Contrary to popular beliefs, human and person are not the same. These two are two different things. Do you know the differences between human and person? In case you have no idea about what makes them different and want to find out about them, continue reading the post until the end.
The term “person” is used to call a human being regarded as an individual. As for “human”, it refers to the characteristics of people as opposed to God or animals or machines, especially when it comes to being fragile to weaknesses.
Treating someone as a person means recognizing them as another individual who is different from yourself and who has their own hopes and disappointments. Just like you, they also have their own fears, strengths, and weaknesses. All the feelings that they feel might be similar, same, or different compared to the feelings that you feel.
When treating an individual as a person, it means you treat them as a man, woman, or anything depending on that person. There is a respect from you for them. You are aware that that person has a story to tell and you want to know more about their story without judgment.
As you already know, treating someone as a person, it is time for you to know how to treat someone as a human. What if you treat someone as a human?
When you treat someone as a human, it means you agree that you are the same as them and there is no difference that sets you apart from them. Basically, you treat them as an individual and as an indifferent member of a pre-defined group.
Treating someone as a person means you are fair and you are eager to give them every single thing they deserve, it does not matter if it is bad or good. However, when you treat them as a human, you are aware that sometimes we need something that we do not actually deserve. When you treat an individual as a human being instead of a person, you are usually irrational, selfless and do not really care about your own. In some cases, it can mean giving them a chance that they never had, giving them forgiveness that they do not deserve, or giving them the power that they cannot handle.
Talking about person and human, person is usually defined as a noun, while human is an adjective. Defining human as a noun and talking about people in this way means treating them as an object that carries out a specific action or holds a specific quality. On the other hand, if you define human as an adjective and talk about people in this way instead, there is a difference. In this case, there is no object and the only thing that is left is a quality. Let’s say red is a color. While there is such a thing called redness, it should be noted that it only exists when it is applied to an object. A thing called “being red” simply does not exist, except if there is a being or object that is able to be labeled as “red”.
Then, what about human? Is “human” exist even if there is no object or any “being” to apply this to? The answer to the question is pretty clear, which is yes. You might not be aware of it but the answer is right in front of you. The thing called “being human” does exist. Besides, the only thing that can truly be human is a human being. If human beings do not exist, there will be no humanity.
For those who want to be fair, open, understanding, and loving, the answer is not to treat everyone as a person but as an individual human. Furthermore, the person is not counted as an object anymore. That one is a quality.
Nowadays, there are some movements where the members think they know what they are doing. These people also think that they understand the issue just like the experts. In fact, they themselves are part of the issue. Some people disagree about objectifying women or dehumanizing minorities when in fact defining people as adjectives is the only way to fix these issues. Besides, there is no way to say something such as “all women, immigrants, gays, or so on have a right to…” because the only thing that is true is that “all women, immigrants, gats, or so on have a right to be women, immigrants, gays, or so on”. In case you disagree that women are a certain kind of thing, then you are out of the race. By thinking that way, it means you are telling yourself that there is such a thing called “being a woman”, the kind of thing that every woman can relate to and understand. In fact, it is totally incorrect.
Then, what is the solution? The solution to this issue is to treat everyone that you know as a human adjective instead of treating them as a personal object. However, due to the fact that each human is different and has their own uniqueness, you have no idea what that human adjective means until you meet them and know more about them. When judging whether they might fit a specific kind of human, you might use statistics or probability. However, it is not right to assume anything about them, even a single thing. It is better for you to not generalize. Do not be the kind of person who thinks you know something the best because let’s be real, you are not the one. If you have a thought to make this place a better place for all humanity, then every single one that you meet is no longer a person (noun). Rather than a person (noun), they are a human (adjective). Now, it is your job to find out the meaning of that “adjective” for this certain human being. Everyone is different and there is no correct method to treat everyone.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
