Humanism is about helping people
Publisher: In-Sight Publishing
Publisher Founding: March 1, 2014
Web Domain: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com
Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Journal: In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal
Journal Founding: August 2, 2012
Frequency: Three (3) Times Per Year
Review Status: Non-Peer-Reviewed
Access: Electronic/Digital & Open Access
Fees: None (Free)
Volume Numbering: 12
Issue Numbering: 1
Section: B
Theme Type: Idea
Theme Premise: “Outliers and Outsiders”
Theme Part: 29
Formal Sub-Theme: None.
Individual Publication Date: November 1, 2023
Issue Publication Date: January 1, 2024
Author(s): James A. Haught
Author(s) Bio(s): James A. Haught, syndicated by PeaceVoice, was the longtime editor at the Charleston Gazette and had been the editor emeritus since 2015. He was thought to have been the first investigative reporter in West Virginia. He won two dozen national newswriting awards and was author of 12 books and 150 magazine essays. He was also a senior editor of Free Inquiry magazine and was writer-in-residence for the United Coalition of Reason. He died on Sunday, July 23, at the age of 91.
Word Count: 571
Image Credit: None
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2369-6885
*Please see the footnotes, bibliography, and citations, after the publication.*
Keywords: freethought, humanism, James Haught, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jennings Randolph, None, Paul Kurtz.
Humanism is about helping people
Long ago, when I was a congressional press secretary, Jennings Randolph was a wise senator from West Virginia. On his Washington desk, he kept a motto I’ve never forgotten: The most important lesson you can learn is that other people are as real behind their eyes as you are behind yours.
That nugget of insight has deep implications, asserting that pretty much everyone in the world — all 7 billion-plus — more or less shares the same human feelings, fears, wants, hopes, questions, frustrations, pleasures and the like. This, to me, is the heart of humanism: recognizing the worth of everybody, and striving to make life as good as possible for the whole populace.
Humanism means helping people — and secular humanism means doing it without supernatural religion. Secular humanists generally support more human rights, better education, reduction of wars, science, better nutrition and health, racial equality and other strides to improve life.
It began as long ago as Ancient Greece, when some thinkers advocated humanitas, a helpful spirit toward all. During the Renaissance, a few scholar-priests began caring more for people than for the church, so they became religious humanists. Then came the Enlightenment, when rebel thinkers challenged the supremacy of kings and holy men, laying the groundwork for modern democracy, which is rooted in humanism.
Various manifestos have been written to crystallize the need for intelligent people to support human betterment. In 1933, the first Humanist Manifesto was signed by several philosophers, Unitarians, reformers and scholars, including educationist, psychologist and social activist John Dewey. It called humanism a new “religion” to replace magic-based supernatural faiths.
Secular crusader Paul Kurtz spearheaded other declarations, including Humanist Manifesto II of 1973, which asserted: “No deity will save us; we must save ourselves.” It denounced racism and nuclear weapons, calling for scientific progress, universal birth control, world courts, and the right to choose abortion.
(Dr. Kurtz was my guru. He published my books, named me a senior editor of Free Inquiry magazine, and asked me to sign some of his declarations. He even let me drive his Cadillac to Niagara Falls from his headquarters in a Buffalo suburb.)
Philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre declared that his existentialism was a form of humanism. His famed dictum that people are “condemned to be free” might be interpreted to mean that each person is forced to live isolated inside his or her own skull — behind the eyes — unable to experience the inner minds of surrounding people. However, he mostly meant that people are thrown into the world, alone within themselves, not knowing why they exist, with no God to guide them — yet solely responsible for all their actions.
As we act, we can realize the personal validity of others and share common humanity with them. We can work to craft a beneficial civilization that helps everyone. I remember the slogan of a freethought group: “We are not alone in the universe. We have each other.” That’s a noble call for cooperation.
Humanity has made solid progress. In 1900, the average lifespan was barely 30 years; now it’s over 70. When I was born in 1932, the world had a population of a bit more than 2 billion. Now it’s nearing 8 billion, almost quadrupling in my lifetime.
Humanists face the challenge of trying to make life livable for this entire ballooning mass of humans.
This column is adapted from a piece originally published at Daylight Atheism / Patheos, on Aug. 26, 2019.
Bibliography
None
Footnotes
None
Citations
American Medical Association (AMA 11th Edition): Haught J. Humanism is about helping people. November 2023; 12(1). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/humanism-helping
American Psychological Association (APA 7th Edition): Haught, J. (2023, November 1). Humanism is about helping people. In-Sight Publishing. 12(1).
Brazilian National Standards (ABNT): HAUGHT, J. Humanism is about helping people. In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, Fort Langley, v. 12, n. 1, 2023.
Chicago/Turabian, Author-Date (17th Edition): Haught, James. 2023. “Humanism is about helping people.” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 12, no. 1 (Winter). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/humanism-helping.
Chicago/Turabian, Notes & Bibliography (17th Edition): Haught, J “Humanism is about helping people.” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 12, no. 1 (November 2023).http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/humanism-helping.
Harvard: Haught, J. (2023) ‘Humanism is about helping people’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, 12(1). <http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/humanism-helping>.
Harvard (Australian): Haught, J 2023, ‘Humanism is about helping people’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vol. 12, no. 1, <http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/humanism-helping>.
Modern Language Association (MLA, 9th Edition): Haught, James. “Humanism is about helping people.” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vo.12, no. 1, 2023, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/humanism-helping.
Vancouver/ICMJE: James H. Humanism is about helping people [Internet]. 2023 Nov; 12(1). Available from: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/humanism-helping.
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