Naturalism + Politics = Humanism
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On this program, one of our goals has been to try to see how the various parts of humanism operate. We have looked at this by examining each part individually, and have – when able – discussed how one part fit with another. Of course, we first had to be clear what those parts were!
Humanism doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone. Some refer to the Renaissance humanism, while others to the Enlightenment. While most see science or scientific naturalism at the core of Humanism, others would suggest that morality or applied ethics are at the center.
But when it comes to politics, things tend to get fuzzy and blurry. At various times on ETFF, we have tried to figure out why this is. After all, does not naturalism and critical thinking lead to an understanding of human nature…which makes pretty clear what a healthy person and society would look like? And does not the written and often repeated (in print and otherwise) humanist ethics mean nothing at all if they are not applied in the real world? And are not politics and economics indeed at the core of our societies and demonstrate just what we believe about what it means to be human?
We have long explored these questions because they are indeed central if we are to create a humanistic future global culture. On today’s program, we will speak with two authors who have written essays for the two most prominent humanist magazines in the country: Lawrence Davidson in Free Inquiry (the journal of the Council for Secular Humanism), and Lorenzo Ospri in The Humanist (the journal for the American Humanist Association.