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by Gorilla from Boca Raton

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HUMANISM AND ITS ASPIRATIONS
Apr 28, 2008 | 7:59 PM
Category: Faith
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Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without supernaturalism, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity.

The lifestance of Humanism-guided by reason, inspired by compassion, and informed by experience-encourages us to live life well and fully. It evolved through the ages and continues to develop through the efforts of thoughtful people who recognize that values and ideals, however carefully wrought, are subject to change as our knowledge and understandings advance.

This document is part of an ongoing effort to manifest in clear and positive terms the conceptual boundaries of Humanism, not what we must believe but a consensus of what we do believe. It is in this sense that we affirm the following:

Knowledge of the world is derived by observation, experimentation, and rational analysis. Humanists find that science is the best method for determining this knowledge as well as for solving problems and developing beneficial technologies. We also recognize the value of new departures in thought, the arts, and inner experience-each subject to analysis by critical intelligence.

Humans are an integral part of nature, the result of unguided evolutionary change. Humanists recognize nature as self-existing. We accept our life as all and enough, distinguishing things as they are from things as we might wish or imagine them to be. We welcome the challenges of the future, and are drawn to and undaunted by the yet to be known.

Ethical values are derived from human need and interest as tested by experience. Humanists ground values in human welfare shaped by human circumstances, interests, and concerns and extended to the global ecosystem and beyond. We are committed to treating each person as having inherent worth and dignity, and to making informed choices in a context of freedom consonant with responsibility.

Life's fulfillment emerges from individual participation in the service of humane ideals. We aim for our fullest possible development and animate our lives with a deep sense of purpose, finding wonder and awe in the joys and beauties of human existence, its challenges and tragedies, and even in the inevitability and finality of death. Humanists rely on the rich heritage of human culture and the lifestance of Humanism to provide comfort in times of want and encouragement in times of plenty.

Humans are social by nature and find meaning in relationships. Humanists long for and strive toward a world of mutual care and concern, free of cruelty and its consequences, where differences are resolved cooperatively without resorting to violence. The joining of individuality with interdependence enriches our lives, encourages us to enrich the lives of others, and inspires hope of attaining peace, justice, and opportunity for all.

Working to benefit society maximizes individual happiness. Progressive cultures have worked to free humanity from the brutalities of mere survival and to reduce suffering, improve society, and develop global community. We seek to minimize the inequities of circumstance and ability, and we support a just distribution of nature's resources and the fruits of human effort so that as many as possible can enjoy a good life.

Humanists are concerned for the well being of all, are committed to diversity, and respect those of differing yet humane views. We work to uphold the equal enjoyment of human rights and civil liberties in an open, secular society and maintain it is a civic duty to participate in the democratic process and a planetary duty to protect nature's integrity, diversity, and beauty in a secure, sustainable manner.

Thus engaged in the flow of life, we aspire to this vision with the informed conviction that humanity has the ability to progress toward its highest ideals. The responsibility for our lives and the kind of world in which we live is ours and ours alone. 

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Member Comments Total Comments: 66
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crone61 read my blog
Apr 30, 2008 | 2:42 AM

Very informative and quite clarifying. Thanks for the great blog Gorilla.
Gorilla read my blog
Apr 30, 2008 | 11:09 PM

Glad you enjoyed the post...^ -^
didaskalos read my blog
May 1, 2008 | 10:56 AM

Why?

Why be compassionate? I want my experiences to benefit ME in MY Existential Reality. Why be ethical? If lying gets ME the most plesasure in life, if stealing enhances MY material comfort, if brutality advances MY power, control, and ability to pass along the maximum number of MY genes to the next generation (if there is one because why should it matter to me once I'm dead) then why not lie, steal, and abuse?

I have responsibility only to MYSELF. This is reasonable. It is especially reasonable to ME in MY existential reality. My humanism is practiced for the good of THIS human, ME. Since I have evolved to a superior state of existence, I have freed myself from the unnatural confines of supposed goodness, morality and ethics. If another person critizes me for this belief, they are narrow-minded bigots that have not evolved to my lofty rational state of being. I will only be nice to others if I can use that for my personal satisfaction or advantage. This is how I will survive. Working to benefit ME maximizes my happiness. This is MY reality, which no one else can deny, as My logic in undeniable.
TAllen read my blog view my photos
May 1, 2008 | 6:11 PM

Gorilla, very interesting to read. Coming from a background of "devout catholic upbrining" and finding myself in later life to be an athiest I am always looking at and trying to find some sanity in organized religion. The concepts you have offered here really prompt some consideration and further thought. While I get the basic principals you have shared, is there a universal belief amoung "humanists" in a higher being and what comes after death?
candyaquino read my blog view my photos
May 2, 2008 | 7:17 AM

wow...this is deep...great post..I am going to print this out and reread it everytime I lose myself to humanity.........thanks
Gorilla read my blog
May 3, 2008 | 9:24 AM

i JUST POSTED WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE HUMANIST MANIFESTO PT 3.

I don't think it is hard to be a humanist and believe in a religion...
But again, religion is a personal effort, and thats it. Tolerance and acknowledgment goes a long way...

