Hi, all. You can view my midterm report presentation with this link. I reported on parts of Richard Norman's "On Humanism", which I highly recommend you read. Norman covers a lot of bases in his defense of humanism, but I decided to focus on the aspects of consciousness, free will and what makes us special... or not.
Please let me know what questions, ideas or insight you have.
Sincerest apologies for the late post.
Thanks, Cooper. I wasn't familiar with this book,I'm drawn to the thesis that our "capacity for art, literature and the imagination" makes humanism "a powerful alternative to religious belief."
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Albert Einstein, Isaac Asimov, E.M. Forster, Bertrand Russell, and Gloria Steinem all declared themselves humanists. What is humanism and why does it matter? Is there any doctrine every humanist must hold? If it rejects religion, what does it offer in its place? Have the twentieth century's crimes against humanity spelled the end for humanism?
On Humanism is a timely and powerfully argued philosophical defence of humanism. It is also an impassioned plea that we turn to ourselves, not religion, if we want to answer Socrates' age-old question: what is the best kind of life to lead? Although humanism has much in common with science, Richard Norman shows that it is far from a denial of the more mysterious, fragile side of being human. He deals with big questions such as the environment, Darwinism and 'creation science', euthanasia and abortion, and then argues that it is ultimately through the human capacity for art, literature and the imagination that humanism is a powerful alternative to religious belief.
Drawing on a varied range of examples from Aristotle to Primo Levi and the novels of Virginia Woolf and Graham Swift, On Humanism is a lucid and much needed reflection on this much talked about but little understood phenomenon. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3165978-on-humanism
I found your powerpoint very thought provoking. I have often wondered why humans believe themselves above everything else and use our resources as if they were intended for us alone. While I do believe that a proper respect for ones own species is important, especially when you must cohabitate with them, I dont believe it is right for us to assume that we are higher in rank than a forest, an ocean, or the animals that inhabit them. We all have our own pros and cons- humans live a long time in the animal kingdom but there are those who live longer, we can run faster than some species, but there are those who are faster, ect ect. What makes us believe that we are superior to a tiger or bear that without all of our acquired tools and knowledge given to us by our ancestors we would be dead within moments should the animal choose? I dont believe any one of us could establish the technology we have been given on our own.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting read. Most vegans have that thought we are no better than animals, but I believe Humans are superior to we are here to cultivate and conquer. Certain animals think they are superior to others thats why they eat them, its all apart of the food chain of nature.
ReplyDeleteActually I think the human animal is the only one likely to rationalize its instinctive behavior by asserting and trying to believe in its own superiority. As Mr. Twain said, we're the only ones who blush -- or need to.
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