Gabriella Gallaga 2300.01 Arguement against Humanity

Word Count: 469

Impostor story is about a man accused of being a robot spy housing an explosive bomb.Throughout most of the story the reader is lead to believe that the protagonist is simply a victim, caught up in the hysteria of the war. Even his long time friend and wife are leery of believing his profession of innocence. It is easy to believe that it could have been a misunderstanding considering the circumstances everyone was in. The war between the human colonist and the space invaders have made everyone unsure over their own personal wellbeing and the situation outside of war. In the beginning of the story there was an example was given how an entire forest burned up without anyone's notice. So the character goes around not able to prove his innocent until later when he was able to produce a mangled up corpse near a crashed alien "needle ship". Finally when he convinced the majority of the army after him, his close friend Nelson noticed something-a knife still embedded in the body's chest. The protagonist realization of his non existence cause the bomb to set off.

Humanity is simply defined by the definitions different populations give it. Biologists, for example, might define humans as a homo sapians, as a population who evolved from homo exerctus. They might explain that we are humans because we share similar physical traits with other members of the taxonomy family. Or if speaking strictly more philosophical level it can be what Daniel Quinn suggests in his novel Ishmael-what defines a human may not be just organic but the ability to think and reason. Phillip Dick also questions the idea of human identity. The robot clone considered its life precious, it felt fear, it was able to understand the wife concern.

Personally I view humanity as the same way as I view mind. Humanity is simply a label given to help identify a concept or idea. Humanity, just like mind, has no real limits to its definitions. It is shapeless. Its meaning completely depends on the person defining it. So to argue the existence or what defines it when something doesn't remotely have a uniform definition is not only impossible but fruitless. It is important to set up values and consider what is truly important to you. But there is no "one size fits all" behavior all people must be exhibiting to constitute its existence. All creatures express anger, sexual desire, hunger, fear. A dog not biting an pestering small child is no less of a dog because it exhibits self control. In the same way, these feelings are common, but not constantly expressing these often universal traits does not make a person less human. A dog not biting someone who messing with its food is no less of a dog because it exhibits self control. Same way a person who does no give in to every one of their physical desires is any less human.