I didn’t really intend to review the Manifesto again, in detail, though that will happen as I review the series, the responses to it, and my thoughts in retrospect. All experiences are interesting, from one end of the spectrum to the other; this is not one I would particularly put away for safekeeping in a box, but perhaps some lessons can be learned from it. Read on…
The last two values espoused in the Humanist Manifesto III continue the general feeling set by the previous two, which is to say they may tend to inspire a yawn. But again, I will attempt to find something positive about the statement “Working to benefit society maximizes individual happiness.” In attempting to do so, I once again consulted the AHA on the subject: Read on…
At the risk of inciting more anti-Humanist Manifesto III feelings, I am going to stubbornly continue through the list. 🙂 Next up is one which is even less specific than the last: Humans are social by nature and find meaning in relationships. By my standards, at least, that is more of a New-age philosophy than it is a Humanist philosophy. It feels vaguely like something taken from a Depok Chopra self-help book. Still, we will soldier on. Read on…
People sometimes ask me whether I’m an agnostic, an atheist, a skeptic – or what. I have a standard reply: I don’t think about labels; I just think about being honest and truthful. Read on…
Yes, that’s what is says. Apple pie with pork gravy. Let’s look at those two things to make sure we understand them.
Apple pie: An apple pie is a fruit pie (or tart) in which the principal filling ingredient is apples.
Read on…
There is a tiny area at the back of my head where I run mental jobs that are the human equivalent of background tasks. I can poke them back there to run on their own, and they pop out with a “DING!” when they have something to say. Some of them have been there for years; they keep dinging but still need more work, so I put them back. Read on…
Those of you who have read my posts here and elsewhere will know that I miss the Freethinking Unitarian church that I joined in the 60s and which the parent organization has tried to turn into just another christian denomination over the past twenty or so years. I have other Web sites that are dedicated, in part, to reversing that catastrophe. Now, along with a few others who feel the same way, a new think tank has been formed to … Read on…
If you are an atheist, and find the title of this essay provocative, it is not entirely an accident. I have a point, and now that I have your attention perhaps you will listen while I make it. Religions have survived over the millennia because they thrive on boundaries between the “us” and the “them”. This applies in spades to the three great monotheistic ones. Christianity and Islam not only have evolved elaborate rituals and behavioral requirements to provide instant … Read on…