperation. It is essentially through cooperation that humans were able to first organize themselves into groups. These groups first formed as a means of survival. When hunting became harder, humans started working in groups, communicating with each other in order to take down their prey. This ability to communicate and work together further improved their chances of survival.
It was also during this time that symbolic thought developed along with language. Language communicated needs at first but it later adapted to the expression of symbolic thoughts. This adaptation was aided by imagination and the ability to produce new associations and meanings.
Key lesson three: Memes, memory and imagination
The way humans behave and make decisions has less to do with personality and more to do with unconscious memes. A meme is defined as an element of a culture or system of behaviour passed from one individual to another by imitation or other non-genetic means. They may be non-genetic, but just like genes, they are replicated and passed on. If you really think about it, everything we know and do is due to a meme. Skills, habits and gestures are all a copy of what we have been exposed to. Only humans use memes to this extent. Other animals do things instinctively or it is already coded in their genes. Memes have also contributed to evolution much the same way genes have. Those memes which have passed down successfully have been key to survival – like language, for example.
Humans also have the unique ability to travel back in time via memories. Memories come in two types – declarative and non-declarative. Declarative memory refers to memories that can be consciously recalled and described whilst non-declarative memories refers to muscle or motor memories. Declarative memory consists of two parts – Semantic and episodic memory. The former is the memory of facts and the latter, the memory of events. Episodic memory allows humans to travel back in time and imagine the future. In doing so, we can imagine different scenarios and outcomes. This also contributes to human survival by allowing us to handle future situations knowing what happened in the past and readjusting when needed.
This brings us to the human imagination. Psychologist Robin Dunbar believes it is imagination that makes humans unique. We are almost identical to apes, but humans have the ability to analyze everything and attempt to imagine a better or easier future. Also to be considered are the lives we have created with imagination, enabling concepts such as religion, literature and science. Imagination is at their very foundation. How else could we have thought of such higher powers, scientific theories and fiction? Further to the imagination, humans also have theory of mind. This refers to our ability to imagine another person’s state of mind, something that our closest primate relatives do not possess.
Key lesson four: What biology has to say about humans
Charles Pasternak, a biologist believes that curiosity is the trait that makes us human. All living organisms have curiosity but humans take it to another level. So, how exactly did humans develop such great curiosity? There are four things that could explain it. Firstly, walking upright could have contributed to curiosity by literally giving humans a better view of their surroundings. Walking upright led to the second attribute, free hands. With hands no longer need to move around, they were free to develop flexible thumbs which changed everything. Humans began to craft tools and hold weapons. The third attribute is the development of the voice box in humans which allowed humans to make sounds and eventually communicate. Lastly, the brain developed to be much larger. These attributes allowed humans to explore their surroundings much better than before.
Lewis Wolpert, another biologist believes it is not curiosity but rather a human’s ability to understand cause and effect that makes humans different to other animals. This ability allowed us to build tools and, later on, advanced technology. Humans begging to develop this understanding of cause and effect from a very young age. Just consider how kids play and ask questions as they get older. This is what makes human intelligence unique. Primates can’t distinguish how objects will interact. They can accomplish tasks via trial and error, but they can’t reason or understand causality.
Key lesson five: Religion also has a view on what makes us human
Reverend Richard Harries believes that humans are also shaped by the ability to take spiritual quests. We already know that human imagination plays a role in religion, but Harries sees the human mind as much more than just a brain. He believes that humans are half-angels because they are created in God’s image. Being half-angel enables us to reflect on situations rationally and with spiritual thought. The values and principles we have allow us to make decisions considering our belief in right and wrong. This view is controversial as it could be argued that spiritual focus is far from rational as there is no proof that God exists. Either way, humans are known to follow a life of faith. Whether it is what makes us humans is yet to be proven.
Another religious view comes from Jon D. Levenson who believes that humans in made up of a physical and mental entity. We are granted this psychophysical unity by God and this is what allows humans to understand things and themselves in relation to the world. It is also through this trait that humans can consciously change their thoughts and behaviour.
Key lesson six: Humans cook
Did you know there are no known cases of long-term human survival on a purely raw diet? Humans are the only animals that cook their food. This definitely sets us apart from others and also explains our long lives in comparison to other animals. Raw foods cannot provide humans with their daily caloric needs which explains why cooking has been around for thousands of years.
Cooking has had an effect on humans regarding behaviour, habitat, infant development and competition. Some scientists even believe that cooking food also influenced evolution. The cooking of food makes it easier to digest, therefore humans required smaller teeth and intestinal tracts. However, there is no evidence of this change in our evolutionary biology and has therefore been named the cooking enigma.
The key takeaway from What Makes Us Human is:
Humans are, without a doubt, a unique species. However, there is no specific reason to explain what makes us human. There are multiple views that exist which vary greatly. Is it the size of our brains? The ability to speak or imagine? Or maybe it’s because we’re the only animals that cook our food? It will always be an area of debate as different experts will have different answers. Maybe it is a combination of all these facts that make us human? We will just have to wait and see whether the question is ever answered.
How can I implement the lessons learned in What Makes Us Human:
The concepts of being human in this book summary highlight all the reasons why humans are unique. From our ability to communicate to our understanding of cause and effect. If our brains are capable of such higher thinking, are we truly using it to the best of our ability? Or are we relying too much on unconscious thought and memes? Maybe it’s time to consciously put some thought into whether you are fulfilling your true potential.
