Facts on Humanism

What is Humanism: Humanism is the solving of human problems guided by reason and science, its free from religious dogma, motivated by an appreciation of life and the life of others, seeking to reach goals of human happiness, personal freedom and growth with responsibility and understanding on this earth, in this life, at this time.
It aims at making sure human life is in happiness for the life time the human species isn on this planet.

We are committed to the application of reason and science to the understanding of the universe and the solving of human problems. Also including; we believe that scientific discovery and technology can contribute to the betterment of human life, and we believe in the common moral decencies; altruism, honesty, truthfulness, and personal responsibility. Humanist ethics is amenable to critical and rational guidance. In short, the critical thinking process lies at the heart of Humanism.

Humans are an integral part of nature, the result of unguided evolutionary change. Humanists recognize nature as self-existing. We accept our life as all and enough, distinguishing things as they are from things as we might wish or imagine them to be. We welcome the challenges of the future, and are drawn to and undaunted by the yet to be known.

Types of Humanism :
Literary Humanism is a devotion to the humanities or literary culture.
Renaissance Humanism is the spirit of learning that developed at the end of the middle ages with the revival of classical letters and a renewed confidence in the ability of human beings to determine for themselves truth and falsehood.
Cultural Humanism is the rational and empirical tradition that originated largely in ancient Greece and Rome, evolved throughout European history, and now constitutes a basic part of the Western approach to science, political theory, ethics, and law.
Philosphical Humanism is any outlook or way of life centered on human need and interest. Sub-categories of this type include Christian Humanism and Modern Humanism.
Christian Humanism is defined by Webster's Third New International Dictionary as "a philosophy advocating the self- fulfillment of man within the framework of Christian principles." This more human-oriented faith is largely a product of the Renaissance and is a part of what made up Renaissance humanism.
Modern Humanism, also called Naturalistic Humanism, Scientific Humanism, Ethical Humanism and Democratic Humanism is defined by one of its leading proponents, Corliss Lamont, as "a naturalistic philosophy that rejects all supernaturalism and relies primarily upon reason and science, democracy and human compassion." Modern Humanism has a dual origin, both secular and religious, and these constitute its sub-categories.
Secular Humanism is an outgrowth of 18th century enlightenment rationalism and 19th century freethought. Many secular groups, such as the Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism and the American Rationalist Federation, and many otherwise unaffiliated academic philosophers and scientists, advocate this philosophy.
Religious Humanism emerged out of Ethical Culture, Unitarianism, and Universalism. Today, many Unitarian- Universalist congregations and all Ethical Culture societies describe themselves as humanist in the modern sense.
Foundation of Humanism:
(a) Know yourself

(b) Remember your humanity and forget the rest.

(c) Live well and help others live well.

Principles of humanism AS Drafted by:


PAUL KURTZ (chairman Council for Secular Humanism(USA) and Center for inquiry international)

· We are committed to the application of reason and science to the understanding of the universe and to the solving of human problems.

· We deplore efforts to denigrate human intelligence, to seek to explain the world in supernatural terms, and to look outside nature for salvation.

· We believe that scientific discovery and technology can contribute to the betterment of human life.

· We believe in an open and pluralistic society and that democracy is the best guarantee of protecting human rights from authoritarian elites and repressive majorities.

· We are committed to the principle of the separation of church and state.

· We cultivate the arts of negotiation and compromise as a means of resolving differences and achieving mutual understanding.

· We are concerned with securing justice and fairness in society and with eliminating discrimination and intolerance.

· We believe in supporting the disadvantaged and the handicapped so that they will be able to help themselves.

· We attempt to transcend divisive parochial loyalties based on race, religion, gender, nationality, creed, class, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, and strive to work together for the common good of humanity.

· We want to protect and enhance the earth, to preserve it for future generations, and to avoid inflicting needless suffering on other species.

· We believe in enjoying life here and now and in developing our creative talents to their fullest.

· We believe in the cultivation of moral excellence.

· We respect the right to privacy. Mature adults should be allowed to fulfill their aspirations, to express their sexual preferences, to exercise reproductive freedom, to have access to comprehensive and informed health-care, and to die with dignity.

· We believe in the common moral decencies: altruism, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, responsibility. Humanist ethics is amenable to critical, rational guidance. There are normative standards that we discover together. Moral principles are tested by their consequences.

· We are deeply concerned with the moral education of our children. We want to nourish reason and compassion.

· We are engaged by the arts no less than by the sciences.

· We are citizens of the universe and are excited by discoveries still to be made in the cosmos.

· We are skeptical of untested claims to knowledge, and we are open to novel ideas and seek new departures in our thinking.

· We affirm humanism as a realistic alternative to theologies of despair and ideologies of violence and as a source of rich personal significance and genuine satisfaction in the service to others.

· We believe in optimism rather than pessimism, hope rather than despair, learning in the place of dogma, truth instead of ignorance, joy rather than guilt or sin, tolerance in the place of fear, love instead of hatred, compassion over selfishness, beauty instead of ugliness, and reason rather than blind faith or irrationality.

· We believe in the fullest realization of the best and noblest that we are capable of as human beings.

Planetary Humanism:

Paul Kurtz said "Our actions should be judged by their effects on those we encounter in our communities of interraction.This must be extended to the larger planetary focus;the blue-green dot as viewed from from outer space".

As globalization re-shapes our world,its our role we homo sapiens should be the only ones to find solutions to global problems afflicting on us.

To some of our readers who donot understand the meaning of Homo Sapiens its the species which we humans belong and a species is a group into which animals,plantsetc that are able to breed with each other and be in position to inter breed and give birth to younger ones.

Homo Sapiens a species group of which we humans belong