Themes In Vanier's Becoming Human

Some main themes which manifest themselves in Vanier’s Becoming Human are the heart, belonging, and loneliness. In the excerpt from page 86, all of these themes are present. With this paragraph Vanier is asserting his main point of the book. He lays down his most fundamental argument, saying that contrary to popular belief the human being is more than their ability to think and perform. He goes on to explain the ways in which people are connected to each other regardless of their own abilities. It is this connectedness that he is using to make his case for what makes up the humanness in human beings.
In his exploration of our own humanness, Jean Vanier argues against the popular belief that intellect and reason are the most central elements that make us human. Instead, he presents our ability to form relationships with one another as a more open minded replacement. In Vanier’s search for what may define being human, he looks to reality to show him the answer. Rather than reasoning a logical solution, Vanier tries to glean as much understanding as he can from the nature of things through his own experience. Through his passage on page 86 of his book Becoming Human, he emplores

Vanier argues that a human being is not limited in their capacity to think and to perform. In his experience founding and running l’Arche communities around the world, he has had a great deal of experience with people who who have mental disabilities, limiting their ability to perform cognitively. He argues that in our societies, mentally disabled people are considered no less human than anyone else. They are afforded the same rights, and protections as any other human. With this being the case, our humanness cannot be determined solely by our mental