Humanism

"Humanistic" redirects here. For album, see Humanistic (album).

See also Humanism (life stance), Secular humanism, and Renaissance humanism

Humanism is a broad category of ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appealing to universal human qualities, particularly rationality, without resorting to the supernatural or alleged divine authority from religious texts. It is a component of a variety of more specific philosophical systems. Humanism can be considered as a process by which truth and morality is sought through human investigation and as such views on morals can change when new knowledge and information is discovered. In focusing on the capacity for self-determination, humanism rejects transcendental justifications, such as a dependence on belief without reason, the supernatural, or texts of allegedly divine origin. Humanists endorse universal morality based on the commonality of the human condition, suggesting that solutions to human social and cultural problems cannot be parochial.

Aspects of modern humanism

Religion

Humanism rejects deference to supernatural beliefs in human affairs. Humanism has had an impact on some religions which have in recent times adapted a more humane stance than their original versions. Humanism is generally compatible with atheism and agnosticism but being atheist or agnostic does not make one a Humanist. Although the words "ignostic" (American) or "indifferentist" (British, including OED) are sometimes applied to Humanism, on the grounds that Humanism is an ethical process, not a dogma about the existence or otherwise of gods, many Humanists are deeply concerned about the impact of religion and belief in a god or gods on society and their own freedoms. Agnosticism or atheism on their own do not necessarily entail Humanism; many different and sometimes incompatible philosophies happen to be atheistic in nature. There is no one ideology or set of behaviors to which all atheists adhere, and not all are humanistic.

Because Humanism encompasses intellectual currents running through a wide variety of philosophical thought, it is able to fulfill or supplant the role of religions, and in particular, to be embraced as a complete life stance. For more on this, see Humanism (life stance). In a number of countries, for the purpose of laws that give rights to "religions", the secular life stance has become legally recognized as equivalent to a "religion" for this purpose. In the United States, the Supreme Court recognized that Humanism is equivalent to a religion in the limited sense of authorizing Humanists to conduct ceremonies commonly carried out by officers of religious bodies. The relevant passage is in a footnote to Torcaso v. Watkins (1961).

Knowledge

According to Humanism, it is up to humans to find the truth, as opposed to seeking it through revelation, mysticism, tradition, or anything else that is incompatible with the application of logic to the observable evidence. In demanding that humans avoid blindly accepting unsupported beliefs, it supports scientific skepticism and the scientific method, rejecting authoritarianism and extreme skepticism, and rendering faith an unacceptable basis for action. Likewise, Humanism asserts that knowledge of right and wrong is based on the best understanding of one's individual and joint interests, rather than stemming from a transcendental truth or an arbitrarily local source.

Optimism

Humanism features an optimistic attitude about the capacity of people, but it does not involve believing that human nature is purely good or that all people can live up to the Humanist ideals without help. If anything, there is the recognition that living up to one's potential is hard work and requires the assistance of others. The ultimate goal is human flourishing; making life better for all humans, and as the most conscious species, also promoting concern for the welfare of other sentient beings and the planet as a whole. The focus is on doing good and living well in the here and now, and leaving the world a better place for those who come after.

History

Contemporary humanism can be traced back through the Renaissance to its ancient Greek roots. The term humanism was coined in 1808, based on the 15th century Italian term umanista, meaning "student of human affairs or human nature," as coined by Ludovico Ariosto. The evolution of the meaning of the word humanism is fully explored in Nicolas Walter's Humanism– What's in the Word.