Whatever floats your boat....lol
A selfless life is a blessed one...

Perfect your consciousness...
Gorilla read my blog
May 3, 2008 | 11:10 AM

Tallen- I couldn't give you a "humanist" absolute.
The movement focuses on bettering situation.
I personally,thanks to dida's labeling, have come to a pantheistic universal conclusion.
I believe in an underlying truth of all religion that GOD is LOVE.
GOD transcends religion.
GOD is, was, and will be.
Creation includes time, space, religions, math, science, etc. EVERYTHING.
I believe no religion has a monopoly of that truth.
Ethics and morals do not have to hold religious weight, nor does being a good person to your fellow person.
Shalom ^ -^
TAllen read my blog view my photos
May 3, 2008 | 8:28 PM

Thanks Gorilla, I understand the principals and would agree up to the point of "god is, was and will be". While I believe in creation (just one instant in time)I also believe that without evolution (a contiuous condition) we would not be at this point and because we as well as the world around us will continue to evolve we can not fathom what the future will really be. Inside that belief is what I believe sets us apart from all else, a conscious awarness of right and wrong and the ability to make a choice.
Gorilla read my blog
May 4, 2008 | 9:32 AM

You hit it on the nose.

Consciousness has evolved past just survival tendencies, and in the human state consciousness is fully developed and asserts itself through the ideal medium in a fully upright stance.

Our consciousness allows us to ask the only question in all of existence.
Who am I?

There is only one answer.
To fully grasp it takes a perfected consciousness.
One that has shed all hatred, violence, and greed. All selfishness and arrogance.
All of the survival tendencies, we are animals, but our consciousness is what separates us truly in the evolutionary chain. ( we are like 98% the same in dna to primates)
We are divine to the animal kingdom, It is not hard to respect life for what it is (GOD) and not be selfish.

This is our reality, as we are ALL intangible.
ALL of creation, scientifically.
northton read my blog view my photos
May 4, 2008 | 6:41 PM

clap! clap! clap! clap! clap!

Very nice, G.
northton read my blog view my photos
May 4, 2008 | 6:45 PM

Why, Dida? Because it's the right thing to do. Because, as G said, there is benefit in cooperation.

You don't need a bible to tell you that.
didaskalos read my blog
May 4, 2008 | 7:10 PM

Gorilla, did you delete my last comment?

Norty, What makes G's view "the right thing to do?" My humanistic good is not to cooperate as it is to my personal benefit to be selfish. Cooperation is overate and only benefits the weak who are not the fittest and should not survive according to natural law. Am I missing something or have you gotten religion? ;-) Like you said, you definitely don't need the Bible to see that.
Gorilla read my blog
May 4, 2008 | 7:31 PM

The one that was double i believe,

srry if there was extra i missed, but if it was different i apologize...

Dida-
Survival instincts can be shed, as they are no longer needed.
We don't forage for food, we buy from a store.
We're not struggling to survive, but there are some who are. Some people still don't have the luxury of clean water.
We must help the weak, not segregate them...
Our consciousness has evolved past natural law.
We are divine to the natural laws of the animal kingdom. Our ability to teach, cooperate, to ask the only question.
Don't be afraid of the answer, embrace it...
A perfected consciouses carries no burden, and no fear, and no guilt, and no shame.
"religion" is a personal relationship with GOD
It is not organized, and all the same.
You have not to renounce, just transcend your thought...
TAllen read my blog view my photos
May 4, 2008 | 8:16 PM

I agree up to the point that to answer the question "who am I" requires a perfected consciousness or that "life" itself is god.

"life" in its pure form is nothing more than the "result" of a set of predefined actions it is not "created" and therefore can not be considered god.

As for the question of "who am I" one only needed to comprehend that they are but one speck in the evolutionary chain that exsisted before them and will continue after them and that their existance in this chain while nothing more than a blink is a necessary existance for all that will follow. It has nothing to do with self worth, self identity, or natural laws and is not held by morals, ethics or coorporation. It is survival in its base form and what insures a continuation of evolution.
TAllen read my blog view my photos
May 4, 2008 | 8:17 PM

I agree up to the point that to answer the question "who am I" requires a perfected consciousness or that "life" itself is god.

"life" in its pure form is nothing more than the "result" of a set of predefined actions it is not "created" and therefore can not be considered god.

As for the question of "who am I" one only needed to comprehend that they are but one speck in the evolutionary chain that exsisted before them and will continue after them and that their existance in this chain while nothing more than a blink is a necessary existance for all that will follow. It has nothing to do with self worth, self identity, or natural laws and is not held by morals, ethics or coorporation. It is survival in its base form and what insures a continuation of evolution.
Gorilla read my blog
May 4, 2008 | 9:13 PM

I believe that the "spark" of the big bang was created by that question.

"The state of the man's consciousness during sound sleep is literally the same original divine sound sleep state of God.
Latent in this Infinite state is the undifferentiated and unmanifested "Everything". Including the "Nothing".

