Humanity & Humanitarians

Thoughts on why morals and ethics are named after fleeting peoples.

Humans in no way supplant other species in terms of intellect, strength, demeanor, art and music, weaponry, warfare, or any other category that stamps a species or civilization with any sort of purpose or renown. Humans are quick-blooded, hot-headed, short-lived, easily-manipulated, prone to desperation, short-sighted, and otherwise mostly unimpressive. Though typically intriguing to those granted longevity — as a scholar may interpret and extrapolate a mouse's intentions and movements — Humans have not served much significance or purpose in the entire scheme of prosperity; they are simply too susceptible to the grinding gears of reality to garner any credible renown.
Indeed, while other species can boast of prowess in almost any area, Humans are woefully second place. While Elves are seen as superior in arts and music, and Dwarves are excellent craftsmen, and Giants and Orcs are superlative examples of strength, Humans always fall somewhere behind. They can't seem to keep up to other species in these terms. The most painfully obvious is their small time they are gifted on this earth.
And this should sing the proudest song of praise of the Human species. Despite an outstandingly trivial time alive and their shortcomings in almost every area, Humans have left a permanent mark upon the world. It defies logic that Humans may thrive as they do. The low-road dictates that Humans and pests share remarkably similar qualities, but I will not take that road. I believe I have lambasted the Humans enough without their due respect.
Edifying Humans may leave a bad taste in the mouths of closed-minded individuals, but there does need to be encouragement to Humans. As I will relate below, they are deserving of recognition in terms of their lasting and positive effects.
Humans display several properties that many species lack. This lacking may make groups feel inadequate and brush away these properties as unimportant or not suited for themselves, but I will argue that every species may benefit from sincerely viewing and studying these traits Humans share innately.
Humans' knack for surviving astounds all but aberrations. First, Humans may not be much on the surface, but the truth is that Humans spread all across the world, and some under it. When last did you see a Dwarf city or colony happily living on the mountaintop or on the vast plains? When last did Elves pack up their things and hop into a carriage-ride to sandy dunes and skin-darkening rays of light? Since when have Dragonborn ever gone to the Easterlies, home of palm trees and temperate weather, and said, "This place is good," settling their offspring on the other various islands that could take upwards of months to sail? Humans have done this and more. Name a location on the prime material plane and chances are Humans have settled there, are settled there, or are packing their rucksacks to explore and settle it now.
Second, a prolific species, Humans waste no time in thickening their spread. While an Elf can spend four years during their rituals and ceremonies to conceive, Humans need only one night of revelry to populate an entire village in only twenty years, who then go on to populate, not including the plethora of siblings that are spawned year after year. An Elf leaves ten families in a village for a century and returns to find an army that remembers him in stories. Their fast cycle of population only adds to their ability to proliferate the land and sea during their life.
Though seen as a detriment, I believe one of the strongest praises for Humans is their short lives. This may be short-sighted in some terms, but don't be deceived. Humans use this set-back to their advantage, as they typically do, and spend their last few years to ponder and think. This trickles down to the young who use their brains to think up their meaning before devolving hoary and weak. Others scoff, it is true, but I have yet to hear a Dwarf or Gnome tell me why they are here with such varying and logical responses that Humans give.
In this same vein, Humans do ponder much in their short lives. While other species, particularly Elves, tend to use their extra time to do things extra slow and long, Humans fit as much adventure, love, and thinking into their lives as they can. Their fast hearts throb with the intent to live, and it's reflected in their philosophy. Just look at their greatest ones: Diametes the Elder, who first proposed "thought forms" and nearly broke the magic system as we know it just by reasoning and thinking hypothetically; Kufuo of the Deadlands, who spent his life living harmoniously in nature, but quested whether living this way was as altruistic as instinct said, proposing that instinct is nothing more than what we make of it; Alma the Thrice-Widowed, a dangerous woman who could talk circles around you in minutes, approached philosophy more blasé and deconstructionistic, turning the philosophers on their heads; and Yau, the quiet, androgynous philosopher who reasoned using two stick they always carried, miraculously proving every single point they had by using these wonderful instruments. After looking at these four any reasonable and sane person can see just how important they are on this world's outlook.
But none of those four, however, are as influential as the farmer Fwupo Ingellian. Fwupo went by many names besides his own, such as Humanist, Seeker, Questioner, and the most esteemed of all, The Ethical. Fwupo was Diametes contemporary, though he lived longer. He first proposed a set of moral codes and decrees that he believed all species held in themselves — all good species, that is. This "moral compass" or "moral map" was inherently used by all to seek out answers and behaviors in day-to-day life. While some had discussed this point, none delved into the richness like Fwupo had. He would wander the continent, humbly seeking advice for theoretical problems his feet would think up from anyone who would give him time of day. He would catalog these answers and plot them onto a mental graph, finding the mean individual, Human mostly, had this innate sense of good and evil. Other species had it too, but none really thought, they just did.
And here we can safely say the departure of Humans and other species begins. Humans think about things, feel about things, delve deep into things. This and Fwupo's book "On the Human Condition and its Consequences" ushered a new wave of thinking and a new word: Humanity. Fwupo discussed in his book how magic, the perceived governor, seemed to obey this unwritten law of "humanity" with certain spells affecting only certain individuals who were or weren't ethically awakened as other species were. Some think Fwupo decreed the word Humanity, but it actually came from the Gnomes. Fwupo immediately took this word, thinking that Humans being reduced to nothing but Humanity was his entire point.
But what can non-humans learn from this? Firstly others can learn to question. Though difficult or boring or not practical at first, exercising one's brain in this manner develops a demeanor of healthy scrutiny. Not the cynicism that many Elves lavishly jump to, nor the stoic realism Dwarves steadfastly hold, but a healthy amount of questioning and reasoning. Humans are well grounded and say of each other being "down-to-earth." Secondly, humans' tenacity abounds in areas such as trials and heartache to disease and famine. Quite simply, Humans refuse to die. They grow and populate like grass but with stronger roots. Thirdly, non-humans can learn to listen to Humans. By this I mean Humans are listeners and observers, noticing little things and patterns that other species are too far-sighted or uncaring to notice. These simple patterns help Humans plant correct crops in their fields, know when to turn cattle upfield for protection from some seemingly fine rainstorm that brings a flood. Fourthly, Humans are heartful. Their passion and compassion know no bounds. Their servitude for their fellow man bespeaks of their eponymous virtue. One who had never heard the word can simply see it and imagine it by viewing a small village of farmers during a harsh harvest and know they are seeing humanity.
Humanity applies to many different species and creeds now, with it being so ubiquitous that many forget its origin or that it was ever not a thought. It makes so much sense and speaks on such an intimate level it is taken as fact. Ignorant philosophy students scoff at Fwupo for his "platitude" but they are not learned yet that Fwupo monumentally categorized and cataloged humanity first. This extends further than Fwupo, naturally, with Humans making up a good majority of the population and their tenacity and resolve spanning generations, it's no wonder these well-rounded individuals are so keen on doing the things they set their minds and hearts doing: living life to the fullest.