What is Humanism -- the question remains

» crb2099 - What is Humanism -- the question remains

Godlessheathen,

For starters, awesome name! But seriously, I can't seem to figure out how modern humanism -- or humanism in general -- is applied. How exactly is it worked into your life, how does it affect one's mode of being. To call something a philosophy is well and good, but where does it come into play, what other things does it counteract (marriage, religion, etc.). Reply or e-mail me.

Thanks,

Christian R. Bonawandt
Wrestling Editor

-- posted by crb2099

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» Godlessheathen - Re: What is Humanism -- the question remains

In response to message posted by crb2099:

Christian, thanks! It's the nick I use on Dalnet's #atheism channel. I will now try to answer your question.

If I understand you correctly, you are asking what bearing Humanism has on a Humanist's day to day life. For one thing, since as a Humanist I don't believe in an afterlife I believe that life must be enjoyed now since we only have one shot at happiness.

As a Humanist I'm also skeptical in the sense that I try not to jump to conclusions and try to gather all the facts about something before making my mind up. (This stands in contrast to people who hear about near death experiences and jump to the conclusion that it is proof of life after death, without considering natural explanations.)

Humanism says that people need knowledge and that ignorance can lead to bad decisions, including bad moral decisions. On the whole, Humanists value education whether it is formal or self-taught. Leading Humanist and author Corliss Lamont
wrote that we have "a moral obligation not to be ignorant". This also has an application in child-rearing practices. The education, including moral education, of children is very important to Humanists.

Humanism also is relevant in ethical decision making. Instead of consulting scripture, tradition, or following intuition (even conscience can be flawed, such as in the case of survivor's guilt), Humanists decide what is the most ethical course of action by looking at the possible consequences of an act (or rule). (This is not to say intuition is useless or that feelings such as empathy are not important. Empathy is essential.) Something that will cause unnecessary harm is wrong, and if something cannot be shown to be harmful to another person, to the human species as a whole, or to future generations it is not immoral. (This is not to say Humanism doesn't require ethical consideration for other animals, but there is some difference of opinion over how much consideration there should be. For example, some Humanists are vegetarians for ethical reasons, but some are not.)

For instance, homosexuality is not considered immoral within the Humanist community because it has not been shown to cause harm in and of itself.(Christian fundamentalists and others point to AIDS as a reason for saying homosexuality is wrong, but they were saying that before AIDS so we know the real reason is that they think the Bible says so and that's all the reason they think they need. Further, the fact that they think lesbian sex, which if it transmits AIDS at all does so at a lower rate than heterosexuals, points out the inconsistency in their argument.)

Different Humanists would have different views of marriage, but most of us do marry. Humanism is egalitarian and we reject the sort of marriage that fundamentalists hold as the ideal -- that of the husband being the "head" of the family and the wife "submitting" to his "authority". Both spouses should be equal partners having mutual respect for one another, sharing the responsibilities (although a division of labor is not necessarily bad as long as it is motivated by the needs of the family and not rigid sex stereotypes) and sharing control of the finances and financial decisions equally.

You asked if Humanism counteracts religion. I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I will say that Humanism is not consistent with traditional religions that believe in God or other supernatural entities. (Although there is such a thing as Christian Humanism, but that is a different philosophy with its own history.)

I hope I answered your question. If not, feel free to rephrase any part of your question I have not addressed fully. --Lynne

-- posted by Godlessheathen

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» crb2099 - Re: Re: What is Humanism -- the question remains

In response to message posted by Godlessheathen:

That is precisely what I was asking. Thank you for clarifying. I find the problems with many philosophies is that though they are about life that are hard to apply in reality and are mostly a lot of airy-fairy BS. I'm an amature Zen philosopher and believe that if you can't use it (or proove it), then it ain't worth the mental energy -- case in point of theories that God either exists or doesn't; can't prove it either way so it doen't matter.

Thanks again. Looking forward to more articles.

-- posted by crb2099

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