9/18/2014
The reference to the flaws of the "human artifact" that Burroughs mentioned is a difficult one for me to attach to. Referring to humans as artifacts seems so artificial, degrading, and fleeting. If we are probably the most superior species on the planet, how can we be labeled as such an insignificant concept? Will humans in fact die out like he claims? Why does he suggest that we "were not biologically designed to remain in our present state any more than a tadpole is designed to stay a tadpole?" However, I do have to acknowledge that despite our enormous capabilities, larger than average brain sizes, opposable thumbs, and numerous over advantages we have as a species over other species, the setbacks we have created for ourselves, and the problems we have yet to overcome do attest to an immense amount of stupidity, disorganization, and laziness. The ignorant statements mentioned in the other readings about debt and the poor ideas surrounding this concept do enforce human's inability to fully function as a society. This reality begs the question: how long will we be able to survive like this?
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I disagree with your opinion about the connotation of the word "artifact." Burroughs' concept of the human artifact may seem artificial and degrading, however, the definition of the word artifact is "an item of cultural or historical interest." In this way, humanity as an artifact in some ways solidifies our place in history. When you examine how long the world has been around in relation to the human race, we are a blip on the radar of the world. Humans have been around for around 200,000 years, whereas the world and the other life forms in it have existed for an estimated 4.54 billion years. Humanity has really only just gotten here, and in the time we've been here we have managed to royally screw things up for ourselves. It is true that humans are new to this world. However, while it may be true that we face high chances of being gone from this world sooner that we might figure, there is something beautiful about our short-lived existence preserved in a historical "human artifact" (please understand that my meaning here is likely different than Burroughs'). Like the life of the phoenix, we come into existence, live intensely for a short time, and burn out in a blaze of disastrous beauty.
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