What Does It Mean To Be Human?

We human beings are diverse: different languages, religions, and races. Yet we all share some of the same features which make us human. All of those features together are what we call “human nature”. Humans are different from animals in several ways: for one, we can deny our desires. If an animal is hungry, it eats, and cannot stop itself; if an animal desires sexual activity, it performs that action, and cannot do otherwise. But a hungry human can decide to wait, and eat later; or even go on a “hunger strike”. This is what makes us human: the ability to say “no” to our drives, instincts, and desires. What if, in the middle of a delicate brain operation, the surgeon suddenly became hungry, and walked out of the hospital to get a hamburger?