Greek humanism

Main article: Greek philosophy

Sixth century BCE pantheists Thales of Miletus and Xenophanes of Colophon prepared the way for later Greek humanist thought. Thales is credited with creating the maxim "Know thyself", and Xenophanes refused to recognize the gods of his time and reserved the divine for the principle of unity in the universe. Later Anaxagoras, often described as the "first freethinker", contributed to the development of science as a method of understanding the universe. These Ionian Greeks were the first thinkers to recognize that nature is available to be studied separately from any alleged supernatural realm. Pericles, a pupil of Anaxagoras, influenced the development of democracy, freedom of thought, and the exposure of superstitions. Although little of their work survives, Protagoras and Democritus both espoused agnosticism and a spiritual morality not based on the supernatural. The historian Thucydides is noted for his scientific and rational approach to history. In the third century BCE, Epicurus became known for his concise phrasing of the problem of evil, lack of belief in the afterlife, and human-centered approaches to achieving eudaimonia. He was also the first Greek philosopher to admit women to his school as a rule.

Renaissance humanism

Main article: Renaissance humanism

Renaissance humanism was a movement that affected the cultural, political, social, and literary landscape of Europe. Beginning in Florence in the last decades of the 14th century, Renaissance humanism revived the study of Latin and Greek, with the resultant revival of the study of science, philosophy, art and poetry of classical antiquity. The revival was based on interpretations of Roman and Greek texts, whose emphasis upon art and the senses marked a great change from the contemplation on the Biblical values of humility, introspection, and meekness.

Scholars of history and philosophy portray different aspects of Renaissance humanism: some focus primarily on the linguistic and academic curricula, and figures such as Francesco Petrarch in Italy and Rodolphus Agricola in Germany, others concentrate on clerical humanists such as Erasmus and Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples, notable for their translations of Biblical texts and efforts to reform the church. Of these churchmen, historian of the Renaissance Sir John Hale opines that "Renaissance humanism must be kept free from any hint of either 'humanitarianism' or 'humanism' in its modern sense of rational, non-religious approach to life ... the word 'humanism' will mislead ... if it is seen in opposition to a Christianity its students in the main wished to supplement, not contradict, through their patient excavation of the sources of ancient God-inspired wisdom." However, in addition to the linguistic, literary, and artistic influences of the classics on the Renaissance period, there was also growing influence from pagan and secular philosophies. As humanists increasingly opposed the strict Catholic orthodoxy of Scholastic philosophy, some began to intermingle pagan virtues with Christian virtues, and revive religious ideas from the late-classical Greek world, and some risked being declared heretics for distancing themselves from the church. The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy describes the secularistic flavor of classical writings as having tremendous impact on Renaissance scholars:

Here, one felt no weight of the supernatural pressing on the human mind, demanding homage and allegiance. Humanity—with all its distinct capabilities, talents, worries, problems, possibilities—was the center of interest. It has been said that medieval thinkers philosophized on their knees, but, bolstered by the new studies, they dared to stand up and to rise to full stature.

Renaissance humanism's divergence from orthodox Christianity was in two broad directions. Firstly there was the secular world-view of writers such as Niccolò Machiavelli and Francesco Guicciardini, the agnosticism and skepticism of Francis Bacon and Michel Montaigne, and the anti-clerical satire of François Rabelais. Secondly there was Renaissance Neo-Platonism and Hermeticism, which through humanists like Giordano Bruno, Marsilio Ficino, Campanella and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola introduced new and wide-ranging ideas of supernatural forces, and sometimes came close to constituting a new religion itself. Of these two directions, the first has had great continuing influence on academic study, science and arts, while the second lead to alchemy, magic and esotericism.

The sharply confrontational religious atmosphere following the Protestant reformation resulted in the Counter-Reformation that sought to silence all challenges to Catholic theology, with similar efforts among the Protestant churches. Despite a Platonist element that opposed an Aristotelian concentration on the observable properties of the physical world, Renaissance humanist thought was also a crucial ingredient of the history of science in the Renaissance. Human-centric philosophy evolved to include not only the literary works of the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, but empirical observations and experimentation in the observable universe, which laid the groundwork for scientific inquiry in the Age of Enlightenment and into modernity.

Modern era

The use of the word "humanism" in English to indicate a philosophy opposed to Christian orthodoxy dates to its first use in 1812, when it was used to indicate "mere humanity," rather than the divine nature, of Christ. Subsequently, the Humanistic Religious Association was formed as one of the earliest forerunners of contemporary chartered humanist organizations in 1853 in London. This early group was democratically organized, with male and female members participating in the election of the leadership and promoted knowledge of the sciences, philosophy, and the arts.

