Human Community
Most of the time we talk about what makes us human, or when we talk about the qualities that constitute our individual personalities, we talk about individual attributes. However, no discussion about the human person is complete without talking about relationships. Human beings are not meant to be independent and solitary. Nor are we happy in the absence of relationships. The true hermit is rare, and should probably be considered disordered (notice that they are most often depicted as spiteful and distrusting in literature and media).
Human Community is DifferentThe human need for relationships grows beyond the social needs of animals. Animals and humans both bond together to meet practical needs (hunting in packs is more effective than hunting alone) and emotional needs (from the security a kitten gains from its mother to the more complex emotional interactions of higher primates). Human societal relationships are based on interdependence. Human beings need each other to meet their needs. Because of their intellect and will, human beings develop different skills, abilities and interests. The intellect and will also makes human needs more complex. As a result, humans find themselves unable to meet their needs by themselves and find that they need to live in society to get help. Interdependence requires its citizens to practice virtue if it is going to work properly. Citizens need to trust each other, to show generosity and concern for one another, to have integrity in their work and to be just in their exchange of goods and services. Beyond this more practical social need, human beings find fulfillment and self worth by contributing to society and to the good of others. Developing our talents and skills is part of growing as human persons. Applying those talents and skills to help others draws us beyond ourselves and expands our universe. It gives us a purpose beyond ourselves and a source of happiness that can satisfy our spiritual as well as our physical needs. Charity Perfects Human CommunityMost specific to human beings is the need and the capacity to love. Human relationships go beyond emotional need. In the words of the Second Vatican Council (Gaudium et Spes 24), human beings cannot truly find themselves until they make a sincere gift of themselves to others. Human love is more than an emotional bond (though it is that as well). It is the ability to choose what is truly good for others and to sacrifice ourselves to give that good to them. How does sacrificing ourselves lead to fulfillment and happiness? The human intellect gives humans the need to transcend the limits of selfish concerns, to embrace transcendent goods, to know transcendent truths. Love (a function of the will – the choice to put others first) offers the perfect fulfillment of this need. |