I heard that line repeated in a song on the radio the other day and it is of course a regular and familiar expression. It is invariably used by someone hoping to get away with some moral breach and saying in effect what can I do,don't expect competence or integrity from me -I am only human. It is a whine and demand for moral sanction -and should be witheld on principle!
But I'm only human is also an anti human sentiment. Only? A mere human -it is a putdown of the whole human race and it has religious overtones too. It is in effect saying we humans are mere mortals -we do not have the power of the gods -what can you expect from us?
It is funny in a sense that an innocent seeming and sounding throway line like that can conceal such malevolence and contain such evil philosophy and it is perhaps a salutary warning that the casual phrases we imbibe with our mother's milk can contain within them most deadly of deadliest philosophical poison and that we should be on our guard against such common usages of which there are legion as if our very lives and survival depend upon it - because in fact they do.
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