Treated Like a Human Being

[Tree of Life]

"I just want to be treated like a human being."

This is a common expression with many variations. All of us can resonate with its sentiment at some level. We've probably recently felt this way or even made this expression - particularly when we feel we're being disrespected.

I think that implicit within this expression is the doctrine of the image of God.

What do we mean when we say: "I just want to be treated like a human being"? We mean that we want to be treated with respect, dignity, and some measure of honor that we feel is due to all humanity. But why do human beings especially deserve any of this? If we believed deep down that humanity was not especially different from any other animal or any other object (see object oriented ontology) then this expression would seem flat. We do believe deep down that all humans deserve dignity, respect, and honor.

Why? Because human beings are image bearers of God - and God deserves respect, honor, and dignity. When we say: "I just want to be treated like a human being" I think that we really mean: "I just want to be treated like an image bearer of God."

 

[Davian]

God who?

 

[kristina411]

God who?

I'm sorry, was there a reason for this comment or do you like stirring up trouble?

 

[Tree of Life]

God who?

"God" is actually an official title. It's not a personal name.

 

[Messy]

The word for it in English is good, being, Being, I am, eternal. There's no animal being.

 

[Golden Yak]

"I just want to be treated like a human being."

This is a common expression with many variations. All of us can resonate with its sentiment at some level. We've probably recently felt this way or even made this expression - particularly when we feel we're being disrespected.

I think that implicit within this expression is the doctrine of the image of God.

What do we mean when we say: "I just want to be treated like a human being"? We mean that we want to be treated with respect, dignity, and some measure of honor that we feel is due to all humanity. But why do human beings especially deserve any of this? If we believed deep down that humanity was not especially different from any other animal or any other object (see object oriented ontology) then this expression would seem flat. We do believe deep down that all humans deserve dignity, respect, and honor.

Humans beings are evidently animals and not terribly different from other species in the biological sense. We require certain things to maintain our health and well-being, and so instinctively desire these things - if we didn't strive for them, we'd die out.

Human beings are quite complicated mentally, possibly moreso than any other known organism. Mental well-being is also something we instinctively desire to maintain our health, and mental well-being generally requires things like love, respect, companionship, etc. There's every reason why we should desire these things.

Now, as for humans regarding themselves as being worth more consideration than other species - well, generally a species will prize itself over others. If we could know the opinions of lions or moose they would probably regard themsleves as more important than those strange two-legged things that think they're so great. Sharks don't appear to care whether or not we're made in the 'image' of some deity or another.

That humans are special appears to be an opinion exclusive to humans, not engrained as some inherent element of the cosmos. It might be a matter of opinion, and arguably inaccurate (although who you'd argue it with, I don't know), but there's every reason we would expect this in nature - if lions prized the gazelle kind above their own kind, they wouldn't last very long. If humans regarded all life as equivalent to their own, they would all perish - living things must consume other living things to survive.

I personally hold humans in higher regard to other species (in general - certain individuals, now...). I fully admit this is a personal bias in favor of my own species, the same way I'd regard my own family over some strangers (as anyone would) - I'm not bothered by that.

Why? Because human beings are image bearers of God - and God deserves respect, honor, and dignity. When we say: "I just want to be treated like a human being" I think that we really mean: "I just want to be treated like an image bearer of God."

Why does God deserve those things?

 

[Tree of Life]

Why does God deserve those things?

God deserves respect, honor, obedience, dignity, etc because he upholds our lives and we owe our lives to him.

Does your father deserve honor, respect, etc? If so, how much more God?

 

[Tree of Life]

I personally hold humans in higher regard to other species (in general - certain individuals, now...). I fully admit this is a personal bias in favor of my own species, the same way I'd regard my own family over some strangers (as anyone would) - I'm not bothered by that.

So you do not believe, at the end of the day, that humans are in fact more important than rocks or sea urchins?

 

[Davian]

I'm sorry, was there a reason for this comment or do you like stirring up trouble?

If I am not mistaken, this is an open forum.

The OP did not say "Assume for the moment that my particular deity exists, and is "God"..."

In that context, all I did was to post my initial response to the OP.

Does not our new Philosophy Forum Statement of Purpose say something about "Critical examination of the rational grounds of our most fundamental beliefs and logical analysis of the basic concepts employed in the expression of such beliefs."?

 

[Davian]

"God" is actually an official title. It's not a personal name.

Indeed.

Are we to assume, for the purposes of the OP, that your particular deity is "God"?

 

[2PhiloVoid]

If I am not mistaken, this is an open forum.

