82 lines
3.5 KiB
Plaintext
82 lines
3.5 KiB
Plaintext
An interesting piece of food for thought for those who are
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convinced that atheistic or humanistic thought must needs
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be a space devoid of ethics or a dark void of goaless confusion.
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Though it can be pointed out that not all who lack interest in
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spiritual matters hold to these values...
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The Affirmations of Humanism:
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A Statement of Principles
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- We are committed to the application of reason and science to the
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understanding of the universe and to the solving of human problems.
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- We deplore efforts to denigrate human intelligence, to seek to
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explain the world in supernatural terms, and to look outside nature for
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salvation.
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- We believe that scientific discovery and technology can contribute to
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the betterment of human life.
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- We believe in an open and pluralistic society and that democracy is
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the best guarantee of protecting human rights from authoritarian elites
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and repressive majorities.
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- We are committed to the principle of the separation of church and
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state.
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- We cultivate the arts of negotiation and compromise as a means of
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resolving differences and achieving mutual understanding.
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- We are concerned with securing justice and fiarness in society and
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with eliminating discrimination and intolerance.
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- We believe in supporting the disadvantaged and the handicapped so
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that they will be able to help themselves.
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- We attempt to transcend divisive parochial loyalties based on race,
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religion, gender, nationality, creed, class, sexual orientation, or
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ethnicity, and strive to work toegether for the common good of humanity.
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- We want to protect and ehnance the earth, to preserve it for future
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generations, and to avoid inflicting needless suffering on other
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species.
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- We believe in enjoying life here and now and in developing our
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creative talents to their fullest.
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- We believe in the cultivation of moral excellence.
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- We respect the right to privacy. Mature adults should be allowed to
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fulfill their aspirations, to express their sexual preferences, to
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exercise reproductive freedom, to have access to comprehensive and
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informed health-care, and to die with dignity.
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- We ebelieve in the common moral decencies: altruism, integrity,
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honesty, truthfulness, responsibility. Humanist ethics is amenable to
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critical, rational guidance. There are normative standards that we
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discover together. Moral principles are tested by their consequences.
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- We are deeply concerned with the moral education of our children. We
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want to nourish reason and compassion.
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- We are engaged by the arts no less than by the sciences.
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- We are citizens of the universe and are excited by discoveries still
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to be made in the cosmos.
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- We are skeptical of untested claims to knowledge, andwe are open to
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novel ideas and seek new departures in our thinking.
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- We affirm humanism as a realistic alternative to theologies of
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despair and ideologies of violence and as a source of rich personal
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significance and genuine satisfaction in the service of others.
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- We believe in optimism rather than pessimism, hope rather than
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despair, learning in the place of dogma, truth instead of ignorance, joy
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rather than guilt or sin, tolerance in the place of fear, love instead
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of hatred, compassion over selfishness, beauty instead of ugliness, and
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reason rather than blind faith or irrationality.
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- We believe in the fullest realization of the best and noblest that we
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are capable of as human beings.
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