Origins

The origin of the human species is reasonably clear since Charles Darwin discovered the mechanism of biological evolution and after several generations of arqueologists and antropologists have investigated human and pre-human remains. Our species, like any other one, is the result of an ongoing process of biological evolution.

Biology and culture

We are a highly social species, like most of the great apes, our closest relatives. We live alone only by force or bad luck, and when that happens we try to return to society even if it means risking our lives.  Because of our intelligence, communicative skills and cooperative nature, our social life is incomparable more complex than that of other social species. 

Emotions and feelings

Our innate disposition to show and recognise emotions combines seamlessly with the varied cultural rules, traditions of showing and controlling our feelings. 

Look for answers to the following questions:

• What are emotions? How do we know there are innate emotions in all of us?

• Enumerate all innate emotions. What evolutionary purpose do emotions serve? Exemplify the point with a couple of them.

• What are feelings? Can you differentiate emotions and feelings in at least four or five key characteristics?

• Exemplify the importance of culture in the development, expression and recognition in others of feelings. Hint: compare how concrete feelings (e.g. love, respect or shame) are expressed in two very different cultures (e.g. contemporary Spaniards and Chinese people).

Languages

Our innate disposition to speak needs cultural input for a full development of language in all humans. This combination of natural communication capabilities with learned cultural ways of communication is not exclusive of humans and has been observed in other animal species.

Look for answers to the following questions:

• Can you exemplify with another animal species the combination of nature and culture in their development of communication skills?

• Give some reasons for the innate basis of language.

• When investigating the acquisition of language by humans, researchers have found a "critical period". What is it? Why is it critical? Are there examples of persons unable of speak because of problems during the critical period?

Sex and gender

As with emotional and communicative behaviour, sexual behaviour in humans results from a complex interaction of nature and culture.

We are born with primary sexual characteristics that guide the development of secondary ones. But natural development of bodily sexual characteristics is only one side of human sexual behaviour: socially learned roles, expectations and examples conveyed by family, friends and social media also play an important role in our sexuality.

Temperament and character

Personality differentiates one person from the rest. Our personality is another area of combination between natural predispositions and learned (biographical) characteristics. Our personality is the sum of our natural temperament and our character.

• Explain the concept of temperament. Which personality traits are asociated with our temperament?

• Explain the concept of character. Which personality traits are part of our character?

Looking for meaning

Humans are conscious of our own mortality. The experience of death in others and its premonition in ourselves have a large impact in our life; many cultural activities have a close relation with death:

• Religion. Belief systems that include the existence of deities and a promise of an afterlife.

• Posterity. Most people are interested in their legacy, what they will leave to their families and friends. Some people think in their future fame: how they will be remembered by humanity.

• History. Learning from the experience of past people, their ideas and dreams as a guide for the present.

• Having a meaningful life. Because we know of our certain death but are also capable of choosing among different alternatives and planning our future, we are interested in having a meaningful life. Which is the best way of living our life is a topic present in every human culture.

Meaning outside of this world

Giving meaning of our lifes from outside of the natural world, from a supernatural one, in an afterlife, is the key proposal of most religions. But in order to do that, religions ask us to believe in supernatual entities (souls, deities, an afterlife, heaven and hell, etc.) and to behave in certain ways. And we must do both without reasons, only by faith. 

Meaning within this world

Religion asks us to abandon rationality in favour of blind faith in order to answer the question of what is the meaning of our lives. But Philosophy is one kind of rational thinking (sciences and common sense are the others) and therefore is incompatible with blind faith. However, the question of the meaning of our lives is as old as Philosophy. Lots of philosophers, ancient and contemporary, have devoted their efforts to rationally answer this question.