Re: We didn't start the fire? was Re: Alignment and 4E

In article <LvqdnbeJBeZS0cXVnZ2dnUVZ_s_inZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxx>,
"Malachias Invictus" <invictusebay@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

"Allen Wessels" <awessels@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:awessels-951E25.16155717062008@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I don't think humanists have in common as well a defined internal
concept shared among them as Christians do with the concept of Christ.
At least not in my experience.

You must be joking. Christians are all over the fucking place with their
concept of Christ. Some go all "fuzzy bunny," while others see him coming
back and melting nonbelievers. Those are extremes, for the most part, but
there are plenty of concepts in between.

I'm not joking and I have a lot of experience in this area. I think
your characterization is superficial and results from a strong bias
against Christians, however justified.

On the other hand, humanists have pretty much defined their internal
concepts, rather than leaving them to the imagination:

1. Humanism is one of those philosophies for people who think for
themselves. There is no area of thought that a Humanist is afraid to
challenge and explore.

2. Humanism is a philosophy focused upon human means for comprehending
reality. Humanists make no claims to possess or have access to supposed
transcendent knowledge.

3. Humanism is a philosophy of reason and science in the pursuit of
knowledge. Therefore, when it comes to the question of the most valid means
for acquiring knowledge of the world, Humanists reject arbitrary faith,
authority, revelation, and altered states of consciousness.

4. Humanism is a philosophy of imagination. Humanists recognize that
intuitive feelings, hunches, speculation, flashes of inspiration, emotion,
altered states of consciousness, and even religious experience, while not
valid means to acquire knowledge, remain useful sources of ideas that can
lead us to new ways of looking at the world. These ideas, after they have
been assessed rationally for their usefulness, can then be put to work,
often as alternate approaches for solving problems.

5. Humanism is a philosophy for the here and now. Humanists regard human
values as making sense only in the context of human life rather than in the
promise of a supposed life after death.

6. Humanism is a philosophy of compassion. Humanist ethics is solely
concerned with meeting human needs and answering human problems--for both
the individual and society--and devotes no attention to the satisfaction of
the desires of supposed theological entities.

7. Humanism is a realistic philosophy. Humanists recognize the existence of
moral dilemmas and the need for careful consideration of immediate and
future consequences in moral decision making.

8. Humanism is in tune with the science of today. Humanists therefore
recognize that we live in a natural universe of great size and age, that we
evolved on this planet over a long period of time, that there is no
compelling evidence for a separable "soul," and that human beings have
certain built-in needs that effectively form the basis for any
human-oriented value system.

9. Humanism is in tune with today's enlightened social thought. Humanists
are committed to civil liberties, human rights, church-state separation, the
extension of participatory democracy not only in government but in the
workplace and education, an expansion of global consciousness and exchange
of products and ideas internationally, and an open-ended approach to solving
social problems, an approach that allows for the testing of new
alternatives.

10. Humanism is in tune with new technological developments. Humanists are
willing to take part in emerging scientific and technological discoveries in
order to exercise their moral influence on these revolutions as they come
about, especially in the interest of protecting the environment.

11. Humanism is, in sum, a philosophy for those in love with life. Humanists
take responsibility for their own lives and relish the adventure of being
part of new discoveries, seeking new knowledge, exploring new options.
Instead of finding solace in prefabricated answers to the great questions of
life, Humanists enjoy the open-endedness of a quest and the freedom of
discovery that this entails.

I do not personally know any humanists who disagree with any of these
principles, although there may be some.

I'll let somebody from the Christian team come up with their manifesto,
but I know that a similar set of principles can be written covering
their view of Christ.

- Allen
.