This site is to host your ideas about Philosophy - about doing philosophy as opposed to studying it. To be a philosopher (which is what we are aiming for)you need to think and here you can share your thoughts, get feedback and , hopefully, inspire discussions.
I believe that she does indeed have a point. I believe that when you get to the verse 'there are six billion and a half souls, but in the end we're the same underneath.' I believe that the verse shows that everyone is different, but it also seems to mean that we are also all human (the same). I think that the lyrics convey a message that is contrary: They say that we are all the same but we have a variety of appearances and personalities. Is it possible to e unique and the same at the same time?
However, I also feel that the line 'If you're strange, If you're weird, you're wonderful' can be questioned. I could answer by saying that the line means everyone is unique in their own way, no matter what people think and that sometimes strangeness is a good thing.
Sandi Thom's song portrays humans in all their different shapes and forms.
I feel that the lyric "I'm a human being, I'm not a dumb machine" is a statement that really cannot be proven to be absolute, as what really is the defining line between a human and a machine? Is it merely because Thom is 'walking, talking, dreaming'?
I find myself identifying best with the verse "There are six and a half billion beliefs But in the end were the same underneath Every different shape or size If you're strong or if your wise" evoking in myself the belief that one of the strongest things that link all humans together, perhaps ironically, is individuality. Where else in this universe will we find beings that differentiate on levels such as race, religion, age, gender, interests and beliefs?
In conclusion I feel that Thom's song 'I'm a human being' brings out any valid points as to what makes humans, humans. She reiterates at many points in the song that we each have a soul, a life and our own beliefs, dreams, hearts and minds - through which we express our individuality and establishes us as human beings.
I think Sandhi Thom does have a point, I think that this point is that we should just accept that we are all human, but at the same time all unique. She says 'I don't know what that means', and I think her point is also to tell the listener that we should live life without questioning anything too much.
I think the line 'I'm not a dumb machine' is contentious as it is the only statement she makes which seems to be quite negative. It also contrasts her saying that we are all different: 'shape and size' 'small and ten feet tall' 'some are good some are bad'. And so she says 'if you are wise'. So if some human beings are 'wise' then surely some are not 'dumb'? Or is it only inferior 'machines' that possess this quality? But then we would have to define what a 'machine' is as well as a human being.
I think the song as a whole makes me think because of the way Thom uses opposites to describe being a human, almost as if separating us all into groups. I don't think it was intended to make the listener think this way, but when I read these lyrics, I think that instead of describing humans as being united and one race, the song makes us all seem very apart and segregated. Thom's intent was obviously to be favourable of the human race, but I think that no matter what, we will always be different in so many more ways than we are the same. We will always be individuals and therefore we will always have different beliefs, the only certain similarity, if not very different as well, is our anatomy.
Pertaining to Elaine's remark about her lyric 'I'm a human being, I'm not a dumb machine' not being absolute, I believe Thom is simply stating we are not limited, mechanical systems. We are sentient beings with moral and emotional capabilities, something 'robots' would not be able to encompass.
I find the lyrics '...And I don't know what It means, ... I believe In Love and I love being a human being,' Interesting because it seems so state that as a whole, we as humans are all incredibly ignorant of everything in reality. The quote 'Ignorance Is Bliss' is somewhat apt to this scenario as Thom goes to say that although we know not what 'It' means, we believe in love and we love being human beings thus proving we can still experience 'love' and enjoyment regardless of our ignorance and obliviousness to the true forms of our reality.
The song is pretty much a typical "we're all in this together" feel-good song, and I'm sorry but I don't actually see a lot of deep, philosophical meaning in it. It somewhat contradicts itself, suggesting that a "dumb machine" is not human, but later making the point that we can't know what a human is.
Its message of love and interconnectedness between people is conveyed very well, however, and indirectly could be linked to the concept of Ubuntu, in that it defines humanity in terms of love with the last line of the chorus.
Sandhi Thom's song displays her view on what ir is to be part of the human race and what defines us as human beings.
I believe that she really does have a point. In response to Josh's comment ''I'm a human being, I'm not a dumb machine' i agree that we are defined as human beings and not merely machines by the fact that we have emotions and can respond to them.
However i don't agree with Jem's point that it is impossible to be unique but the same at the same time. This is what establishes us as human beings. Yes, we are all uniquely special with our own physical and mental characteristics however when it comes down to it, we are all a part of the SAME species, human beings.
I agree with James Cook. This song doesn't seem to have much philosophical depth to me. I don't think it was the artist's intent to have the lyrics contain anything controversial or purposefully thought provoking material.
That being said after looking over the lyrics, lines that intrigue me or are interesting would be, "and i don't know what it means" because it suggests we shouldn't over-analyze or question things rather just accept them.
