English II Essential Question and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

What does it mean to be human?

Throughout the course of human history, we have created amazing things…

We have made incredible works of art…Sistine Chapel, Michaelangelo

…and incredible works of music. Requiem, Mozart

We have developed a scientific understanding of the human body….Vitruvian Man, Leonardo daVinci

…and have watched as athletes stretched the limits of our physical capabilities. Michael Jordan, being himself.

We have seen an experiment in government…Founding Fathers, doing American things.

…become a thriving example of freedom and democracy. Watertown, MA after the manhunt for the Boston Marathon bomber.

We’ve watched as the innovations of our fellow man changed the way we live…

…and have, as some may say, contributed to the reservoir of humanity.

This man’s work changed the way we see the universe, and understand the physical world around us.

Albert EinsteinHe’s the reason why space and time make sense.

He worked with this man…J. Robert Oppenheimer, physicist.

And together they created technology with the power to fuel mankind for an eternity.

Consequently, this technology also has the power…

…to kill us all. Mushroom cloud from an atomic bomb explosion.

Because for everything and everyone that makes us great…

…is the equal opposing force of the things that make us capable of destroying ourselves.

So in order to ask “What does it mean to be human?”, we must ask ourselves, what makes us not?

This human murdered thousands of Americans in 2001, and precipitated a multi-regional war lasting over a decade. Osama Bin Laden

This person caused the horrific death of millions of people in an unprecedented genocide in modern time. Adolf Hitler

This man senselessly shot and murdered innocent civilians in a Colorado movie theater over a year ago. James Holmes

This man is terrorizing his own people, and murdering hundreds of thousands of civilians as we speak. Bashir al-Assad, President of Syria

Despite the horror these people inflicted upon their fellow man, these people are simply, and disturbingly, just that—people.

So, what makes us human? Are we defined by our greatest accomplishments, or our greatest flaws?

Are we defined by our needs, or the endless limits we will go to in order to fulfill those needs?

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

• This year, we will use Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to help our understanding of what it means to be human.

• The seven levels described in Maslow’s Hierarchy will help us to build an understanding of why, as humans, we do the things we do…for better, or for worse.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of NeedsPhysiological Needs, Safety Needs, Belongingness and Love Needs, Esteem Needs, Cognitive Needs, Aesthetic Needs, Self-Actualization and Transcendence.

One last thought…

This is the Drake Equation. I’m bad at math.

This equation is used by astrophysicists to calculate the likelihood of intelligent life within the universe, taking

into account that the universe is expanding indefinitely, and assuming that the universe is infinite in time and

physical expansion.

Long story short, this equation can ballpark the chances of finding other beings that can exist

with similar intellectual capabilities.

At last estimate, it has been calculated that there is a 0.01 percent chance…

…over FOUR BILLION YEARS.

Humanity is not just unique, but statistically unlikely to be reproduced even in similar conditions elsewhere in our universe.

It is with this knowledge that I dare you to ask…What does it mean to be human?