Formula of Humanity

Formula of Humanity

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Think about how many of our fears are about how others are perceiving us

“How are you today?” what a simple form of a question which always be everyone’s favorite when it comes to conversation-starters. It is intended not only for the people we know but also for strangers. Who knows this basic simple question would lead us to the gates of a whole new unexpected world. Well, unfortunately in most cases, people tend to close their gates by saying “I’m good” where in fact, they don’t. Don’t believe me? Hmm.. let’s take it this way. How about we ask you questions, and you’ll answer it right away?

“So how are you really?”

Answer it from the bottom of your heart and keep it to yourself, ok?

People tend to have different reactions everytime someone manages to ask them about how their day was, even though it’s not even intimidating. Somehow that slight change of phrase kind of touched the heart of the matter right away. Giving them choices to express things like happiness, sadness, or even anger. And of course, there are people who are sort of stunned. They have no idea what or how to express. So–which ones are you? Regardless of what your answer is, have you ever thought about how out of nowhere naturally we construct our own standard our humane ways of perceiving things?

Let’s travel back to the year 1785. Somewhere in the land of Prussia, there was this person named Immanuel Kant. Some of you may have heard his name from your regular philosophy class, or probably some of you may have known him from his famous Critique of Pure Reasons. But we’re not going to talk about his biography. Instead we’re willing to elaborate more on his views on moral philosophy which was wrapped in his Critique of Practical Reasons. His theory on ethics and moral law in Groundwork of Metaphysics is regarded as one of the most influential thinking in philosophy. And today, we’re going to talk about his views on how humans should behave. Famously known as the formula of humanity.

“Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end”

Kant believes that rationality was sacred. By that, it supports the idea that we, humans, are the only known creatures in the universe that are able to make decisions, weigh options, and consider the moral implications of any and every action. Or in short, we have consciousness.

For him, the only thing that distinguishes us from the rest of the universe is our ability to process information and act out consciously in the world. And it is exceedingly special. For all we know, we are the only shot the universe has at intelligent self-organization. Therefore, we need to take it seriously. This makes rationality and protecting conscious choice must be the basis for all of our moral reasoning.

Now let’s take a look on this present day. People tend to behave uniquely like this and that. But most of all, we choose to hide behind our masks. And if we’re being asked “why?”, most of us will spit out some uncomfortable words to express our needs of pleasing others and fears of how others perceive us. And what does this condition lead us to? 

In short, unconsciously we are being treated as a mere means to someone else’s end goal. And Kant believes that humanity shouldn’t work that way. This humanity formula teaches us the basics of respect. On why we, as human beings, shouldn’t take someone else for granted. Not just someone else, ourselves too. 

Have you ever caught yourself in a situation where you’re sort of being pushed to do things you shouldn’t do for the sake of someone else’s gain? And how does that make you feel? Or have you ever caught yourself in a pretty confusing situation where you had to choose between staying loyal to your partner or betray them for the sake of your personal desire? Those things are some real life examples of treating others as a mere means to your ends.

But what about treating your own self as a mere means to an end? Let’s say we’re lazy enough to the point where our activity is just casually laying on our lovely bed. Scrolling on our TikTok feeds, traveling from one app to another for nothing. What we’re doing here is basically treating our mind and attention as a mere pleasure receptacle. We aren’t maximizing our potential of our consciousness. We’re just using our consciousness as a means to stimulate our emotional ends. We are actively harming ourselves.

Then how are we supposed to act? Well, realistically, humans surely are using each other for things. But we have to make sure that they are consciously willing to be our means. It’s like being in a team where people will do their part as best as they can do to achieve the same goals together. Or in a more simple way, be a master of ourselves and our own actions for those are the only thing for us to work towards.

Therefore, we dare to encourage you to take off your masks. Don’t hide the precious thing you truly are.

The Humanity Formula requires respect for humanity in person. Proper regard for something with absolute value or worth requires respect for it. Respects given are not a matter of degree based on us having measured up to some standard of assessment. We have to respect other human beings simply because they are persons and this requires a certain sort of regard. And more importantly, nobody can lose their humanity by their misdeeds – even the most vicious persons.

Wouldn’t it be nice for us to proudly state how we are actually supposed to be treated as humans?

So—let’s do this one more time. How are you really?

REFERENCES

Manson, M. (2019). [Online]. The One Rule for Life. Retrieved from: https://markmanson.net/the-one-rule-for-life

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2004). [Online]. Kant’s Moral Philosophy. Retrieved from: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-moral/