I think that Sandi Thom has many points on what she feels human beings are. She uses parallelism a lot which I feel tells us that humans are so varied and have so many different characteristics between the black and white 'straight' or 'drunk'. Therefore I disagree with Maya when she says these opposites segregates us rather then uniting us all.
I also disagree with Elaine when she said that when Sandi Thom said that we aren't machines because we can love and dream, that we can't prove her right. I believe we cannot be machines for these very reasons. This is because the definition of a machine is 'something that uses power to preform a particular, definite task', this meaning that people are here on this earth for one reason and a specific one which I do not support. I do not think there is a 'meaning of life'.
Finally, I completely contradict both James' points saying that this song has no philosophical relevance as it clearly has raised many questions and issues of what people believe humans actually are. Indeed, she may not have necessarily wanted us to question the world loads, as Maya pointed out, however, there are so many issues that crop up in the lyrics of this 'feel good' song.
I believe that the message she is trying to get across is that it would be very easy to define what a human is if we were all the same. For example if we were to define what water is we would define it as a compound containing 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom. But trying to make the same definition of a human is difficult because there is always an exception to the rule. However, personally I believe it is possible to create a definition for what a human is but it is not a one or two sentence answer. Creating a definition for something so complex as human being needs a very complex definition. Trying to make a short definition which sounds nice is simply a human need. As we like things that are governed by simple rules. This is why we create formula's and dictionaries.
I agree with both James but it is a song and there is only so much you can do with lyrics, while still making it sound good.
"There are six and a half billion beliefs" I think this line raises an important philosophical question: Is it a good thing that there are so many different versions of the truth?
Personally, I don't think so. Clearly, some people are more correct than others. A crazy person could claim that 1 + 1 = 317, but no one would pay attention because all the evidence points toward the fact that 1 + 1 = 2 and there is no evidence to the contrary. However, more complex issues such as the existence of God make this question more challenging. A theist could argue that they have an extremely strong feeling of faith in the idea of God's existence and 5.9 billion people in the world do claim this. An atheist, on the other hand, would claim that only hard evidence would do and also, perhaps, that even with no evidence either way, we make less assumptions when saying that God does not exist and so it is more likely to be that way. In this case, both sides of the argument seem to make a strong point.
This leads us to the question: Is it alright to say that if I'm OK with you believing what you believe and vice versa then it really is the best thing to say that it is OK that our beliefs contradict? Most people in the world adopt an "I'm right, you're wrong" attitude before they begin to question the reliability of their own beliefs and this, of course, is the cause of much conflict and suffering in the world. Conceivably, this means that the best option would be to choose to accept the beliefs of others as true (for them), even if just for the purpose of preventing hostility and unpleasantness within society.
The final question raised, then, is: Do we choose happiness or the truth? Well, the truth, if everyone accepted one truth as their own would lead to more happiness anyway, but as has been mentioned by others above, humans are naturally unique and individual, so if even one person chose to contradict, even if just to be rebellious, the whole system would fall apart. Inevitably, the way forward is for everybody to question their own beliefs as much as possible, but accept and tolerate the beliefs of others. Besides, the point of the song is that individuality should be celebrated. Wouldn't it be boring if we all acted like "dumb machines"?
Sandhi Thom's song seems to point out what she defines a human being, saying that because we are all different and loveable, we are different from machines or any artificial intelligence. This raises questions such as "How are robots/A.I/machines different from us if they can be programmed to be just like human beings?"
I feel that Sandhi's song raises many good points on what is a human being, and that regardless of how different we are, we are all loveable and beautiful in the inside. I disagree with Sandhi's song on this point as it raises questions such as are psychotic mass murderers the same as newborn babys interms of having "a beautiful inside"?
Part of the lyrics that stood out to me was "I'm a walking talking dreaming, and i dont know what it means." These 2 lines show that even Sandhi does not understand how she defines herself as a human being in a clear sense.
One level the lyrics define a human being, and in turn separate humans from other animals, "Some are good some are bad"..."I’m a loving, breathing." This raises the philosophical question, "can animals love, commit evil, feel emotion... etc?" I don't believe animals can commit evil, yet some more sophisticated animals can feel emotions.
She also attempts to separate humans from robots, "I'm a loving ... Dumb machine." In order to separate humans from robots we must define a human. In a way I believe humans are robots, only made of a different substance, perhaps one day technology will allow robots all of the functions of humans.
I also believe that, as James has said, that the song itself seems to only be the typical unison kind of song. It is just a poetic representation of a unified spirit - which seems to be extremely popular with a lot of artists. Of course, we can interpret the lyrics in philosophical terms, and analyse how Sandi Thom portrays a human - which everyone else has done. Points such as: we are human as we are one, we may all be different but we are still human, are brought up within the song. However, an interesting line would be 'I'm a walking talking dreaming, And i don't know what it means' could be that there is a meaning or a grand purpose in humanity, but we can never know. This is different from James' interpretation, which is that we can never know what a human being itself is.
