Definition of Homo sapiens - What it is, Meaning and Concept

Homo is the genre of the hominid primates that belongs to the tribe of the homininis .The only species of Homo that still subsists is the Homo sapiens (the current human ), since all the others have become extinct.

Homo sapiens can translate as "wise man" .Scientists qualify as archaic Homo sapiens to several species of Homo that emerged some 600,000 years ago and share various characteristics with the Homo sapiens , although they do not have the same anatomy.

The Modern Homo sapiens , meanwhile, have a similar appearance to the human being of today.These individuals would have lived in a period of between 260,000 and 100,000 years before the present. Homo sapiens sapiens (the current man ), is believed to be around 195,000 years old.

It should be noted, however, that the trinomial denomination ( Homo sapiens sapiens ) is no longer used because the phylogenetic link between the Homo neanderthalensis and the human being of today has been ruled out, although it is sometimes used to make the distinction between the archaic human being and the current one.

The body of Homo sapiens has a high level of complexity, with a close interrelation between its organs , tissues , devices and systems .Its capacity for locomotion and movement, its opposable thumbs (which facilitate the use of instruments) and its sexual dimorphism are other physical characteristics.

The main difference of Homo sapiens with other species of the genus Homo, however, is in their mental capacities.The human being is aware of himself, his past and his condition of mortal; can plan; develop abstract thoughts, etc.

The language

Although it is possible to find the concept of language in nature, it is usually used to refer to natural languages, what the human being uses for his communication.Martin Heidegger, a German philosopher of the twentieth century whose image is usually associated with Nazism Given its close and favorable relationship with this dire stage of humanity, he considered that only man, Homo sapiens, is capable of using language; In one of his best-known theses, he expressed that language is the house of being and the place where the essence of our species lies.

Ernst Cassirer, contemporary philosopher to Heidegger native from Prussia, he had a similar way of understanding these concepts: he defined Homo sapiens as the maximum expression of the symbolic animal, relying on the fact that it is almost impossible to conceive a human thought without resorting to symbolism, especially the signifier as an element that collaborates with complex thinking, which transcends the level of instinct to go beyond the tangible and lived.

At present, our species shows clear advances at linguistic level with respect to the beginnings of Homo sapiens, almost 200,000 years ago, as it explores its symbolic side through the more than 6 thousand languages ​​spoken on Earth However, it is worth mentioning that more than half of the world's population (which is around 7,000 million) dominates at least one of the following languages: Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, English, Hindi, Arabic, Russian, Portuguese or Bengali.

Thanks to the use of language, Homo sapiens has managed to transmit the wisdom he was acquiring in each generation to his contemporaries and descendants, but he has also been able to explore his abilities and learn from others, both from other humans and from those that warned in individuals of other species.In addition, since the invention of writing and, later, of the printing press, the knowledge of a person can be immortalized and consulted anywhere in the world.