What is Humanism (Part 3)

Okay, now that you know a bit about me and my personal journey toward being a humanist, it's time to talk about the core values of humanism, and how those values are interpreted both generally (such as in the Manifestos) and by myself as an individual humanist.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this series, Humanism, like mankind and all other life on Earth, is in a constant state of evolution. The most basic heart of humanism remains constant, just as the basic DNA of any living creature does - but various aspects and interpretations will develop and grow over time, just as living organisms adapt to changes in their environment or develop new attributes to assist their survival. So to explain Humanism, I will start with the heart of our philosophy....

Humanism reflects a core belief that humanity already possesses all the tools necessary to solve our own problems, and improve the human condition for all the people of Earth. Humanists, for the most part, believe that religion does more to hamper the growth and evolution of mankind than help it, for several reasons:

• First, most religions focus too much on revelation and blind faith, and insist on rigid adherence to antiquated ideas and ideals that cannot (or will not) be adapted to modern knowledge, reason, or societal evolution.
• Religions often promote a certain elitism and even oppression or discrimination based on the "my god is better than your god" or "we're the chosen ones" scenarios (especially prevalent among fundamentalists of any sect).
• Religion also tends to stunt our intellectual development by discouraging open discourse and rational thought (especially if it is applied to the teachings of the religion), and often rejects scientific fact if it does not agree with the assumptions or "revelations" put forth by the religion (ex: Christians insisting that the earth is only 6000 years old, despite tons of scientific evidence to the contrary).
• Finally, belief in a supreme being that, should it be so inclined, has the power to fix everything that is wrong in the world, tends to promote laziness and a lack of ambition in the individual to solve their own problems. When, for instance, someone says "it's in God's hands", what they are actually saying is that they have given up trying to solve the problem for themselves and are basically hoping the answer they seek will somehow magically appear out of thin air.

Humanists do not give up, nor do Humanists wait for a supernatural force to "fix" things. We believe that every problem facing mankind can be solved through a combination of reason, science, and cooperation. Further, we believe that, just as humankind has created most of it's own problems, it is only through our own efforts that those problems will ever be solved.

Humanists also believe that every human life has value, meaning, purpose, and immeasurable potential. We believe that each person has an inherent right to live with dignity, to be treated equally to all other humans, and to have access to the basic requirements of life - personal safety, shelter, food, medical care, and education. This not only will help end wars, crime, and suffering, but promote the development of solutions to the other problems facing our world, such as new treatments for disease, new methods for producing clean and earth-friendly energy, and more. It is not possible for someone to help advance science, medicine, technology, or any other beneficial tool of humanity if they must struggle every day to survive. Removing that struggle opens the door to creativity, ingenuity, and invention, and ensures that every person has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Because we believe that every person has the inherent right to dignity, safety, and the ability to pursue their full potential, we believe that discrimination in all it's forms, and for all possible reasons, must end; that war, genocide, and oppression must be stopped; and that all nations must work together to ensure that no man, woman, or child is left without a home, a meal, medical care, or the opportunity to learn. We believe that a lack of financial resources should not prevent anyone from having those basic necessities of survival because such deprivation stunts the intellectual growth of the individual, promotes envy, and encourages crime and/or war.

We believe that conflicts or disagreements, whether between individuals or nations, should be resolved through communication, reason, cooperation, mediation, and compromise. As the astronauts often observe, there are no lines when one looks at the Earth from space. Therefore we must stop thinking in terms of localities, states, or nations, and begin thinking of ourselves as "Citizens of Earth" - a global community that must work together in order to ensure our survival and to find solutions for the problems that face our world.

Humanists also believe that it is vitally important to protect our natural resources, which includes promoting clean energy, fuel efficiency, waste reduction, re-forestation, preservation, conservation, and recycling. The Earth is our home, and for now at least, the only possible home for humanity. If we continue to abuse it and destroy the natural balance that allowed our species to survive thus far, we are basically committing mass suicide. Along this same line, the continued development and threat of use of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons is anathema to a healthy and productive society, and must end. Anything else is a recipe for the demise of our species, and thousands of others as well. It is illogical and unreasonable to continue pursuing that course.

