​​​Descares said, "I think therefore I am." But it would be more accurate to say, "I am, therefore I think." Because you can't think until you exist.

So your essence as a human being is, "I am.

Now we are at the beginning,
"I am."

OK, you exist but within your body. Your existence occurs within your own bodfy.

So a human being is an organism which (like many other organisms), experiences existence within a body.

But what is going on inside your body? This is your experiences, which consist of sensations, pains, sexual excitment, the experience of suffering, satisfaction after eating, etc.

So the fundamental category of human existence is your experience of yourself, plus how you think about and interpret your experiences.

The essence of many organisms is experience, but it seems only humans are conscious at the same time they are having experiences.

So to be human is to experience things and to know and think about your experiences. 

Whatever is happening within you at this current moment--is who you are.

Richard Koenigsberg

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