tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1871472124229577530.post9025333435214540528..comments2024-01-05T20:04:58.496-08:00Comments on The Empty Throne: "What is Humanism?" Secular Ethics as Minimal RequirementMatthew Ari Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04502812308500471776noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1871472124229577530.post-42479901659255867552011-10-09T19:46:37.023-07:002011-10-09T19:46:37.023-07:00"humanism is the affirmation of our sole resp..."humanism is the affirmation of our sole responsibility to these things. Nothing else in the world will take care of them for us. 'Taking care' is solely the work of humanity."Matthew Ari Lowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04502812308500471776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1871472124229577530.post-67019469841256713452011-10-09T19:08:44.788-07:002011-10-09T19:08:44.788-07:00Thanks for your response! It's that last state...Thanks for your response! It's that last statement--that it's essential for humanists to recognize that we hold values for natural, human reasons--that I'm particularly looking forward to reading more about. Why essential? Is it essential in that it shapes the values themselves, or in a truth-claim sense, or in some other respect? Looking forward to the next posts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1871472124229577530.post-2882148908694472042011-10-09T14:07:12.824-07:002011-10-09T14:07:12.824-07:00Hi Anonymous! Thanks for your response, and very g...Hi Anonymous! Thanks for your response, and very glad that you are anticipating my upcoming articles on the possibility of "religious humanism." However, even in my account of religious humanism, I will be holding firm to the notion that a humanist believes it is ONLY up to us to determine and act out our values. A supernatural influence, to me, largely corrupts my concept of humanism. If one's God happens to have the same values as us humans, all well and good-- it's just essential to recognize that we hold our values for natural, human reasons. Looking forward to hearing more from you as this series progresses. ThanksMatthew Ari Lowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04502812308500471776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1871472124229577530.post-54920800044499755242011-10-09T12:59:15.345-07:002011-10-09T12:59:15.345-07:00The beliefs and values expressed in the third Huma...The beliefs and values expressed in the third Humanist Manifesto seem very similar to many of the beliefs and values expressed by various religious traditions, a major exception being the third Humanist Manifesto's specific exclusion of supernatural influence. Even "it's up to us" has some resonances in religious traditions, although most religious traditions might say it's not ONLY up to us. As you define humanism, I would be interested to hear your thoughts about how the exclusion of the possibility of supernatural influence does or does not affect the living out of the values that Humanism shares with religious traditions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com