In February 1877, the word was used, apparently for the first time in America, to describe Felix Adler, pejoratively. Adler, however, did not embrace the term, and instead coined the name "Ethical Culture" for his new movement– a movement which still exists in the now Humanist-affiliated New York Society for Ethical Culture. In 2008, Ethical Culture Leaders wrote "Today, the historic identification, Ethical Culture, and the modern description, Ethical Humanism, are used interchangeably."

Active in the early 1920s, F.C.S. Schiller considered his work to be tied to the Humanist movement. Schiller himself was influenced by the pragmatism of William James. In 1929 Charles Francis Potter founded the First Humanist Society of New York whose advisory board included Julian Huxley, John Dewey, Albert Einstein and Thomas Mann. Potter was a minister from the Unitarian tradition and in 1930 he and his wife, Clara Cook Potter, published Humanism: A New Religion. Throughout the 1930s Potter was a well-known advocate of women’s rights, access to birth control, "civil divorce laws", and an end to capital punishment.

Raymond B. Bragg, the associate editor of The New Humanist, sought to consolidate the input of L. M. Birkhead, Charles Francis Potter, and several members of the Western Unitarian Conference. Bragg asked Roy Wood Sellars to draft a document based on this information which resulted in the publication of the Humanist Manifesto in 1933. Potter's book and the Manifesto became the cornerstones of modern humanism, the latter declaring a new religion by saying, "any religion that can hope to be a synthesizing and dynamic force for today must be shaped for the needs of this age. To establish such a religion is a major necessity of the present." It then presented fifteen theses of humanism as foundational principles for this new religion.

In 1941 the American Humanist Association was organized. Noted members of The AHA included Isaac Asimov, who was the president from 1985 until his death in 1992, and writer Kurt Vonnegut, who followed as honorary president until his death in 2007. Robert Buckman was the head of the association in Canada, and is now an honorary president.

After World War II, three prominent humanists became the first directors of major divisions of the United Nations: Julian Huxley of UNESCO, Brock Chisholm of the World Health Organization, and John Boyd-Orr of the Food and Agricultural Organization.

Humanism (life stance)

Main article: Humanism (life stance)

Humanism (capital 'H', no adjective such as "secular") is a comprehensive life stance that upholds human reason, ethics, and justice, and rejects supernaturalism, pseudoscience, and superstition.

The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) is the world union of more than one hundred Humanist, rationalist, secular, ethical culture, and freethought organizations in more than 40 countries. The Happy Human is the official symbol of the IHEU as well as being regarded as a universally recognised symbol for those that call themselves Humanists (as opposed to "humanists"). In 2002 the IHEU General Assembly unanimously adopted the Amsterdam Declaration 2002 which represents the official defining statement of World Humanism.

All member organisations of the IHEU are required by IHEU bylaw 5.1 to accept the IHEU Minimum Statement on Humanism:

Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality.

Other forms of humanism

Humanism is also sometimes used to describe humanities scholars (particularly scholars of the Greco-Roman classics). As mentioned above, it is sometimes used to mean humanitarianism. There is also a school of humanistic psychology, and an educational method.

Educational humanism

Humanism, as a current in education, began to dominate U.S. school systems in the 17th century. It held that the studies that develop human intellect are those that make humans "most truly human". The practical basis for this was faculty psychology, or the belief in distinct intellectual faculties, such as the analytical, the mathematical, the linguistic, etc. Strengthening one faculty was believed to benefit other faculties as well (transfer of training). A key player in the late 19th-century educational humanism was U.S. Commissioner of Education W.T. Harris, whose "Five Windows of the Soul" (mathematics, geography, history, grammar, and literature/art) were believed especially appropriate for "development of the faculties". Educational humanists believe that "the best studies, for the best kids" are "the best studies" for all kids. While humanism as an educational current was widely supplanted in the United States by the innovations of the early 20th century, it still holds out in some preparatory schools and some high school disciplines (especially in literature).

