Consequences of Humanism Andrew Copson Chief Executive, British Humanist Association

Humanists… Accept naturalism and use scientific method to gain knowledge Accept this one life is all we know we have Accept morality arises out of human nature and culture Believe what is right is what promotes human welfare and fulfillment Believe we can/should create meaning and purpose in life

Humanism …a commitment to the perspective, interests and centrality of human persons; a belief in reason and autonomy as foundational aspects of human existence; a belief that reason, scepticism and the scientific method are the only appropriate instruments for discovering truth and structuring the human community; a belief that the foundations for ethics and society are to be found in autonomy and moral equality… Concise Routledge Encyclopaedia of Philosophy

Humanists Believing that it is possible to live confidently without metaphysical or religious certainly and that all opinions are open to revision and correction, they see human flourishing as dependent on open communication, discussion, criticism and unforced consensus. Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy

Humanism: where and when? These ideas recur globally and at all times: Europe, 6th century BCE to about 6th century CE China, 6th century BCE onwards e.g. followers of Confucius India, 6th century BCE onwards e.g. Karvaka Arab world, c.12th century CE e.g. Averroes Western world, c.17th century CE to present day

The Humanist tradition in the west Ancient world: eliminated by but also influenced the Church eg Aristotle, Democritus Reformation: rediscovery of ancient texts, refocussing of attention from divine to human eg Erasmus Renaissance: greater emphasis on reason and human beings eg Shakespeare, Bacon Enlightenment: rise of reason, science and political freedom eg Hume, Paine

The Humanist tradition in the west “contemporary humanism is… tacitly accepted by a wide spectrum of educated people in all parts of the Western world” – Oxford Companion to the Mind “humanism is… the wallpaper of modern life” – A C Grayling There is no part of modern culture untouched and unaffected by the ideas and values of humanism

Influences Counselling Architecture Politics Visual arts Religion Ceremonies Law History Literature

Knowledge First the wonder of the infinitely dynamic universe, with its millions of galaxies, and millions of stars within each galaxy, linked to all the exciting explorations of modern astronomy. Then, the place of our world in this immensity, not as an inconsequential speck in the ocean of space but as of very great significance, because in our earth – no doubt along with other planets attached to other stars – life exists. Then, the story of the evolution of life on this planet, man’s recent appearance and struggles, his first tentative adventures beyond the protective sphere of the earth’s atmosphere… Children are heartened and enthralled by such a picture. It is contemporary, relevant, indubitable, adventurous, challenging.

Knowledge Every human being is born an heir to an inheritance and to enter this common inheritance of human achievements through education is the only way of becoming a human being, and to inhabit it is to be a human being.

Inquiry The humanist is a rationalist, one who puts reason first; and he stresses the open mind, dedication to a disinterested search for truth. The more educated the electorate, the more they should be able to understand the issues. By education I mean, of course, the ability to think for themselves and distinguish between fact and propaganda. I appeal to you to be rational, critical, inspired with the spirit of enquiry. Don’t take things simply for granted. If you do not have the courage to revolt against authority outright, then at least go to the extent to demanding on what sanction is the authority based. You shall never be able to be free on this earth so long as you remain a voluntary subject to forces unknown and unknowable.

Inquiry I disagree when you argue that man cannot in general do without the consolation of the religious illusion, that without it he would not endure the troubles of life, the cruelty of reality… Man cannot remain a child forever; he must venture at last into the hostile world. This may be called education into reality.

Inquiry Although improvement of character should not be the aim of instruction, there are certain qualities which are very desirable, and which are essential to the successful pursuit of knowledge; they may be called the intellectual virtues.… Among such qualities the chief seem to me: curiosity, open-mindedness, belief that knowledge is possible though difficult, patience, industry, concentration and exactness. Of these, curiosity is fundamental; where it is strong and directed to the right objects, all the rest will follow.

Moral education Why should I consider others? These ultimate moral questions like all ultimate questions can be desperately difficult to answer, as every philosophy student knows. Myself, I think the only possible answer to this question is the humanist one – because we are naturally social beings; we live in communities; and life in any community, from the family outwards is much happier, and fuller, and richer if the members are friendly and cooperative than if they are hostile and resentful.