The OP did not say "Assume for the moment that my particular deity exists, and is "God"..."

In that context, all I did was to post my initial response to the OP.

Does not our new Philosophy Forum Statement of Purpose say something about "Critical examination of the rational grounds of our most fundamental beliefs and logical analysis of the basic concepts employed in the expression of such beliefs."?

Um...I already attempted to get you to follow through on that kind of approach not so long ago, and you wouldn't do it. Hmmm.......

You seem to have priority for the God question, and you demand it be met before any other conceptual matters--like the 'nature of evidence,' for instance--have been established.

So, let's not keep gnawing on that old dry bone...

 

[kristina411]

If I am not mistaken, this is an open forum.

The OP did not say "Assume for the moment that my particular deity exists, and is "God"..."

In that context, all I did was to post my initial response to the OP.

Does not our new Philosophy Forum Statement of Purpose say something about "Critical examination of the rational grounds of our most fundamental beliefs and logical analysis of the basic concepts employed in the expression of such beliefs."?

Hey, I was just checkin.

 

[Davian]

Um...I already attempted to get you to follow through on that kind of approach not so long ago, and you wouldn't do it. Hmmm.......

Recall that we left the ball in your court on that one.

You seem to have priority for the God question, and you demand it be met before any other conceptual matters--like the 'nature of evidence,' for instance--have been established.

You mean, established in a fashion that would allow for gods.

So, let's not keep gnawing on that old dry bone...

Let's not keep waving it around like it was a thick, beefy steak.

 

[Golden Yak]

So you do not believe, at the end of the day, that humans are in fact more important than rocks or sea urchins?

A 'fact'? In the same way that gravity is a fact, or that fire is hot? I don't know how you'd determine that sort of thing - I think assigning value to something necessarily requires a mind, which makes it an opinion. Rocks might have a different one, if they were capable.

Certainly, humans are more important to me than sea urchins. But if you step on a sea urchin, it will injure you - it doesn't care what your opinion is on relative importance of species or images of deities.

God deserves respect, honor, obedience, dignity, etc because he upholds our lives and we owe our lives to him.

I'd say that gets him gratitude, up to a point. The other stuff is contingent.

Does your father deserve honor, respect, etc? If so, how much more God?

Or how much less. Depends on the father, depends on the God. But that is another issue.

 

[Ken-1122]

"I just want to be treated like a human being."

This is a common expression with many variations. All of us can resonate with its sentiment at some level. We've probably recently felt this way or even made this expression - particularly when we feel we're being disrespected.

I think that implicit within this expression is the doctrine of the image of God.

What do we mean when we say: "I just want to be treated like a human being"? We mean that we want to be treated with respect, dignity, and some measure of honor that we feel is due to all humanity. But why do human beings especially deserve any of this? If we believed deep down that humanity was not especially different from any other animal or any other object (see object oriented ontology) then this expression would seem flat.

True! But people who believe deep down that humanity is not especially different from any other animal or object would not say "I just want to be treated like a human being"

Ken

 

[Chany]

God deserves respect, honor, obedience, dignity, etc because he upholds our lives and we owe our lives to him.

Is the following statement true:

X deserves respect, honor, obedience, dignity, etc because X upholds our lives and we owe our lives to X.

Where X stands for anything.

 

[Ana the Ist]

God deserves respect, honor, obedience, dignity, etc because he upholds our lives and we owe our lives to him.

Does your father deserve honor, respect, etc? If so, how much more God?

Ummm...why would we "owe god our lives"? Maybe I'm assuming too much but if you had a child, you wouldn't think that child "owed you it's life"...would you?

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Recall that we left the ball in your court on that one.

Oh, really? I thought you threw the game.

You mean, established in a fashion that would allow for gods.

Do I sense that you already have a commitment to disallowing the consideration of an epistemological framework that may 'allow' for the divine?

Let's not keep waving it around like it was a thick, beefy steak.

It used to be a thick, beefy steak, until you ate it all.

Anyway, in honor of the theme of this specific forum, I'll leave our epistemic impasse over the conceptual nature of evidence to be...

Have a great day!

 

[variant]

I think that implicit within this expression is the doctrine of the image of God.

I don't think so. It is a direct appeal to a persons sameness to you. The appeal is to empathy, that we all wish to be treated with respect and dignity and thus when someone asks for the treatment we would all wish, it resonates with other sentient rational and empathic beings.

 

[Tree of Life]

Indeed.

Are we to assume, for the purposes of the OP, that your particular deity is "God"?

Unless you want to get into a discussion that totally tangents from the OP.