# 'Humans' instead of 'People'



## hammondjones (May 31, 2013)

Am I the only one that has noticed an increase in the use of the word 'human' in places where 'person/people' would be just as, if not more, appropriate?

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For example:
Listening to a report on the news this morning: "... changes in the rainforest when *humans* began to move in."

The ad campaign by Liberty Mutual Insurance. E.g.: "*Humans*. Even when we cross our T's and dot our I's, we still run into problems. Namely, other *humans*. " 

And many more.
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It seems to me that this a way of classifying people as just another type of animal, as opposed to "*a little lower than the angels*". The benefit to this is that any personal behavior can be seen as natural animal behavior, without pesky tags like "right" and "wrong" attached to it. 

It's not wrong for a dog to (you name it), it's just what dogs do.
It's not wrong for a human to (you name it), it's just what humans do. 


Everyone does what is right in his own eyes; no mark to fall short of; sin gone; savior unnecessary. I'm not saying that it's done with that end in mind, but I do think that is the consequence of thinking in that way.



So,
*A)* Have you noticed it, and is it as annoying to you as it is to me?
*B)* Is this a true subversion of Biblical principles, or am I making too much of it?


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## CharlieJ (May 31, 2013)

I think it's actually a more correct way of referring to us if the intention is to highlight us as a species or in our entirety or in our basic biological or fixed characteristics (i.e., human nature, not people nature). "People" is better when referring to "people in general" or to a specific people group (not "the French humans") or to our cultural/personalist achievements. So, it's best in the first example, where it is looking at people/humans from an environmental standpoint. In the second example, it's ok, b/c it's referring to what we do out of our "human nature." After all, to err is peopleish.

So, "Most humans have their hearts on their left side" (fixed biological characteristic) but "most people prefer dark chocolate" (personalist expression).


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## chuckd (May 31, 2013)

I think 'human' is a biology term while 'person' is a philosophy one. Much of the abortion argument is centered around the word 'person'. Nobody can deny that it is a 'human', but the disagreement lies in whether it's a 'person' with rights.

Certainly in today's secular age we'll move towards the biological term as we are abandoning soft sciences.


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## A5pointer (May 31, 2013)

Charlie you are too smart. I prefer "man", way too out of step with our enlightened humanity.


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## VictorBravo (May 31, 2013)

A5pointer said:


> I prefer "man", way too out of step with our enlightened humanity.



How about the old maritime and aviation expression "souls," as in " 300 souls were aboard the vessel." I've noticed that use actually increasing in some contexts.


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