Can Human Beings Be Unique?
Different experiences have shaped us into the people we are today. Traumatic instances can mold us into empathetic beings, or it can destroy our humanity completely. Stable households can create stable careers, while others fight for mundane opportunities. Specific actions that we take throughout our life each build up to the present moment and define us as the people we are right now.
We are constantly changing and growing. We are not the same person we were last year, let alone two hours ago. The different choices we make alter the way we perceive things and add to our ability to make careful decisions. After this realization hits, we begin to understand the uniquety behind our characters and the intricate actions that have led us here; but we must also realize that these actions have been done before — multiple times.
Although it is true that the measure of our character is unique to ourselves only, it is also true that people have experienced the same things that have built us into who we are. This inherently means that although the individual has special attributes to themselves they have acquired, the means through which they have acquired them are typical.
How many times have you met a person, and while discussing a personal story of yours, they share that they have gone through a similar experience? This story that you may be sharing may have been one that changed the course of your life, and to hear that another person went through something similar and still turned out differently is one common phenomenon that is observed everyday. In some way, shape, or form, an experience that you’ve encountered has likely already been done by someone else, so what does this mean for your character? Does this make you any less special if someone else has gone through something you have? Does the need to be the first person to do something make you stand out in some sort of way?
This looming question is open to several answers leading to fruitful debates between the minds of two clashing personas. One may argue that every person is special, while another argues that our similar carbon structure also pertains to our thoughts and actions. The real answer is, as for most vague philosophical questions, that there are many answers. The answer that is the most accurate is the one that should make the most sense to the person reading it. In the meantime, here is my take on this question.
Actions have been experienced one way or another. 300,000 years of human activity and the possibility of at least one person doing an action that you have right now is very likely. One can say that it is not the act of doing something, rather the emotional weight that comes with it. Yes, it is probable that multiple people have written an essay in english; but it is not probable that those same people cried because they recollected a bittersweet memory tied to the gravity of their words. This still goes to say that not only one person has recalled a melancholy memory when writing, so the precision of the action is necessary when taking into account the uniqueness of the individual.
Walking into stores filled with different brands of high-quality makeup is an ordinary practice that is a part of our lives. We may utilize specific companies for specific purposes; such as using a Fenty lipgloss and a Rare blush in its specific shade. It is common knowledge that there exists more than one brand of makeup making the idea unoriginal, yet its success still blooms with different brands not because of how isolated a product is from others, but how its qualities attract consumers. Cars have existed for a multitude of years, yet the idea of different car brands has its own uniqueness to each company with different types of equipment and machinery regardless of the fact that the basic idea is simply a car.
The pestering question “has someone else in the world already thought of this” has come to me in times when I have thought of a truly distinctive notion. Ideas for solving crises or basic outlines for tools that can benefit the world have led me to think that if it was this easy, why has no one else thought of it; and someone most likely probably has. If there is an unused idea in the world that has not been highlighted by someone else, then there is a good chance that somebody has already thought of that idea; but that does not make yours any less special. Go forth and put your plan into action, refine your thoughts, and bring your inquisitiveness as a toolkit to conquer the world one question at a time.
