Quotations for Lesson 7 - Humanism
Sometimes our light goes our but is blown into flame by an encounter with another human being. Each of us owes the deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this inner light.
Albert Schweitzer
Human existence is girt round with mystery: the narrow region of our experience is a small island in the midst of a boundless sea.
John Stuart Mill
It is human nature that rules the world, not governments and regimes.
Svetlana Alliluyeva
It was only in my seventh decade that I realized that the question, 'What does it mean to be human?' is the vital, the central, one to which all other questions and problems, spiritual, ethical, economic, and political are secondary.
Frederick Franck
The rational perspective divides reality into discreet parts…and gives a name to each part so that it can be held in the mind, be expressed in speech..The mystical world view does just the reverse. It sets aside all words, all concepts or divisions, and perceives the world as one unified whole, radiant with meaning, and oneself set down in it, an integral part of it all…If we learn to perceive the world now through mystical eyes and the, at other times, from a rational perspective, we begin to approach seeing the world whole.
Lex Crane
Most of what we learn, we learn from living; and for the larger part, that means from other people. Nor does it mean only such people as we like.
A. Powell Davies
Humanism features an optimistic attitude about the capacity of people, but it does not involve believing that human nature is purely good or that each and every person is capable of living up to the humanist ideals of rationality and morality. If anything, there is the recognition that living up to one's potential is hard work and requires the help of others. The ultimate goal is human flourishing; making life better for all humans, and as the most conscious species, also promoting concern for the welfare of other sentient beings. The focus is on doing food and living well in the here and now, and leaving the world better for those who come after.
We assert that humanism will: (a) affirm life rather than deny it; (b) seek to elicit the possibilities of life not flee from them; and (c) endeavor to establish the conditions of a satisfactory life for all, not merely the few.
From The Humanist Manifesto I
I often describe myself as a biblical humanist. I find the religion about Jesus distracting and divisive, but I am persistently drawn toward the spirit, example, and religion of Jesus.
John Buehrens
Religious conservatives deny that humanists can be moral persons. They ask, "Is life worth living without God?" or "Can one be good without religious faith?" Yes! I respond. The refrain I sing is that life can be intrinsically good, overflowing with value. Its meaning is not found by withdrawing from the world in quest for mystical transcendence. In short, life has no prior meaning or purpose; it is pregnant with opportunities for each person to seize and act upon.
Paul Kurtz