What does being human mean to you?

I disagree about negating our primal instincts. I think we build on them. We turn our instincts to more creative use. Being human is the unique ability to self-examine, to know where, what and why we are what we are. To choose, with deliberate action, what is to be destroyed that something of greater worth can be built. To be human is to learn. We used to act blindly and rapaciously. Now we hesitate and consider what the ramifications are and might be, before we act. We have come to know and appreciate the awesome powers we now wield. Our shadow lies upon the Earth and it is up to us to determine what kind of world we will live in.