Secular Humanism
Secular Humanism
I. Part One
i) “Humanism cannot in any fair sense of the word apply to one still believes in God as the source and creator of the universe.”Corlis Lamont agrees, saying “Humanism contends that instead of the gods creating the cosmos, the cosmos, in the individualized form of human beings giving rein to their imagination, created the gods” (Wikipedia). Most Humanists are atheists or agnostics. ii) “Secular humanism does bear on the key aspects of one's life. It shapes our moral values. It also influences our sense of meaning and identity. It does so, however, not by dictating what we should think or what we should do but by providing the means for us to decide for ourselves what we find fulfilling and to create our own identity” (Belief net).” "I am a creature who descended from a determined bit of blue-green algae, or some such”( Council For Secular Humanism) iii) “Instead of pushing on with new ideas, most secular humanists have been content to remain comfortably conformist. It's as though they expended their energy entirely in turning away from God. On an intellectual level, I would suggest that our inability to come up with genuinely new programmatic approaches to living—i.e., new values—stems from the fact that we haven't paid serious, sustained attention to the fundamental questions about the meaning and purpose of life. The real issues are far more straightforward: our high intelligence makes virtually no difference, since meaning attaches to our lives on the primal level of our being alive and aware, not the level of our being highly intelligent and cultured. We share that level of meaning with many other living creatures such as chimpanzees, birds, dogs, cats, and so on. ” (Humanists Need a Ready Answer S. Matthew D'Agostino). iv) “Secular morality is the aspect of philosophy that deals with morality outside of religious traditions. Modern examples include humanism, freethinking, and most versions of consequentialism. Additional
I. Part One
i) “Humanism cannot in any fair sense of the word apply to one still believes in God as the source and creator of the universe.”Corlis Lamont agrees, saying “Humanism contends that instead of the gods creating the cosmos, the cosmos, in the individualized form of human beings giving rein to their imagination, created the gods” (Wikipedia). Most Humanists are atheists or agnostics. ii) “Secular humanism does bear on the key aspects of one's life. It shapes our moral values. It also influences our sense of meaning and identity. It does so, however, not by dictating what we should think or what we should do but by providing the means for us to decide for ourselves what we find fulfilling and to create our own identity” (Belief net).” "I am a creature who descended from a determined bit of blue-green algae, or some such”( Council For Secular Humanism) iii) “Instead of pushing on with new ideas, most secular humanists have been content to remain comfortably conformist. It's as though they expended their energy entirely in turning away from God. On an intellectual level, I would suggest that our inability to come up with genuinely new programmatic approaches to living—i.e., new values—stems from the fact that we haven't paid serious, sustained attention to the fundamental questions about the meaning and purpose of life. The real issues are far more straightforward: our high intelligence makes virtually no difference, since meaning attaches to our lives on the primal level of our being alive and aware, not the level of our being highly intelligent and cultured. We share that level of meaning with many other living creatures such as chimpanzees, birds, dogs, cats, and so on. ” (Humanists Need a Ready Answer S. Matthew D'Agostino). iv) “Secular morality is the aspect of philosophy that deals with morality outside of religious traditions. Modern examples include humanism, freethinking, and most versions of consequentialism. Additional