Moral education Why should I consider others? These ultimate moral questions like all ultimate questions can be desperately difficult to answer, as every philosophy student knows. Myself, I think the only possible answer to this question is the humanist one – because we are naturally social beings; we live in communities; and life in any community, from the family outwards is much happier, and fuller, and richer if the members are friendly and cooperative than if they are hostile and resentful.

Moral education Why should I consider others? These ultimate moral questions like all ultimate questions can be desperately difficult to answer, as every philosophy student knows. Myself, I think the only possible answer to this question is the humanist one – because we are naturally social beings; we live in communities; and life in any community, from the family outwards is much happier, and fuller, and richer if the members are friendly and cooperative than if they are hostile and resentful.

Moral education In any case this question of ultimate sanctions is largely theoretical. I have never yet met the child – and I have met very few adults – to whom it has every occurred to raise the question: “Why should I consider others?” Most people are prepared to accept as a completely self-evident moral axiom that we must not be completely selfish, and if we base our moral training on that we shall, I suggest, be building on firm enough foundations.

Moral education Warm hearted and generous natures are developed, not primarily by training and discipline, important though these are in other ways, but by love. There is abundant evidence that if a child is brought up in a warm happy confident affectionate home atmosphere he has the best chance of developing into a well-balanced secure affectionate and generous-minded person.

Moral education Moral education is not an intellectual content only or even primarily, but a carefully planned combination of formative experience and valid information, each aspect being matched to the maturation of the child, so that moral insight and understanding gradually deepen and extend as the child grows.

Moral education We have to accept that there is nothing in any human being that is not a possibility in ourselves also, and nothing in ourselves that is not echoed in the experience and behaviour of the entire human race.

Happiness, meaning and completeness Again and again in the humanist tradition we come across this concept of “the whole man” it seems a natural goal to aim at if the life of the individual is confined to this world. If we believe that the real self is immortal, its progress must be unbounded and life on earth merely a preparatory school. On the other hand if we are not immortal, completion must take place, if at all, in the present life.

Happiness, meaning and completeness Human beings can acquire an art of living, an art of creating their own life experience, but these are life expressions that are enhanced when society itself creates the necessary foundations for such individual expression. To be a “whole person”, each individual has to develop the kind of self determination, the kind of control of the self, that promotes the decisions in life that encourage personal evolution. And the greater the scope for this, the greater the personal evolution, the greater the sensitivity and empathy to the world beyond the self. The “whole person” is very much in touch with reality, has self value and is largely free of conditioning restraints. When one is in touch with one’s self there is a sounder view of the kind of world in which one wants to live.

Happiness, meaning and completeness Different individuals chose very different styles. The more advanced the civilisation the wider the choice becomes. No doubt in a primitive community nearly every one conforms to the dominate pattern; the few who fail are ostracised. Even so outstanding non- conformists must have survived, and not all of them could have been silenced. If we are mere passive victims of early conditioning it is hard to see how civilisation could have developed. Unless there had been innovators who rebelled against traditional ways we should still be in the Stone Age. Man is a rational animal, a social animal, and an ethical animal, the common factor and one which Humanism particularly stresses is that man is classed as an animal.

Happiness, meaning and completeness They have all wished to go with their friends to Sunday school and we have not discouraged them, but it certainly came as a bit of shock when the eldest lad at the age of sixteen declared his wish to be baptised. We regret that he does not see things as we do, but we felt that for a lad of that age to present himself in church for a ceremony usually undergone by babies represented a certain moral integrity and courage, and we were glad to accept his invitation to go along with him on that occasion.

Happiness, meaning and completeness Each human being needs to find a pathway for his or her self, a way of life that is satisfying and meaningful and that is in some way felt to have value in a wider communal sense. We all have talents in different areas and whatever those areas are we should seek to develop them, however unimportant they may seem. Respect for one’s own abilities and the lack of them in some areas is healthy and we can all play our part in the universe when we recognise what we are as individuals. It takes courage to live life, but it takes extra courage to free one’s self from the conditionings that blur personality so that one has to face one’s own self squarely. This is true personal identity.