Beltran, Arvin Glen B.

PHILO 15.1 ACB

I am not just a human being. I am a human who is a questioning being. A

questioning being who wants, who wants to know, and who acts upon knowing. For
me, being a human being is not just about living; it is about finding and knowing the
reason why we are living. In other words, one must know the reason of his or her
existence and in order to achieve this, one must ask questions. In asking questions,
we would then realize what we want, what we want to know more, and what we will
do after knowing the answers of our questions.
First, I am a questioning being who wants. It is important, not just for me, but
for all of us to know what we want. And one way of knowing what we truly want, is
for us to ask questions. As human beings, each of us may or may not know what we
want for ourselves. But one thing is for sure that in one point of our lives, we would
want something. This feature is what makes us unique from other living beings. Us
human beings are rational and we could think and contemplate on what we like;
unlike other creatures who are irrational and does not have the ability to think on its
own. I could say for myself that I already know what I want. Of course I know what I
want because I am asking myself questions. I asked myself what I care the most in
this world. By asking myself this question I then realized that what I want is to make
other people happy. This is because I care more for others than I care about myself.
As you can see, I knew what I want from the start and this is because I am a
questioning being.
Second, I am a questioning being who wants to know. If I am asked why I
want to know or why do I need to know, my answer is simple; it is because I can. As
I mentioned in the previous paragraph, we are the only creatures who are rational
and who could think on our own. Human beings are the only creature who has the
initiative to improve ones self; and in order for us to improve ourselves, we need to
know more. And to know more means gaining more knowledge. And in order to gain
more knowledge, one medium is through asking questions. According to Slayoj
Zizek, we ask questions because that is the way we improve and keep improving.
We can teach monkeys to speak through sign language, but none of them can ever
ask questions on their own as they do not understand that they can improve their
understanding by asking questions. As human beings, we are blessed because we
are the only species who has the ability to talk. Therefore because of this unique
capability, we have the ability to speak out our thoughts and ask questions to obtain
the answers we want to know.
Lastly, I am a questioning being who acts upon knowing. When we already
know what we want, and we already know the answers to our questions, it
important for us to act upon knowing. As what I have learned from our professor in

Beltran, Arvin Glen B.

PHILO 15.1 ACB

our philosophy course, it useless to have knowledge about something and you just
do nothing about it. As human beings, we must not make our knowledge as simply
facts. We must not just take it for granted. We must try to integrate it towards our
present experience. There are several reason why we are asking questions. May it
be to eliminate confusion, to guide a conversation in the direction we want to go, or
to start a relationship with others. But even though you have the answers to your
questions, it will still be put to waste if you do not act upon knowing it.
In conclusion, we can infer that questions play a vital role in our lives. Not just
questions, but the act of questioning itself. As rational beings, we are humans who
want, who want to know, and who acts upon knowing. Through asking questions, we
would realize what we want, realize what we want to know more about, and realize
how to act upon knowing the answers to our questions. Do not just be a human
being; be a questioning being.