The Core Values of Secular Humanism:The Difference Between Ethics and Politics
PAUL KURTZ
We have long maintained in Free Inquiry that secular humanists are concerned with fulfilling a set of ethical values and principles that we consider eminently worthwhile. These we wish to put into practice—we have called this “eupraxsophy”: that is, actions are based on good practical wisdom, drawing on human experience, science, reason, philosophy, and the arts. What are the core ethical principles of secular humanism?
- We are interested in cultivating the scientific outlook and are committed to the use of scientific methods, reason, critical thinking in evaluating truth claims without reference to any transcendental source.
- Our goal is to realize the good life: creativity, joy, and exuberance for every person. This means a maximization of individual freedom and autonomy, so long as the rights of others are not impinged.
- We are aware of our responsibilities to others, the need for empathy and altruism, and the expression of goodwill.
- We consider every person in the planetary community as equal in dignity and value.
- We believe in the “right to privacy.” This includes freedom of conscience and belief; sexual preference and lifestyle, reproductive rights, contraception, and abortion; euthanasia and death with dignity.
- We believe in the civic virtues of democracy, the tolerance of individual diversity, allowing each person to make his or her own choices.
- We are committed to the negotiation of differences by rational compromise and peaceful adjudication.
- We believe in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which includes the satisfaction of a person’s basic needs; the right to work; the right to health care; the right of every child and adolescent to education; and the right of adults to cultural enrichment.
- We are against discrimination based on gender, race, creed, or national origin, and we support equal opportunity for women, gays, transgendered persons, and racial, religious, and ethnic minorities.
- We maintain that the principles of fairness and justice should apply in our dealings with other human beings.
- Implicit in this is the right of every person to live in a peaceful, healthy, productive, and prosperous world.
- Finally, but no less important, we recognize the need to preserve the natural ecosystem and protect the biosphere and environment from destruction, coupled with the elimination, where possible, of disease and poverty.
How these core ethical/social principles and values should be attained politically and which candidates and parties we should support to carry them out are important questions. We may disagree on party platforms and political candidates, yet there exists a core of humanist values that we seek to affirm.
Paul Kurtz is professor emeritus of philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, the chair of the Center for Inquiry and the Council for Secular Humanism, and editor in chief of Free Inquiry.
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