Physically Whole but Emotionally Incomplete

In Frye’s first lecture of the series “The Educated Imagination”, he states “One person by himself is not a complete human being…” (p.6) The simple fact to the statement is that we need other people to thrive not only in society but the world in general. This is because we would be no one without friends and family around us. These people are who help us create our identities and mold us into who we are today and who we will become. In the lecture Frye adds another shipwrecked refugee of the opposite sex; this with two human beings creates a human society. If a problem were to arise in a certain situation and only that one person was present, then you would only have one solution to that problem. With other human beings around you are able to come up with the best solution to any problem. When I think of the term “a complete human being” I consider one person by himself to be physically whole but when looking at the philosophically, emotionally and spiritually side of the person, the one person cannot possibly be “complete.” If one man was to be isolated from the human population, the human would not be complete. This is because you need others around you to grow. There would be no communication, and no experiences. That person would not know right from wrong, because there are no opinions or thoughts to take into consideration. I think you need others to learn from, to interact with and make connections. This quote related directly to McCullough’s speech “The Love of Learning.” The most useful point that can be taken from this speech is that learning is an extremely important. Without learning you just know a bunch of facts, and cannot function in “Information Age.” In relation to this quote to learn you need to value what you learn and take the most out of life experiences. Experiences come from the interaction of others, where you learn and grow as a human. Therefore the speech is in complete agreement with the quote. Without others one person cannot possibly be a complete human being.