Humanism

Paul Kurtz Exemplifies the Magnificence of a Secular Life Worth Living

Paul Kurtz Exemplifies the Magnificence of a Secular Life Worth Living

When I think of Paul Kurtz, I think of three adjectives: Visionary, Indefatigable, and Productive.

Paul Kurtz was a visionary in many ways. Personally, I appreciated his recognition that the future of secular humanism had to include a more diverse demographic. The future of secular humanism cannot continue to ignore the more than 50 million people that we call Latinos/Hispanics in the United States, and he knew that.

Paul Kurtz was in the business of saving minds, not souls, and he was very good at it. He produced many followers who will continue his work. Paul Kurtz left us with organizations and other vehicles through which secular humanism continues to assert its place in the public square. Even his critics must acknowledge that.

The Making of a Good Skeptic: A Tribute to Philosopher Paul Kurtz

The Making of a Good Skeptic: A Tribute to Philosopher Paul Kurtz

I first heard about Dr. Paul Kurtz back in the 1990s from my then Ph.D. advisor, Michael Ruse. Michael had just published one of his books with Prometheus Books and stated how impressed he was that such a relatively obscure publishing house from 1969 had grown to produce such high quality works. Michael had also told me that many serious academics were seeking out and were intent on publishing with Prometheus. I can also remember how captivated I was when first learning about this American philosopher, Paul Kurtz, who named a publishing company after a Greek mythological Titan who stole fire from the gods to give to humans. I remember thinking then that this was a philosopher I would very much like to meet.

I owe a lot to Paul Kurtz. He opened my eyes to the nuances of humanism. And he demonstrated to me that a philosopher can be more than simply an ivory tower academic. Paul has greatly helped to change the way the world understands secular philosophy and he has paved the way for an entire movement.

Remembering Paul Kurtz and Recognizing His Influence

Remembering Paul Kurtz and Recognizing His Influence

I was fortunate enough to have had a last conversation with him concerning the future work of the Institute the day before he died. One of his last directions was he wished to be a signatory on Leo Igwe’s A Manifest for A Skeptical Africa. We were also formulating plans to continue his much beloved summer school here at the University of Buffalo.

How will I remember Paul? As a lion of a man and a true friend. I will remember him with love. And I promise to continue his work carrying out his mission.

Remembering Paul Kurtz

Remembering Paul Kurtz

Paul Kurtz was to me a teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend. His impact on me was monumental, even life defining. I got to know him in 1997 after which followed a long period of long-distance (and for short periods, face-to-face) tutoring and mentoring in the history and philosophy of secular humanism.

The Turbulent Universe

The Turbulent Universe

A radical change in understanding nature occurred when humans recognized that supernatural explanations could not account for natural phenomena. The earliest pre-Socratic philosophers in ancient Greece sought to explain events by reference to natural causes. They appealed to reason and observation to interpret nature, not faith or revelation, miracles or theology, uncorroborated by objective evidence. Modern science did not develop until the Renaissance. The ancients used reason and common sense (for example, Aristotle observed a lunar eclipse and reasoned that Earth must be a sphere because it cast a round shadow).

Civilizations, Science, and Human Values

Civilizations, Science, and Human Values

Praising one’s cultural heritage can be considered chauvinistic, especially if seen in contrast with other cultural backgrounds. Nevertheless, the examination of cultural backgrounds can be a legitimate task and may help to illustrate developments related to humanist values. An important contribution to humanist values has been mainstream Western Civilization science. The purpose of this paper is to examine, by way of a broad sketch, the historical development of science as related to humanist values in Western Civilization, including some comparisons with other civilizations.

Paul Kurtz and Religion

Paul Kurtz and Religion

Paul Kurtz devoted his life to articulating a coherent vision of secular humanism, one which was naturalistic, evidence-based, and humane. Consequentially, his views were often critical of contemporary religious claims. Sadly, but perhaps inevitably, many responses to his work label it “critical” and “hostile.” What were Kurtz’s thoughts on religion, and were they as simplistic and_ _strident as critics claimed?

James Forman: Civil Rights Pioneer and Humanist

James Forman: Civil Rights Pioneer and Humanist

Humanism and the struggle for civil rights in the United States have had much in common. Martin Luther King Jr. is considered to have been a Christian humanist, while other civil rights leaders have been more secularly inclined. The political activist life of the late civil rights organizer and secular humanist James Forman is memorialized.

Quentin Crisp: Indomitable Humanist

Quentin Crisp: Indomitable Humanist

Quentin Crisp’s name is not often brought up in humanist circles, and yet he lived his whole life as a unique, courageous and exemplary humanist. He wasn’t affiliated with humanists in any formal way, yet from an early age—without mentors to inspire or to guide him—from the depths inherent in his stalwart inner core, his humanism and compassion blazed unremittingly. Starting with himself. He was born in 1908 and lived for most of the 20th century.

Johannes Brahms, The Man and Humanist: a Psychoanalytic View

Johannes Brahms, The Man and Humanist: a Psychoanalytic View

Johannes Brahms was one of the greatest composers of the 19th century. Though he found inspiration for his compositions in the Bible, he was an agnostic with one true “religion”—his music. From a psychoanalytic point of view, Brahms’ traumatic childhood experiences are connected with his melancholic disposition and his ambivalence towards lasting commitments as an adult. On the one hand his inner conflicts caused great hardship, but on the other hand his suffering inspired many of his masterpieces, and helped to shape Brahms, the humanist.

Socrates: Ancient Humanist

Socrates: Ancient Humanist

Socrates was one of the most influential philosophers of antiquity, so much so that the whole history of Western philosophy is divided into pre-Socraticism and what came after. In this paper I argue that Socrates anticipated a number of ideas pertinent to contemporary humanism, though of course it would be anachronistic to consider him a humanist in the modern sense of the word. Specifically, what makes Socrates a humanist senso lato are five characteristics of his thinking: his social and moral criticism, his focus on personal integrity and an ethics of virtue, his rejection of the supernatural as a source of morality, his epistemic humility and search for wisdom, and his critical thinking approach to every question. Twenty four centuries after his death, we still have much to learn from Socrates.