Peter Cave - Humanism: A Beginners Guide

Humanism

A Beginners Guide

ONEWORLD BEGINNERS GUIDES combine an original, inventive, and engaging approach with expert analysis on subjects ranging from art and history to religion and politics, and everything in-between. Innovative and affordable, books in the series are perfect for anyone curious about the way the world works and the big ideas of our time.

aesthetics

africa

american politics

anarchism

ancient philosophy

animal behaviour

anthropology

anti-capitalism

aquinas

archaeology

art

artificial intelligence

the bahai faith

the beat generation

the bible

biodiversity

bioterror & biowarfare

the brain

british politics

the Buddha

cancer

censorship

christianity

civil liberties

classical music

climate change

cloning

the cold war

conservation

crimes against humanity

criminal psychology

critical thinking

the crusades

daoism

democracy

descartes

dewey

dyslexia

economics

energy

engineering

the english civil wars

the enlightenment

epistemology

ethics

the european union

evolution

evolutionary psychology

existentialism

fair trade

feminism

forensic science

french literature

the french revolution

genetics

global terrorism

hinduism

history

the history of medicine

history of science

homer

humanism

huxley

imperial china

international relations

iran

islamic philosophy

the islamic veil

jazz

jesus

journalism

judaism

justice

lacan

life in the universe

literary theory

machiavelli

mafia & organized crime

magic

marx

medieval philosophy

the middle east

modern slavery

NATO

the new testament

nietzsche

nineteenth-century art

the northern ireland conflict

nutrition

oil

opera

the palestineisraeli conflict

parapsychology

particle physics

paul

philosophy

philosophy of mind

philosophy of religion

philosophy of science

planet earth

populism

postmodernism

psychology

quantum physics

the quran

racism

rawls

reductionism

religion

renaissance art

the roman empire

the russian revolution

shakespeare

shii islam

the small arms trade

stalin

sufism

the torah

the united nations

the victorians

volcanoes

war

the world trade organization

world war II

A Beginners Guide

Peter Cave

To the memory of
H. H. and G. V.
gentle man and gentle woman

May you live in interesting times.

Chinese curse (apocryphal)

Since the 2009 initial publication, a lot has happened. The happenings have not, of course, included proofs, to humanists satisfaction, that God or gods exist or proofs to religious believers satisfaction that neither God nor gods exist. The many events have, though, continued to demonstrate the importance of humanist values: of respect for people; for freedom, fairness and fellow feeling all without need of divine guidance.

The times, with worldwide disasters, have been interesting in the manner implied by the curse epigraph; they should also have been painful for those humanists who believe adherence to humanist values makes it clear what ought to be done, whether the times be emergencies or more usual.

People, be they humanist or no, who see freedom as the most glorious of values have had to live with pandemic lockdowns and borders closed to desperate migrants who flee oppressions or climate disorders by clinging onto flimsy boats in raging seas. My guess is that many lovers of freedom who oppose lockdowns and condemn restrictions to combat global warming are keen to keep border controls and keen to see them strengthened.

People, be they humanist or no, who value equality of respect have had to live with deeper inequalities in society inequalities aggravated by the pandemic and responsive restrictions; by austerity, apparently essential in the wake of global financial crises; and, yes, by borders closed to desperate migrants in fearful flight. My guess is that many lovers of equality, while vehemently arguing for more help for the disadvantaged, are reluctant to argue for open borders.

These two examples freedom and equality of respect remind us of how values conflict. Should freedom for the wealthy to buy their children superior education trump respect for poor families deserving of equal educational opportunities? Even with but one value in the frame, conflicts arise: is the freedom to drive noisy high-performance cars more important than peoples freedom to enjoy undisturbed nights?

The books first edition stressed how humanists and others need to recognize that values and applications cannot be easily measured one against another. We muddle through as argued later. Religions provide no insulation from the muddles. Gods word still requires interpretation whether within Judaism, Christianity, Islam or other faiths; even within one religion, fundamental disagreements persist over how lives ought to be lived.

Events since 2009 have included political crises, more natural disasters wildfires, floods, droughts, earthquakes together with war crimes, attempted genocides, terrorist attacks, revolutions and counter-revolutions. The rapid expansion of the internet, artificial intelligence and big data collection has led to privacy intrusions and challenges to democracy, yet has enabled social media campaigns to increase awareness of certain discriminations (Black Lives Matter), sexual harassments (#MeToo) and dangers to planetary life (Extinction Rebellion). Those campaigns have, though, generated some chaos over free speech with no-platforming and arguments over who may say what to whom and where. There have also been some bizarre events.

In Paris in January 2015, two Islamic terrorists murdered staff of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo; its mockery of religion had included cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. Over the next few days, further murders occurred, with police officers and a kosher supermarket attacked. That weekend, millions worldwide happily including Not In Our Name Muslims marched with the rallying cry Je suis Charlie, condemning the murders and defending democracy and free expression. Bizarrely, among the political leaders marching in Paris were those who maintained severe restrictions on free speech, restrictions which if broken could lead to floggings, imprisonment or death leaders from, for example, Egypt, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

In 2017 Saudi Arabia was elected, by the usual secret ballot, for a four-year term to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, which promotes gender equality and womens empowerment. At the time, women in Saudi Arabia were still prohibited from driving; further, they needed a male guardians permission to travel abroad. True, those particular restrictions have since been lifted, at least in law. Earlier, in 2013, Saudi Arabia was elected to the UN Human Rights Council, serving two consecutive three-year periods as permitted. Saudi Arabia, though, remains miles away from respecting human rights. Mind you, countries that trumpet human rights do not have impeccably clean hands. Julian Assanges 2010 WikiLeaks exposures of the United States dubious diplomatic and military activities, some verging on war crimes, led not to governmental contrition, but to Assanges imprisonment, with his extradition and prosecution sought. Over the years, Britain has made plentiful arms sales to regimes that violently abuse human rights; weapons manufactured in the UK have, for example, been used by Saudi Arabia in the Yemeni Civil War, where bombings and blockades have led to a humanitarian catastrophe for Yemens civilian population, with thousands dying and many more suffering.