Order ON BEING HUMAN here
I'm a believer in essayism. I think it's a tremendous vehicle for creavity in forming new/original ideas. There also is a freedom (sometimes a playfulness) in the form that other forms of non-fiction writing don't allow. It's difficult to define exactly what it means to be human, because it has physical, metaphysical, emotional and symbolic ramifications. Karl Wolff rose to the challenge in ON BEING HUMAN and offered his critical output on the question of humanity in various books and movies. It's not the deepest collection of essays, but ON BEING HUMAN is interesting for what it is nonetheless: an intellectual, multidisciplinary firestarter.
The thought process that lead to writing ON BEING HUMAN is interesting, because Karl Wolff didn't write on humanity out of a vacuum. The selected works featured in Wolff's collection of essays discuss humanity when its default variables are being threatened in one way or another. There are several science fiction novels/movies/series where the threat to humanity is another life form, but Wolff also covers the more conceptual bases of his argument by discussing works such as THE KILLER INSIDE ME and VENUS IN FURS, where humans are the worst threat to their own status. From a theoretical point of view, Karl Wolff covered every angle possible of his theme.
The easy criticism here would be saying that the essays of ON BEING HUMAN are too short to have any substance. I think that it would be near-sighted to say that, because while the essays don't have a classic form, they aren't necessarily devoid of value or substance. You have to take them for what they are: a collection that started as a series of blog posts. It's an ideal firestarter if you're having friends over and want to debate. While I don't think ON BEING HUMAN does enough to convince you of anything, I believe that it does enough to trigger you desire to flex your mind muscle and step into the proverbial debate arena.
A question that popped in my mind when I was reading Wolff's essay on Warhammer 40,000 was: why do we think of humanity as something worth saving? Now, you'll excuse my inner Rust Cohle but as ON BEING HUMAN highlighted, it's a central theme to several science fiction novels and a dilemma that's been bothering me: is there something worth saving about humanity or is it our animal instinct of self-preservation forcing us to fight for who we are? Are we the good guys here or are we just closed to outside suggestions on how to exist better? This is the kind of reflection I had while reading ON BEING HUMAN. Not every book gets me going like that.
Don't start ON BEING HUMAN expecting to read something akin to David Foster Wallace or Chuck Klosterman. I don't think that this collection of essays was even meant to be read the same way that you would read the two most iconic essayists of our time. It's obviously way too short to compete, but I was it as a handbook to triggering intellectual debates in your circle of friends. I was not transported and inspired by ON BEING HUMAN, but I was reasonably stimulated. Enough to find it an enjoyable and valuable read. Don't read it for your personal fulfillment. Read it before meeting your friends for a drink and become the life of the party.