Clipmarks | Humanism Clips

Richard Dawkins- the believer

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:33:37 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Dawkins has achieved not only recognition but considerable notoriety—the result, it sometimes seems, of having proposed or defended one controversial idea after another. Over the course of his career he has become associated with, and at times served as a spokesperson for, views and positions including sociobiology, biological reductionism, the gene-centered view of evolution, memetics, atheism, and secular humanism. While he is a prominent Darwinist, Dawkins entirely eschews so-called “Social Darwinism.” He is deeply committed to a progressive agenda that aims to decrease violence and oppression and improve the quality of people’s lives, not only by employing the means of science but by encouraging a better understanding of science.

THE BELIEVER: Why do you think it is that in the United States in particular, the level of ignorance about, and resistance to, Darwinian evolution is so high?

Tags: richard dawkins, believer

Fry on Not Needing Religion

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 04:07:29 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Succinct, intelligent comments about humanism.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

Stephen Fry's beautiful comments on a world without God.

[Video]

Tags: philosophy, religion, humanism

False Premises

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:24:13 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: I often come across people attempting to argue that atheism is some sort of a creed or even a religion. This clip touches on why this simply isn't the case. The article itself goes into much greater detail.

Clip Source: atheism.about.com

Atheism Has to be a Creed. It Just Has to Be!

One of the more popular myths about atheism is the idea that it's some sort of ideology, philosophy, religion, or creed. Some religious theists just can't understand how atheism can be anything less than that; in fact, some are so much in denial about what atheism is that they will go to great lengths to insist that it must involve some set of beliefs, assertions, and ideas about the world which is analogous to their own.

It is not true that "atheism requires additional beliefs in order to be a livable creed" because atheism is not any sort of creed and the only people who try to treat it as such are religious apologists like Alan Roebuck who refuse to engage actual atheistic belief systems like humanism, Objectivism, existentialism, Buddhism, etc. Instead, they only choose to attack "atheism," which I put in quotes because instead of attacking atheism as it really exists, they attack a Straw Man

Tags: atheism, atheist, religion, theists

Congratulations California

Thu, 15 May 2008 23:45:04 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Good news for human rights. At least in California they've recognized that bigotry and hate are not compatible with freedom and liberty and human rights.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Gay Couples Celebrate California Ruling

SAN FRANCISCO — Gay and lesbian couples in San Francisco rejoiced Thursday over a California Supreme Court decision affirming their right to marry

“What a day for San Francisco, what a day for California, what a day for America, what a day for equality,” Mr. Newsom said before a crowd of several hundred jubilant supporters at San Francisco City Hall.

Mr. Newsom said his office would begin preparing for new gay marriages as soon as the court decision was effective in 30 days. But unlike in 2004, Thursday’s decision would effect marriages statewide, something that the mayor seemed both relieved and vindicated by. “This is not just San Francisco now,” he said shortly after the decision was released. “Its Redding. Its Auburn. It’s Long Beach, its the southern part of the state. It’s Riverside. Its Fresno, that this is now appropriate and legal.”

“I respect the court’s decision and as governor I will uphold its ruling,” the Mr. Schwarzenegger said.

Tags: humanism, law, gay

allaboutphilosophy.org

Mon, 12 May 2008 12:15:22 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: interesting site...

Clip Source: www.allaboutphilosophy.org

Philosophy: The Big Questions

Do you want a rational investigation of the truth? Philosophy poses many questions. Where did I come from and why am I here? Why is there suffering? Is there a God? What is my purpose in life? Get started on your trek to find answers to life's most important questions

Systems of Thought

Deism Dualism Existentialism^* Nihilism Postmodernism Agnostic Atheism Communism Cultural Materialism Cultural Relativism Humanism Materialism Moral Relativism Naturalism Secular Humanism

Matters of Thought

Cosmological Argument^* Absolute Truth Creation Vs. Evolution Does God Exist? Evolutionism God God's Love Is God Real? Is There A God? Morality Situational Ethics Why Am I Here?

Great Thinkers

Abd-ar-Rahman III^* Antony Flew Aristotle Blaise Pascal Accomplishments C.S. Lewis Quotes Gilgamesh Great Philosophers Greek Philosopher Plato Life of Confucius Life of King David Life of St. Augustine Nebuchadnezzar Philosophy Quotes Thomas Aquinas

Tags: philosophy, thought, thinkers

I am a transhumanist, thanks

Mon, 05 May 2008 09:21:56 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: I say, fear not. If you have clearly transhumanist beliefs, like the notion that human enhancement is coming in the next few decades and will be a big deal, then don’t be afraid to call yourself one.

As Dr. Wittgenstein, one of my favorite philosophers ever, used to argue, words are just labels we fill with our own content. To think that a word has any inherent meaning aside from its use in language is absurd.

Clip Source: www.acceleratingfuture.com

I have a suitcase. Inside of it is concern for the future, an Enlightenment approach to technology, an embrace of humanism with a qualifier to aim higher, fascination for cyborgs and cybernetics, interest in Artificial Intelligence and Intelligence Augmentation, technoprogressive bioethics (yes Dale, your term has been hijacked), a desire to freeze myself if necessary, interest in molecular manufacturing, self-replicating machines, Big Picture, long-term thinking, and a sense of self-depreciating humor.

