Jim Abbott
Dr. Adam Johns
Seminar in Composition
9/30/08
“What are Humans For”
Human beings are the most powerful species on the planet. A Human being by itself is not the most powerful animal on the planet, but humans as a group are far more powerful than any other animal group. The purpose of human life is widely debated and often questioned. The reason humans are on earth is to accomplish tasks and make improvements as a group, which could be accomplished by an individual. In order for this happen, every person needs to provide a talent or skill that can help the cause.
Every human is different, meaning that everyone has different skills and callings. Typically, this skills or callings leads to a profession or hobby in that certain field. People performing these acts are often very happy during them, and give meaning to one’s life. Bill McKibben’s book “Enough” discusses this topic, and refers to the process as “flow.” “A person in a state of flow has neither more nor less challenge than she can handle” (Mckibben 51). McKibben states his personal experience with flow as running a marathon. People in a state of flow, often engage in an activity that is enjoyable, but also challenging. It is often a personal challenge, which can involve engaging in a physical activity. Many basketball players who are experiencing flow “the test came in competition. A more subtle way of establishing physical competence is by matching one’s skill against a physical obstacle or against the boundaries of one’s own competence” (McKibben 51). Flow gives purpose to the life of many people as it forces them to dig deep and accomplish a task that is difficult but meaningful.
Humans, unlike other species, engage in flow. Humans make sacrifices in order to accomplish the goals that they want to achieve. The reward for the goal may not be glamorous, but to win that personal challenge provides a feeling of satisfaction that other species cannot relate with. This feeling is what encourages humans to continue to engage in the activities that cause flow. Often times people who have a profession in a field that they love will experience flow while performing their job.
The essential requirement to work and have a profession also gives purpose to human existence. Richard Scarry’s book “What Do People Do All Day” touches on the importance of work and keeping society in order. Scarry demonstrates in his book how each character has a profession that enables people to live happily. Since no single individual can perform all the jobs, Scarry’s book shows the interdependence among people, and how everyone’s job is important to make the whole successful. The farmer provides food for the community, while the tailor provides clothes, and the construction worker provides sturdy homes. The point of this book is to illustrate how any individual performing a job is integral in the success of a community. The jobs are rewarding to the society, but also rewarding to the individual performing them. A job requires a challenge in the field that an individual is skilled in. Due to this, many occupations fulfill individuals with flow and make the work enjoyable. The sense of accomplishment that follows a hard days work is what gives purpose the job, and makes the job rewarding. Humans understand the difference between working hard, and striving to perform well, as opposed to going through the motions. The challenge that work entails provides meaning to human existence, and is the reason so many people struggle with retirement. People who enjoyed their work are unaccustomed to a life filled with leisure and void of challenge and purpose. Retirement is supposed to a be a time of relaxation and pleasure, but for people who enjoy the flow of working, it can be hell.
The purpose of humans is to find purpose in their life. Humans are not drastically different from other species, but what separates them from other animals is the ability to have flow. By finding a challenge that forces a person to look within and work hard makes life rewarding. Without flow, human life would be meaningless.
4 comments:
Jim makes a strong point for the flow state as the basis of human purpose. His essay was supposed to be “correct, or at least valuable,” and I believe that while this essay may be illogical, It would be difficult to mount any sort of significant attack on it. Circular reasoning is usually judged as an invalid way to prove a fact. In the last paragraph Jim writes “The purpose of humans is to find purpose in their life.” While this statement is an example of circular reasoning, It is absolutely correct. Logic and reason are not the driving force of human nature, but logic and reason have allowed our race to become strong. As Jim writes in his intro paragraph, “humans as a group are far more powerful than any other animal group.”
This flow state is very similar to a core American value, as found in the Declaration of Independence “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” – The inalienable rights of man. We live to live just as the animals, but while the animals are much more passive, we humans are more active in our creation of life.
Even Lee Silver, who would have us all downloaded onto a computer and uploaded to a databank, even he would agree that this flow state is what humans have evolved to do. Silver may be ok with replacing humans with a biologically superior species, but this is only because he believes that this would increase our chances of survival. Silver and McKibben would both certainly support good hard work. Silver actually say “Homo sapiens is innately a technological species able to consciously manipulate the natural world in ways that enhance the survival of the members.” In other words, we live to build, to work, and participate in the flow state.
I would expand on your ideas here. I like what youre saying but i feel that the paper would be a lot better if you gave more examples. At the end of the 3rd paragraph you say how a perosn can experience flow while in the workplace. I would give at least one example of this and how it would make a difference in society compared to someone who doesnt experience flow in the work place. More clearly id compare the work ethic of someone who likes their job to someone who hates it.
You can also go deeper and describe the feeling one might receive from accomplishing a challenge. Not only do the workers have to accomplish a physical challenge but they have to accomplish a mental challenge that comes with the work.