See also

• List of basic humanism topics
• List of humanists
• Natural rights
• Secular humanism

Manifestos and statements setting out Humanist viewpoints

• Humanist Manifesto
• Amsterdam Declaration 2002
• A Secular Humanist Declaration

Related philosophies

• Agnosticism
• Atheism
• Deism
• Existentialism
• Eudaimonism
• Extropianism
• Infinitism
• Marxist humanism
• Materialism
• New Age Spirituality
• Objectivity
• Pragmatism
• Permaculture
• Rationalism
• Transhumanism
• Ubuntu (philosophy)

Organizations

• American Humanist Association
• British Humanist Association
• Humanist Association of Canada
• Council for Secular Humanism
• Ethical Culture
• European Humanist Federation
• Humanist Association of Ireland
• Humanisterna, the Swedish Humanist Association
• Human-Etisk Forbund, the Norwegian Humanist Association
• Humanist International
• Humanist Movement
• Humanist Society of Scotland
• Institute for Humanist Studies
• International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU)
• North East Humanists, the largest regional Humanist group in the United Kingdom
• Rationalist International
• Sidmennt, the Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association
• Society for Humanistic Judaism

Other

• Antihumanism
• Community organizing
• Humanistic psychology
• Misanthropy
• Social psychology
• Speciesism
• Ten Commandment Alternatives - Secular and humanist alternatives to the Ten Commandments

References

References

• Barry, P. 2002 Beginning Theory: an introduction to literary and cultural theory, 2nd edn, Manchester University Press, Manchester, U.K., p. 36
• Davies, Norman, Europe: A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996, ISBN 0-19-820171-0
• Hale, John. A Concise Encyclopaedia of the Italian Renaissance, Oxford University Press, 1981, ISBN 0500233330.
• Petrosyan, M. 1972 Humanism: Its Philosophical, Ethical, and Sociological Aspects, Progress Publishers, Moscow.
• Plumb, J.H. ed.: The Italian Renaissance 1961, American Heritage, New York, ISBN 0-618-12738-0 (page refs from 1978 UK Penguin edn).
• Everything2, 2002 Liberal Humanism, http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1321605
• Liberal Humanism (Modernism) and Postmodernism 2001, http://herbergeronline.asu.edu/the220/notes/postmodern.html
• Moon, B. 2001 Literary terms: a practical glossary, 2nd edn, Chalkface Press, Cotteslow, W.A., Australia, p.62
• PhilWeb: Theoretical Resources Off– and On–line. "Liberal Humanism." http://www.phillwebb.net/History/TwentiethCentury/AngloAmerican/LiberalHumanism.htm

External links

Manifestos and statements setting out humanist viewpoints

• Humanist Manifesto I (1933)
• Humanist Manifesto II (1973)
• A Secular Humanist Declaration (1980)
• Amsterdam Declaration (2002)
• Humanist Manifesto III (2003)

Introductions to humanism

• What Is Humanism? from the American Humanist Association
• Morain, Lloyd and Mary: Humanism as the Next Step, from the American Humanist Association
• Huxley, Julian: The Humanist Frame
• Humanism: Why, What, and What For, In 882 Words
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Civic Humanism
• Catholic Encyclopedia article on Renaissance Humanism
• Humanism at the Open Directory Project

Web articles

• New Humanist British magazine from the Rationalist Press Association (RPA)
• Nanovirus– A humanist perspective on politics, technology and culture
• Modern Humanist An Online Journal for Modern Humanism, Humanist Philosophy & Life

Web books

• The Philosophy of Humanism by Corliss Lamont
• A Guide for the Godless: The Secular Path to Meaning by Andrew Kernohan
• The New Humanism by Edward Howard Griggs
• Thinking and Moral Problems, Religions and Their Source, Purpose, and Developing a Universal Religion, four Parts of a Wikibook.