What should I name that suitcase?

To anyone confident about their own ideas, and unafraid of naysayers, the answer is a no-brainer: transhumanism. Transhumanism is the philosophy that we adhere to, the suitcase word we use to describe our fascinating interests, which are often relevant to the future of humanity, and often even sanctioned by mainstream news outlets. (During the last ten years.)

Tags: transhumanism, ai

Humanism to be part of religious studies

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:26:40 GMT

clipped by: jimbo1000
clipper's remarks: on a convergent path?

Clip Source: www.ekklesia.co.uk

School students will soon be able to study humanism as part of a Religious Studies GCSE under new proposals from the Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations board (OCR).

The Italian Renaissance Brought The World Out Of The Middle Ages

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:27:59 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: The Italian Renaissance, which began in the city of Florence in the late fourteenth century and peaked during the reign of a local ruler named Lorenzo the Magnificent, was a period of tremendous political, religious, and artistic change. The term comes from an Italian word for rebirth, and for intellectuals, the Renaissance, indeed, felt like a rediscovery of the arts. It followed what some regarded as a thousand-year period of cultural stagnation in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire.

Clip Source: www.prevention.com

The Renaissance marked a historical turning point, when the Middle Ages ended and the modern era began. The Renaissance spread from the Florence of the Medicis to other parts of Italy, and then northward to the rest of Europe. Aided by the invention in Germany of a new kind of mass-production printing press, the ideas of the Renaissance changed the culture of Europe profoundly.

The basic creed of the Renaissance was humanism, an intellectual movement that replaced blind obedience to religious teachings with a return to classical thinking. The willingness to cast aside tradition led to new forms of architecture, painting, and scholarship. The Renaissance was, above all else, a shift in mentality away from hidebound medieval traditions to a more inquisitive, modern outlook on the world.

Artists and intellectuals flocked to Lorenzo’s court at the city on the Arno. Famous painters, including Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, and Michelangelo, worked in Florence. Lorenzo himself wrote poetry

Tags: italian renaissance, late fourteenth century, political, religious, artistic change, lorenzo the magnificent

Liberals Co-opted

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 05:58:43 GMT

clipped by: willhelm
clipper's remarks: Liberals are not really Liberal anymore and Conservatives are not really Conservative !

Additional excerpt:
"In a modified version of the Stoic conception of the earth as a living organism possessed of its own soul, neo-pantheist dialectical materialism declares that earth is “one entire organism…its organs the various races and nations of men.” Not only is the earth alive and evolving upward on evolution’s magical escalator, but so too are history and society, for they also are living entities in a continuous state of motion. And man? In a modified conception of Atomism’s extremely dehumanizing view of man, dialectical materialism states that man is nothing but “a colonial aggregation of cells,” and to “consider him an individual would be an error.” Man---the aggregate of cells--- is nothing but an extension of society, history, and earth. "(Russian Textbook on Psychopolitics, Chapter II: The Constitution of Man as a Political Organism)

Ouyangwulong, If you see this, What happe

Clip Source: www.theconservativevoice.com

During the century to follow, Charles Darwin (1809-82) would help spread materialism to the masses. As Stephen Jay Gould argues, “Darwin applied a consistent philosophy of materialism to his interpretation of nature, “and “the ground of all existence; mind, spirit, and God (are reduced to) neural complexity.” (ibid, p. 41)

It was during this time that Social Darwinism, Progressivism, Socialism, Communism (Cultural Marxism, New Left), Nazism, and Secular Humanism were developed out of metaphysical materialism. Classical Liberalism on the other hand, was subverted and corrupted by the materialist faith into what is now known as modern Liberalism. Of these, Communism (Marx and Engel’s dialectical materialism), is considered to be the most highly developed philosophy of materialism. It rests on three fundamental metaphysical presuppositions:

1. Deified Matter:

2. Evolution:

3. Spontaneous Generation:

Are You Washed In The Blood?

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 20:32:10 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "A campaign had emerged to promote the idea that the Bible was entirely without error, even in matters of history and science. Some feared that more liberal theological positions were being taught in the convention's seminaries.
n August, he visited the White House. In "Our Endangered Values," Carter recalls Smith saying, at the close of their meeting, "We are praying, Mr. President, that you will abandon secular humanism as your religion."

HMMMMM . . . where have I heard that before? I thinky maybe here on CM, yes I do. I think I have had that charge leveled on me that I MUST be a secular humanist. God FORBID that I promote peace, I MUST be a pacifist -(even though Jesus was the ultimate pacifist). God FORBID I must be a voice against violence, homophobia, patriarchy, sexism, and racism. I MUST be secular. God wouldn't want those values; the only values God wants are crotch based.

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

He spoke about Christ's insistence that people love their enemies.

"It is one of the most difficult things for human beings to do," Carter said. "But Jesus said this because he meant it."

"It really grieved me to see my own depository of religious faith . . . being ripped apart," Carter said. "It was very deeply troubling. And I have felt, maybe unjustifiably, a personal obligation to try to do something about it."