Naturally, in order to achieve these goals, Humanists also accept that each person has a duty to contribute to the good of mankind according to their individual abilities. Our civilization cannot survive unless we work at it - whether it be serving food, driving a bus, mediating a dispute, or finding a cure for cancer. Therefore, personal responsibility, not only for one's own actions, but for contributing to the survival of our species and the advancement of our society, is another core principle of Humanism.

In general then, the core of Humanism is about believing in the infinite potential of the human mind, and the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity. It is about cooperation, a commitment to the advancement of our species and the protection of our planet, a shared vision of a world free of war, oppression, poverty, and suffering; and a shared responsibility for helping to make those goals a reality.

Further, Humanism is the belief that ALL of that can be achieved through our own efforts (no gods needed), if we can put aside our differences and work together to solve our problems. Humanism is also about the promotion of science and reason over mythology and supernaturalism, and the protection of every human being's inherent right to live with dignity, pursue their intellectual and spiritual potential, and have their basic needs met.

As I mentioned, these are the core beliefs of Humanism, and yet they are also my interpretation of those core beliefs. That is part of humanism as well - accepting that we all have our own perceptions and interpretations of things, accepting that you "can't please all the people all the time", and working together to form those individual interpretations into a viable foundation for the future of mankind.

The way these basic tenets are interpreted or implemented by the individual humanist varies greatly. Some believe that Humanism demands a rejection of all religion and mysticism, while others believe that the two can co-exist as long as science and reason are not rejected in favor of faith alone. Some think Humanism is a religion in itself (I am part of this group, and in fact I am ordained as a Humanist Minister), while others think it is purely a philosophical or sociological view that does not contain the core components of other religions (faith, revelation, mysticism).

Similarly, many who claim to be humanists agree with only some of those core beliefs, and reject others. For instance, many American humanists find it hard to accept the idea of a "socialized" economy that promotes equal distribution of resources over the accumulation of wealth by a small segment of the population. Personally, I think this is due to an effort within our education system to indoctrinate each of us from childhood into the idea that capitalism is the only workable form of economy - but whatever the reason, many humanists struggle with the idea of guaranteeing every person shelter, food, education and medical care.

Others have difficulty accepting the opposition to war. Just as Luke thought my original post on that topic was misguided or ill-informed, so too do many humanists think that war is necessary, if only to achieve the eventual goal of a united world. To me, these humanists are still operating under the idea that the only way to achieve worldwide unity is through forced domination, which does not promote cooperation and ignores the possibility of achieving unity through the use of reason, compromise, and the promise of mutual benefit.

So as you can see, Humanism is both constant in it's core beliefs, and varied in it's interpretation - which makes it somewhat like Christianity, where hundreds of "sects" have developed throughout the last 2000 years because various aspects of Christian teachings can have many different interpretations.

Therefore, it is important to remember that when speaking to a self-professed Humanist, one should not accept that person's personal views as a strict definition of what Humanism stands for. It is as different for each of us as we are from each other. I am sure that some humanists might read my posts on this topic and disagree with some or all of what I wrote. I make no claim to special authority on Humanism, and offer these posts purely as my personal interpretation.

I do hope, however, that this will provide you, Luke, and any others who read it, with a better understanding of what Humanism is, and why humanists lobby for things like the separation of church and state, keeping "Intelligent Design" theories out of the science curriculum, promoting clean energy and alternative fuels, and lobbying for equal treatment and basic human rights/dignity for all people.

This concludes this series of posts on the basics of Humanism. There are many other aspects of Luke's original comment that I plan to address in future posts, so, as TV announcers used to say, please stay tuned....