Tuesday 2 June 2009

Humanism quote

Here's an excellent encapsulation of the difference between being an atheist and a humanist (both of which labels I claim):
I’m an atheist and I try to live up to being a humanist.
Atheism is simply a lack of belief. Humanism is about actively living a good life.

From the Perpetual Dissident on the Humanity by Starlight blog. Thanks to Dale at The Meming of Life for the tip.

2 comments:

  1. If atheism is a lack of belief, and you BELIEVE there is no God, your definition must be wrong. And if humanists live try to live a good life, then what purpose is your life? To what purpose are you living your life? It's not just a lack of belief, it's just aimless searching for fulfillment.
    Also, I noticed the cosmic calendar to the right, you have the Cambrian Explosion listed. How do you know it happened on that day? The only thing around then was the little evolving animal groups. Also, how can you believe this if you have a lack of belief?
    If I told you that one day, millions of years ago, a big rock banged into existence, then, as it cooled, it formed sweet, brown liquid on top. After millions of years, it formed a red can with a tab and a label saying "Coca-Cola" and this liquid became a best selling beverage. You'd laugh, right? Some one in the early 1900's came up with a recipe. Or take a building. Do you know of any building that didn't have a designer? Or crossbreeding. If scientists have to cross different species to create new animals or fruit, my question is, why didn't they just evolve themselves?
    And the polar bears and whales- if the atmosphere is really changing for the worse,a nd the ice is melting and toxins are suffocating whales- why don't they evolve to the next level? Punctuated evolution could come in handy to these poor creatures. But is it happening? No.
    Like I said- how can you believe anything when you are an atheist? Do you BELIEVE doing good will get you somewhere- a higher level?
    Doing good can only go so far.

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  2. Lara, thanks for your comment.

    You can see my definition of atheist in this post. It is a definition held by most of the self-described atheists I know. But whatever definition you use, atheism only refers to beliefs about a god or gods. When I say I'm an atheist, I'm not saying I don't believe in anything - I'm simply saying I don't believe in a god. What do I believe? I do believe that we can learn about the world by observing it (science). I do believe that we can apply our values to our actions to improve our lives and the lives of others (ethics). And I do believe that it's worth sharing these ideas in an atmosphere of mutual respect, both with people who agree and with people who disagree (friendly humanism).

    On the topic of the Cosmic Calendar, you are welcome to peruse my posts about it for more details. But keep in mind that the Cosmic Calendar is not itself an argument for evolution - it's simply a celebration of the findings of evolution. To explore the evidence that has led to the dates I cite, see the references in my Cosmic Calendar blog posts (or in the events in the Google Calendar that you noticed), or browse Wikipedia, Talk Origins, or any of dozens of accessible books on evolution by scientists (Stephen Jay Gould, Richard Dawkins, Edward O. Wilson, etc).

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