Who Are We Essay Example

Lao Tzu, an ancient Chinese philosopher, wrote, "knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment" to denote that many people have trouble discovering their purpose or knowing much about who they are. To a parent, one is a child, and to a boss, one is an employee. To a teacher, one is a student. Nevertheless, who is one to oneself? During the Early Modern Era, many nations and explorers sought answers to the opposite of this question: who are others? Explorers were sailing the globe rampantly searching for new cultures and religions and were eager to experience the world beyond their shores. Knowledge of foreign lands and cultures spread like wildfire to the people at home and fascinated many, sparking a lust for exploration. Soon after, when nations became acquainted, brave pioneering philosophers began to search for answers to more in-depth questions: who are we?

Furthermore, why are we? When human knowledge began to grow, and societies were developing, the depth of questions, and the apparent gap in knowledge, had suddenly become more profound. The explorers of the early modern era enabled the brilliant minds of the enlightenment, changing not only our understanding of the world and its inhabitants but our understanding of ourselves and our existence. 

Ma Huan, a Chinese traveler who voyaged with the Chinese General Zheng He in the early 1400s, was a very descriptive journalist with a keen eye for color and visual details. Although often inaccurate, 1Ma Huan's descriptions of his encounters show his fascination with foreign culture. His writing suggests a deep curiosity and intrigue toward the places he visits and the tales he hears. Similarly, 2Vasco de Gama, a Portuguese explorer from the early 1500s, writes about his experience accompanying his captain-major in Calicut. Like Ma Huan's writing, de Gama's words emphasize visual aspects, such as architecture and people's clothes. The purpose of these two travelers is similar; to explore and record details of what they experience. If not to answer the questions of people eager to hear about his findings, Ma Huan wrote his journals to eternalize one of China's first encounters with a foreign culture. His description of the similarities and differences between the culture he is used to, and this new culture he experiences, provides evidence that he is writing to answer the questions: who are others?

Furthermore, who are we? However, Vasco de Gama's writings answer primarily the question of whom the others are, focusing mainly on the treatment and hospitality they receive and descriptions of the people and the city. The similarities that Ma Huan and de Gama had noted showed that there is such commonality in the way societies function, which begs the question: why would societies operate in such a manner?  

Although religiously indifferent, 3Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a Frenchman who was a leading philosopher throughout the enlightenment in the 1700s, provides meaningful insight into an inhabitant's purpose or position in a governed body or society. For example, when considering the topic of slavery, Rousseau explains that the words slavery and right are mutually exclusive, and says "It will always be equally foolish for a man to say to a man or to a people: 'I make with you a convention wholly at your expense and wholly to my advantage; I shall keep it as long as I like, and you will keep it as long as I like.'" Rousseau's ideas and publications often challenged the thoughts and beliefs of others. His writings persuaded people to question their own opinions and become more self-aware rather than ignorant and oblivious. Although his interest lay in philosophy and politics, a force similar to the one that influenced Ma Huan and Vasco de Gama drove his ambitions: a desire for understanding, advancement, and a promising and compelling future.  

During the enlightenment, the apparent gap in human knowledge at the time was vast. Although people understood more about the world and distant cultures than ever before, they had yet to progress toward the unanswerable questions. Scottish philosopher 4David Hume, arguably the most brilliant mind of the enlightenment, makes a case that miracles do not exist, which implies his denial of the existence of a god or a creator. In his explanation, he develops a paradox that proves a miracle cannot occur. He explains, "there is no testimony for any, even those which have not been expressly detected, that is not opposed by any infinite number of witnesses; so that not only the miracle destroys the credit of testimony, but the testimony destroys itself" to make a case that the definition of a miracle in itself, is contradictory; therefore, a miracle cannot occur. Hume's philosophies, similar to Rousseau's, lead an uprising in the doubt of religion. Although religion had reigned supreme over the vast majority of nations and people for the numerous years predating the enlightenment, people are only beginning to challenge and question the most controversial beliefs. 

As the world becomes acquainted with itself, the curiosity of its inhabitants grows. People begin to wonder not only about each other but about intangible and unimaginable things as well. If not for travelers like Ma Huan and Vasco de Gama, there would be no room for questions about our existence or our over-arching purpose. Because of the early modern era travelers, global interconnectivity enabled people to consider more profound and meaningful mysteries. As Lao Tzu insinuated nearly two thousand years prior, enlightenment arises from the familiarity of what lies within. The time in which we begin to understand ourselves is a time where we understand each other.