18 comments:
I believe that she does indeed have a point. I believe that when you get to the verse 'there are six billion and a half souls, but in the end we're the same underneath.' I believe that the verse shows that everyone is different, but it also seems to mean that we are also all human (the same). I think that the lyrics convey a message that is contrary: They say that we are all the same but we have a variety of appearances and personalities. Is it possible to e unique and the same at the same time?
However, I also feel that the line 'If you're strange, If you're weird, you're wonderful' can be questioned. I could answer by saying that the line means everyone is unique in their own way, no matter what people think and that sometimes strangeness is a good thing.
Sandi Thom's song portrays humans in all their different shapes and forms.
I feel that the lyric "I'm a human being, I'm not a dumb machine" is a statement that really cannot be proven to be absolute, as what really is the defining line between a human and a machine? Is it merely because Thom is 'walking, talking, dreaming'?
I find myself identifying best with the verse "There are six and a half billion beliefs
But in the end were the same underneath
Every different shape or size
If you're strong or if your wise" evoking in myself the belief that one of the strongest things that link all humans together, perhaps ironically, is individuality. Where else in this universe will we find beings that differentiate on levels such as race, religion, age, gender, interests and beliefs?
In conclusion I feel that Thom's song 'I'm a human being' brings out any valid points as to what makes humans, humans. She reiterates at many points in the song that we each have a soul, a life and our own beliefs, dreams, hearts and minds - through which we express our individuality and establishes us as human beings.
I think Sandhi Thom does have a point, I think that this point is that we should just accept that we are all human, but at the same time all unique. She says 'I don't know what that means', and I think her point is also to tell the listener that we should live life without questioning anything too much.
I think the line 'I'm not a dumb machine' is contentious as it is the only statement she makes which seems to be quite negative. It also contrasts her saying that we are all different: 'shape and size' 'small and ten feet tall' 'some are good some are bad'. And so she says 'if you are wise'. So if some human beings are 'wise' then surely some are not 'dumb'? Or is it only inferior 'machines' that possess this quality? But then we would have to define what a 'machine' is as well as a human being.
I think the song as a whole makes me think because of the way Thom uses opposites to describe being a human, almost as if separating us all into groups. I don't think it was intended to make the listener think this way, but when I read these lyrics, I think that instead of describing humans as being united and one race, the song makes us all seem very apart and segregated. Thom's intent was obviously to be favourable of the human race, but I think that no matter what, we will always be different in so many more ways than we are the same. We will always be individuals and therefore we will always have different beliefs, the only certain similarity, if not very different as well, is our anatomy.
Pertaining to Elaine's remark about her lyric 'I'm a human being, I'm not a dumb machine' not being absolute, I believe Thom is simply stating we are not limited, mechanical systems. We are sentient beings with moral and emotional capabilities, something 'robots' would not be able to encompass.
I find the lyrics '...And I don't know what It means, ... I believe In Love and I love being a human being,' Interesting because it seems so state that as a whole, we as humans are all incredibly ignorant of everything in reality. The quote 'Ignorance Is Bliss' is somewhat apt to this scenario as Thom goes to say that although we know not what 'It' means, we believe in love and we love being human beings thus proving we can still experience 'love' and enjoyment regardless of our ignorance and obliviousness to the true forms of our reality.
The song is pretty much a typical "we're all in this together" feel-good song, and I'm sorry but I don't actually see a lot of deep, philosophical meaning in it. It somewhat contradicts itself, suggesting that a "dumb machine" is not human, but later making the point that we can't know what a human is.
Its message of love and interconnectedness between people is conveyed very well, however, and indirectly could be linked to the concept of Ubuntu, in that it defines humanity in terms of love with the last line of the chorus.
This is James Cook btw.
Sandhi Thom's song displays her view on what ir is to be part of the human race and what defines us as human beings.
I believe that she really does have a point. In response to Josh's comment ''I'm a human being, I'm not a dumb machine' i agree that we are defined as human beings and not merely machines by the fact that we have emotions and can respond to them.
However i don't agree with Jem's point that it is impossible to be unique but the same at the same time. This is what establishes us as human beings. Yes, we are all uniquely special with our own physical and mental characteristics however when it comes down to it, we are all a part of the SAME species, human beings.
I agree with James Cook. This song doesn't seem to have much philosophical depth to me. I don't think it was the artist's intent to have the lyrics contain anything controversial or purposefully thought provoking material.
That being said after looking over the lyrics, lines that intrigue me or are interesting would be, "and i don't know what it means" because it suggests we shouldn't over-analyze or question things rather just accept them.
I think that Sandi Thom has many points on what she feels human beings are. She uses parallelism a lot which I feel tells us that humans are so varied and have so many different characteristics between the black and white 'straight' or 'drunk'. Therefore I disagree with Maya when she says these opposites segregates us rather then uniting us all.