This may be a stretch but you could even describe how a person is able to change internally to become a better well rounded human and the effects that this person has on society.
Overall good first draft, i like your ideas, but you need to expand a little bit on your ideas.
Jim Abbott
Dr. Adam Johns
Seminar in Composition
9/30/08
“What are Humans For”
Human beings are the most powerful species on the planet. A Human being by itself is not the most powerful animal on the planet, but humans as a group are far more powerful than any other animal group. The purpose of human life is widely debated and often questioned. The reason humans are on earth is to accomplish tasks and make improvements as a group, which could not be accomplished by an individual. In order for these tasks to be fulfilled, every person needs to provide a talent or skill that can help the cause. These abilities not only help the human society, but they also help the human.
Every human is different, meaning that everyone has different skills and callings. Typically, these skills or callings leads to a profession or hobby in that certain field. People performing these acts are often in a state of happiness during them, and give meaning to one’s life. Bill McKibben’s book “Enough” discusses this topic, and refers to the process as “flow.” “A person in a state of flow has neither more nor less challenge than she can handle” (Mckibben 51). McKibben states his personal experience with flow as running a marathon. People in a state of flow, often engage in an activity that is enjoyable, but also challenging. It is often a personal challenge, which can involve engaging in a physical activity. Many basketball players who are experiencing flow enjoy the competitive aspect, “the test came in competition. A more subtle way of establishing physical competence is by matching one’s skill against a physical obstacle or against the boundaries of one’s own competence” (McKibben 51). Flow gives purpose to the life of many people as it forces them to dig deep and accomplish a task that is difficult but meaningful.
Humans, unlike other species, engage in flow. Humans make sacrifices in order to accomplish the goals that they wish to achieve. The reward for the goal may not be glamorous, but to win that personal challenge provides a feeling of satisfaction that other species cannot relate with. This feeling is what encourages humans to continue to engage in the activities that cause flow. Often times people who have a profession in a field that they love will experience flow while performing their job.
The essential requirement to work and have a profession also gives purpose to human existence. Richard Scarry’s book “What Do People Do All Day” touches on the importance of work and keeping society in order. Scarry demonstrates in his book how each character has a profession that enables people to live happily. Since no single individual can perform all the jobs, Scarry’s book shows the interdependence among people, and how everyone’s job is important to make the whole successful. The farmer provides food for the community, while the tailor provides clothes, and the construction worker provides sturdy homes. The point of this book is to illustrate how any individual performing a job is integral in the success of a community. The jobs are rewarding to the society, but also rewarding to the individual performing them. A job requires a challenge in the field that an individual is skilled in. Due to this, many occupations fulfill individuals with flow and make the work enjoyable. The sense of accomplishment that follows a hard days work is what gives purpose the job, and makes the job rewarding. Being a Doctor has many benefits along with many challenges. The hours are long, and they are always on call, despite the situation. Doctors are willing to sacrifice time out of their personal life in order to excel at their profession because they are aware of their job’s importance. The salary is added bonus, but the real satisfaction that Doctors receive is knowing that they are making a difference in the life of others. Humans understand the difference between working hard, and striving to perform well, as opposed to going through the motions. The challenge that work entails provides meaning to human existence, and is the reason so many people struggle with retirement. People who enjoyed their work are unaccustomed to a life filled with leisure and void of challenge and purpose. Retirement is supposed to be a time of relaxation and pleasure, but for people who enjoy the flow of working, it can be downright miserable.
The purpose of humans is to find meaning in their life. It is not just to survive, but to find enjoyment, and make a difference. Humans are not drastically different from other species, but what separates them from other animals is their ability to have flow. By finding a challenge that forces a person to look within and work hard, it makes life rewarding. Without flow, human life would be no different than any other form of life.
Brian - this is a great critique. Of course, it would have been more potential productive if you'd devoted a sentence or two to imagining what Jim might have done to respond to you.
Sean - some good thoughts, but not thoroughly developed.
Jim - I think your focus on collective improvement is good, but you don't really make clear what kinds of thinks constitute an improvement for humanity as a whole. There's a dangerous vagueness to your opening.
You follow up this emphasis on *collective* purpose with a dicussion of *flow*, which you, like McKibben, see as being an individual thing. This is a jarring transition - not that you can't pull it off, but it raises some immediate challenges.
Then your long paragraph about Richard Scarry tries to bridge the gap, by demonstrating that indidivual "flow" - as experienced by the workers of Busytown - is beneficial to the group. Fine.
What you don't do, then, is make the argument that, in fact, the world works this way. You have a potential way out of the circularity Brian pointed out - demonstrating the collective meaning of flow through an example - but what you have here is a start of that argument, not its completion. Is real life fulfilling in this way? If not, could it be made this way? Is Busytown an attempt to portray a meaningful existence when the real world isn't meaningful? You should have dealt with at least some of these questions.
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