Name:
Date:
"Calendar"
Assignment for Day 26
What it means to be “human”
Jaclyn &
Ricky’s Day!
· Terri Schiavo (An article that favors the husband’s decision to withdraw life support)
· Lines 335-372 (Chorus) in Sophocles' "Antigone"
· Sonnet #147, by Shakespeare
Thinking assignment:
· How would you begin to define what it means to be human? Consider Terry Schiavo- would you consider her to be a human, or, as the author of the article states, merely a "vegetable"? Do you believe that there are specific borders that separate the human from non-human? If so, what do these borders consist of?
Writing assignment (based on the second reading):
· Background. Many people believe that genomic research and technology have the power to change what it means to be “human.” But what’s “human,” let alone a change in it? It’s an ancient question still much debated. Moreover, asking the question in different ways can lead to very different answers. Consider the following three; each has us make a different kind of comparison, thus shaping our perception of what matters most. (1) What distinguishes the human race from other living creatures, that is, what makes humans different from non-humans, physically or morally? (2) To what standards of excellence should humankind aspire (compare ourselves) to realize humankind’s highest potential? (3) What attributes must an individual being possess to merit membership in the club of humankind and all the rights that such personhood confers?
· Task. (a) The excerpt from “Antigone” describes what is so “strange” (distinctive) about mankind. What is it that Sophocles sees as so distinctive about mankind? Please be specific. (b) He wrote the play over 2,000 years ago (442 BCE). Are his views on human distinctiveness still relevant in our new genomic world? Please explain.