I also disagree with Elaine when she said that when Sandi Thom said that we aren't machines because we can love and dream, that we can't prove her right. I believe we cannot be machines for these very reasons. This is because the definition of a machine is 'something that uses power to preform a particular, definite task', this meaning that people are here on this earth for one reason and a specific one which I do not support. I do not think there is a 'meaning of life'.
Finally, I completely contradict both James' points saying that this song has no philosophical relevance as it clearly has raised many questions and issues of what people believe humans actually are. Indeed, she may not have necessarily wanted us to question the world loads, as Maya pointed out, however, there are so many issues that crop up in the lyrics of this 'feel good' song.
I believe that the message she is trying to get across is that it would be very easy to define what a human is if we were all the same. For example if we were to define what water is we would define it as a compound containing 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom. But trying to make the same definition of a human is difficult because there is always an exception to the rule. However, personally I believe it is possible to create a definition for what a human is but it is not a one or two sentence answer. Creating a definition for something so complex as human being needs a very complex definition. Trying to make a short definition which sounds nice is simply a human need. As we like things that are governed by simple rules. This is why we create formula's and dictionaries.
I agree with both James but it is a song and there is only so much you can do with lyrics, while still making it sound good.
"There are six and a half billion beliefs"
I think this line raises an important philosophical question: Is it a good thing that there are so many different versions of the truth?
Personally, I don't think so. Clearly, some people are more correct than others. A crazy person could claim that 1 + 1 = 317, but no one would pay attention because all the evidence points toward the fact that 1 + 1 = 2 and there is no evidence to the contrary. However, more complex issues such as the existence of God make this question more challenging. A theist could argue that they have an extremely strong feeling of faith in the idea of God's existence and 5.9 billion people in the world do claim this. An atheist, on the other hand, would claim that only hard evidence would do and also, perhaps, that even with no evidence either way, we make less assumptions when saying that God does not exist and so it is more likely to be that way. In this case, both sides of the argument seem to make a strong point.
This leads us to the question: Is it alright to say that if I'm OK with you believing what you believe and vice versa then it really is the best thing to say that it is OK that our beliefs contradict? Most people in the world adopt an "I'm right, you're wrong" attitude before they begin to question the reliability of their own beliefs and this, of course, is the cause of much conflict and suffering in the world. Conceivably, this means that the best option would be to choose to accept the beliefs of others as true (for them), even if just for the purpose of preventing hostility and unpleasantness within society.
The final question raised, then, is: Do we choose happiness or the truth? Well, the truth, if everyone accepted one truth as their own would lead to more happiness anyway, but as has been mentioned by others above, humans are naturally unique and individual, so if even one person chose to contradict, even if just to be rebellious, the whole system would fall apart. Inevitably, the way forward is for everybody to question their own beliefs as much as possible, but accept and tolerate the beliefs of others. Besides, the point of the song is that individuality should be celebrated. Wouldn't it be boring if we all acted like "dumb machines"?
Sandhi Thom's song seems to point out what she defines a human being, saying that because we are all different and loveable, we are different from machines or any artificial intelligence. This raises questions such as "How are robots/A.I/machines different from us if they can be programmed to be just like human beings?"
I feel that Sandhi's song raises many good points on what is a human being, and that regardless of how different we are, we are all loveable and beautiful in the inside. I disagree with Sandhi's song on this point as it raises questions such as are psychotic mass murderers the same as newborn babys interms of having "a beautiful inside"?
Part of the lyrics that stood out to me was "I'm a walking talking dreaming, and i dont know what it means." These 2 lines show that even Sandhi does not understand how she defines herself as a human being in a clear sense.
One level the lyrics define a human being, and in turn separate humans from other animals, "Some are good some are bad"..."I’m a loving, breathing." This raises the philosophical question, "can animals love, commit evil, feel emotion... etc?" I don't believe animals can commit evil, yet some more sophisticated animals can feel emotions.
She also attempts to separate humans from robots, "I'm a loving ... Dumb machine." In order to separate humans from robots we must define a human. In a way I believe humans are robots, only made of a different substance, perhaps one day technology will allow robots all of the functions of humans.
I also believe that, as James has said, that the song itself seems to only be the typical unison kind of song. It is just a poetic representation of a unified spirit - which seems to be extremely popular with a lot of artists.
Of course, we can interpret the lyrics in philosophical terms, and analyse how Sandi Thom portrays a human - which everyone else has done. Points such as: we are human as we are one, we may all be different but we are still human, are brought up within the song.
However, an interesting line would be 'I'm a walking talking dreaming, And i don't know what it means' could be that there is a meaning or a grand purpose in humanity, but we can never know. This is different from James' interpretation, which is that we can never know what a human being itself is.
that came up with a weird name... It's Lillio by the way
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