The Humanist Alternative


Book Description

The contributors to this volume were asked the following questions: The term "Humanism" is widely used, as are the terms "ethical" Humanism, "scientific" Humanism and "religious" Humanism. What is Humanism? Can you define it? If there is in your judgment no clear definition in the literature, you may wish to propose one. You may also wish to focus on the relationship of Humanism to atheism, science, its ethical position, or some other theme. Those who have contributed represent a wide spectrum of Humanist opinion in the world today. They are primarily philosophers, psychologists, social scientists, ethical and religious leaders. Among the themes they discuss are historic roots of Humanism, the general problem of definition, the relationship of Humanism to ethics and morality, Humanism and religion, Humanism and atheism and Humanism on the world scene. Most of the varieties of Humanism are represented, including naturalistic Humanism, liberal Humanism, atheistic Humanism, humanistic psychology, behaviourism, Marxism, and Zen. If there is a common thread running throughout this volume, it is the conviction that Humanism is committed to the method of reason as the chief means of solving problems and the belief that mankind can survive and humans can enjoy a significant life. This conviction and this belief, however, can be realized only if men continue to have confidence in their own natural powers and abilities and the courage to use them.







The Good Book


Book Description

Few, if any, thinkers and writers today would have the imagination, the breadth of knowledge, the literary skill, and-yes-the audacity to conceive of a powerful, secular alternative to the Bible. But that is exactly what A.C. Grayling has done by creating a non-religious Bible, drawn from the wealth of secular literature and philosophy in both Western and Eastern traditions, using the same techniques of editing, redaction, and adaptation that produced the holy books of the Judaeo-Christian and Islamic religions. The Good Book consciously takes its design and presentation from the Bible, in its beauty of language and arrangement into short chapters and verses for ease of reading and quotability, offering to the non-religious seeker all the wisdom, insight, solace, inspiration, and perspective of secular humanist traditions that are older, far richer and more various than Christianity. Organized in 12 main sections----Genesis, Histories, Widsom, The Sages, Parables, Consolations, Lamentations, Proverbs, Songs, Epistles, Acts, and the Good----The Good Book opens with meditations on the origin and progress of the world and human life in it, then devotes attention to the question of how life should be lived, how we relate to one another, and how vicissitudes are to be faced and joys appreciated. Incorporating the writing of Herodotus and Lucretius, Confucius and Mencius, Seneca and Cicero, Montaigne, Bacon, and so many others, The Good Book will fulfill its audacious purpose in every way.




Lovism


Book Description

What really happened in Me Too? The Gender Church, The Trauma Culture, The Feminized Macho, are only a few of the terms revealed in Lovism. The millions of women who wanted to be treated as equals but could not relate to the aggressiveness and self-victimization of present-day feminism, could find in Lovism the word they were looking for to express their feelings and views without compromising their aspirations; gents who felt left out of a world created by radical feminism could finally join the women they love by saying with them "I am a Lovist". If you want to find love and to give love while all you see around you is anger, blaming, hate and fear, and wish that men and women could just talk to each other, and be with each other, because you long for one another, then you are not alone, and have many friends among the readers of this book. Lovism is a mutual conversation of, and for, both sexes, to replace the current hostility and competitive antagonism that extremists of both sexes have created between men and women. Feminism has implemented early on a separatist agenda and acted without including men, while drifting further and further away from the wishes and dreams of ordinary women, by adopting unfounded and rigid perspectives. In the process, ordinary men have become excluded from all discussions about the relations between the sexes, and male groups - while bringing to light some male issues - imitated the feminist separatism, fostering a similar reclusive attitude. All along, what most women and men were looking for was not a conflict, but a shared, mutual discussion, for both men and women, in which they could help each other to be happy together, and not through intimidation and fear but through understanding, sympathy and empathy. This is what Lovism is for. It is a movement of love. The book is critical of contemporary feminism and of its assumptions, which amount to imposing norms and demands that neither women nor men consider relevant to their relations, and which ultimately transforms feminism into a dictating party. Much of the book is devoted to replacing misconceptions with well-founded insights and beliefs about the sexes, without which no perspective could attend to people's actual emotions and dreams. Henry Blair is a novelist and a poet. Based on his experiences in the ideological left as a human rights worker and activist, he reveals how feminism has adopted views that contradict humanism and equality, similarly to the right-wing extremism. He portrays a new conversation, which is mutual and shared by both men and women, and is based on love and not on fear. He and his wife are the parents of a four-year-old boy; he has a master's degree in Neuroscience, a bachelor's degree in Psychology, and has a background in Philosophy, all become relevant in this book. While his books won several awards, Lovism appears under the alias Henry Blair.




Humanistic Psychology


Book Description

Elkins, a long-time leading voice in humanistic psychology, presents a compelling case about what is wrong with contemporary psychotherapy and how, through a re-envisioned humanistic psychology, it needs to change.




Ulster's Third Way


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The Humanist Alternative


Book Description

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Skepticism and Humanism


Book Description

As we begin the third millennium there is cause for cautious optimism regarding the human prospect. Democratic revolutions and the doctrine of universal human rights have captured the imagination of large sectors of humanity, while major advances in science and technology continue to conquer disease and extend life, contributing to rising standards of living, affluence, and cultural freedom on a worldwide basis. Paradoxically, at the same time ancient authoritarian fundamentalist religions have grown in vitriolic intensity along with bizarre New Age, media-driven paranormal belief systems. Also surprising is the resurgence of primitive tribal and ethnic loyalties, unleashing wars of intolerance and bitterness. In Skepticism and Humanism, Paul Kurtz locates these threatening developments within a long-standing and largely unchallenged theological worldview. He proposes, as an alternative to religion, a new cultural paradigm rooted in scientific naturalism, rationalism, and a humanistic outlook. An estimated 60 percent of scientists are atheists or agnostics. However, the skeptical world view has been given little currency even in advanced societies, because of a cultural prohibition against the criticism of religion. At the same time, science has become increasingly narrow and specialized so that few people can draw on its broader intellectual and cultural implications. Skepticism and Humanism attempts to meet this need. It defends skepticism as a method for developing reliable knowledge by using scientific inquiry and reason to test all claims to truth. It also defends scientific naturalism-an evolutionary view of nature, life, and the human species. Kurtz sees the dominant religious doctrines as drawn from an agricultural/nomadic past, and emphasizes the need for a new outlook applicable to the postindustrial information age. At the same time, he rejects postmodernism for abandoning science and embracing a form of nihilism. There can be no doubt that as a new global civilization emerges, scientific naturalism, rationalism, and secular humanism have something significant to say about the meaning of life. Skepticism and Humanism shows how they can to foster democratic values and social prosperity. The book will be important for philosophers, scientists, and all those concerned with contemporary issues.