Enter the Big Bang---- the manifestation of the First Urge. God unconscious aka The infinite Soul ( the vast ocean in which we are but a drop) , in a tremendous shock, experiences its very first gross impression as it identifies itself with the projected Nothingness.

---------Who am I?

In this experience, the first illusory separation (sense of separate identity) takes place in the undifferentiated. The Soul, still not conscious of its true Self, becomes identified with its projected shadow through this very first impression, thus initiating the illusion of duality."

I feel evolution as a whole is an evolution of consciousness.
All animals sleep, no one can explain what sleep is. We understand resting, but the physical act is against most naturalist understanding. Why would we (animal) subject ourselves to a defenseless position for such an elongated period of time?
Sleep and consciousness go hand and hand.
When we sleep we are in a divine bliss, until we are awakened...lol
A primate is conscious, and survives.
We are conscious, survive, and teach.
Gorilla read my blog
May 4, 2008 | 9:14 PM

I feel BaBa's perfection of consciousness answers WHY we are here.
All of Creation is on a never-ending struggle towards god-realization.
"Consciously or unconsciously, every living creature seeks one thing. In the lower forms of life and in less advanced human beings, the quest is unconscious: in advanced human beings, it is conscious. The object of the quest is called by many names — happiness, peace, freedom, truth, love, perfection, Self-realization, God-realization, union with God. Essentially, it is a search for all of these, but in a special way. Everyone has moments of happiness, glimpses of truth, fleeting experiences of union with God; what they want is to make them permanent. They want to establish an abiding reality in the midst of constant change."

Infinite bliss is a blessing...^ -^
In the lower forms of life and in less advanced human beings, the quest is unconscious: in advanced human beings, it is conscious.
We have a choice to perfect our consciousness.
Life will go on...
We vote for our children's future not ours.
Lets have our children grow in an environment of knowledge and reason, not burdened by the hate, arrogance, violence, and greed plaguing our society today.
If we are not part of the solution we are part of the problem...
Gorilla read my blog
May 4, 2008 | 9:27 PM

The mind is extremely powerful.
The power of thought, inquisition, reason, and inspiration has produced more in the last 100 years than all of our existence combined.

There is more human intelligence on the internet than there is in humans...
Is that a scary thing or what?
My previous internet is a brain post highlighted the similarities of the cognitive processes, and the similarities of the randomness of the individual connecting to the random nodes connecting in the brain.

I predict the Earth's Brain will awaken in our lifetime...(machines self-aware?, machines with consciousness?, 2012??)
The age of Aquarius is around the corner...
Aquarius is the water-bearer, Has mother earth not been our water-bearer?
......eerie notions!!!
TAllen read my blog view my photos
May 5, 2008 | 6:40 AM

During the deepest sleep, humans like all animals dream and all dreams are comprised of memories. We know this to be true because it is a documented event. So then, you are saying god is nothing but memories that can only be accessed and understood during our deepest sleep? If this is true then it must also be true that god would then not be just one divinity because each of us has unique and individual memories.

To believe your theory of Who am I? one would have to believe in the existence of a soul. So what is a soul?

Sleep is far different from resting. We do know what sleep is and what the function does for the animal. We are not defenseless in sleep all our senses are heightened at that time. Much like a blind man will develop better hearing, taste and touch, while in a sleep state we too are fully aware of our surrounding on a subconscious level. In this state, the body is allowed to process and rejuvenate. It was thought not long ago that the act of sleeping was also a measure of survival. That a sleeping body resembled a dead body and therefore made it unappealing to hunters looking for prey. The difference between a sleep state and a resting state is the level to which the brain and body transcend in to the subconscious. To define it as “divine” bliss would be to say that in a sleep state we ARE god.


I believe the never-ending struggle of all things is to find immortality. We cannot accept the fact that from our first breath we have begun the dying process. Our true life is contained in the time before our birth and what follows is the journey we all

TAllen read my blog view my photos
May 5, 2008 | 6:41 AM

make to preserve what we are already. Every moment of happiness, sadness, fear, pain, joy etc is part of that journey and with or without a unity with “god” we will complete that journey and reach its conclusion in death. For me there is no question of WHY we are here because we in this form are just the next step in a long progression called evolution. We will be no more evolved to the next step than the dinosaur is to us. While we like to believe, we are the “supreme” being we cannot discount our own evolution in just our time on this planet and that proves we are nothing but a stepping-stone for all that will be.


I agree with that statement 100%. We do vote for our children’s’ futures not our own but each vote will also effect EVERYTHING that will be beyond our children.

“The mind is extremely powerful.
The power of thought, inquisition, reason, and inspiration has produced more in the last 100 years than all of our existence combined.”

I can’t agree with this statement because it is out of context. Yes, we have made huge strides in the last 100 years but you have to look at it in context of what can be not what is. In that light the cave man that invented the wheel and discovered fire was just as productive for his time as we are for ours. We do not know the full capabilities of the human mind because we have no need to know at this point in evolution. Each new stage brings with it the ability to learn and grow but that growth will always be contained within “need”. As we become more advanced, it is not because we are more intelligent it is because it is n
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Gorilla

Think of me as our inner ape.

Member Since: 3/14/2008


 

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