Carter remembers that culture as being tolerant of divergent viewpoints. But when he left the White House in 1981, a conservative faction within the convention had begun to take over, and liberals like him felt spurned

.His latest attempt at a rapprochement resulted in an ambitious meeting of Baptists of all stripes this week in Atlanta.

But the Southern Baptist Convention leadership refused to attend. In May, President Frank Page, whom Carter personally invited, denounced the meeting's "smoke-screen left-wing liberal agenda."

Tags: you, get, it, jimmy

Marquis de Condorcet, Enlightenment proto-transhumanist

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:00:08 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: ieet.org

Marquis de Condorcet (1744-1794) was a hugely influential Enlightenment era thinker who contributed significantly to the rise of secular humanism and helped plant the seeds of transhumanism. He is said to have best represented the ideals of the Enlightenment.

To this end, Condorcet advocated for a liberal economy, free and equal public education and constitutionalism. He also advocated for the primacy of reason as way to liberate humanity from the church, authoritarianism and nature.

Condorcet speculated about utopian possibilities and wrote a piece on the perfectability of society. He gave no concrete definition of a “perfect” human existence, but he believed that the progression of the human race would inevitably continue throughout the course of its existence. His thoughts prompted Thomas Malthus to write his famous paper on unsustainable population growth.

Tags: condorcet, utopia, liberal economy, secular humanism

Atheists Need to Chill

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 04:05:26 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: Michael Shermer makes a point that needs to be made. Atheists need to remember what they stand for, not merely what they are against. Ridicule and contempt have no place in science, and haters should not tarnish its reputation by association.

In the words of the greatest consciousness raiser of the 20th century, Martin Luther King, Jr., in his epic "I Have a Dream" speech: "In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline."

If atheists do not want theists to prejudge them in a negative light, then they must not do unto theists the same.

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

Anti-something movements by themselves will fail.

Atheists cannot simply define themselves by what they do not believe.

Positive assertions are necessary.

Champion science and reason, as Charles Darwin suggested: “It appears to me (whether rightly or wrongly) that direct arguments against Christianity & theism produce hardly any effect on the public

Rational is as rational does.

It is irrational to take a hostile or condescending attitude toward religion because by doing so we virtually guarantee that religious people will respond in kind.

The golden rule is symmetrical.

If atheists do not want theists to prejudge them in a negative light, then they must not do unto theists the same.

Promote freedom of belief and disbelief.

As long as religion does not threaten science and freedom, we should be respectful and tolerant because our freedom to disbelieve is inextricably bound to the freedom of others to believe.

Tags: atheists, atheism, secular, humanism, science, religion, civility, extremism, freedom, belief

Stanley Fish: Will the Humanities save Us

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:53:56 GMT

clipped by: sylviadafox

Clip Source: fish.blogs.nytimes.com

How does one justify funding the arts and humanities? It is clear which justifications are not available.

At one time justification of the arts and humanities was unnecessary because, as Anthony Kronman puts it in a new book,

it was assumed that “a college was above all a place for the training of character, for the nurturing of those intellectual and moral habits that together from the basis for living the best life one can.”

The premise of secular humanism (or of just old-fashioned humanism) is that the examples of action and thought portrayed in the enduring works of literature, philosophy and history can create in readers the desire to emulate them.

It’s a pretty idea, but there is no evidence to support it and a lot of evidence against it.

To the question “of what use are the humanities?”, the only honest answer is none whatsoever. And it is an answer that brings honor to its subject. Justification, after all, confers value on an activity from a perspective outside its performance.

The peace that surpasses understanding

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 11:26:31 GMT

clipped by: vickybaranwal
clipper's remarks: need your comments

Clip Source: ezinearticles.com

The Peace that Surpasses Understanding

The world has sought peace since the beginning of time. There have been peace talks. People have marched in the streets for peace, but we continue to have wars and rumors of wars. The problem is that the world has not accepted Jesus Christ. Philosophy, humanism, and Christless religions have been embraced, but the largest part of the world rejects the Prince of Peace. Even though the world does not accept the one that brings peace, individuals can have peace if we live by his standards.

Tags: peace, world

The Golden Rule

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:36:20 GMT

clipped by: Socratoad

Clip Source: www.religioustolerance.org

Shared belief in the "Golden Rule"
(a/k.a. Ethics of Reciprocity

"Every religion emphasizes human improvement, love, respect for others, sharing other people's suffering. On these lines every religion had more or less the same viewpoint and the same goal." The Dalai Lama

Religious groups differ greatly in their concepts of deity, other beliefs and practices. Non-theistic ethical and philosophic systems, like Humanism and Ethical Culture, also exhibit a wide range of beliefs. But there is near unanimity of opinion among almost all religions, ethical systems and philosophies that each person should treat others in a decent manner. Almost all of these groups have passages in their holy texts, or writings of their leaders, which promote this Ethic of Reciprocity. The most commonly known version in North America is the Golden Rule of Christianity. It is often expressed as "Do onto others as you would wish them do onto you."

Tags: philosophy