A Secular Humanist Declaration

A Secular Humanist Declaration

A Secular Humanist Declaration was an argument for and statement of belief in democratic secular Humanism. The document was issued in 1980 by The Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism ("CODESH"), now the Council for Secular Humanism ("CSH"). Compiled by Paul Kurtz, it is largely a restatement of the content of the American Humanist Association's 1973 Humanist Manifesto II, of which he was co-author with Edwin H. Wilson. Both Wilson and Kurtz had served as editors of THE HUMANIST, from which Kurtz departed in 1979 and thereafter set about establishing his own movement and his own periodical. His Secular Humanist Declaration was the starting point for these enterprises.

Table of Contents

# Free Inquiry
# Separation Of Church And State
# The Ideal Of Freedom
# Ethics Based On Critical Intelligence
# Moral Education
# Religious Skepticism
# Reason
# Science And Technology
# Evolution
# Education

Signatories

Before the list of signatories, the declaration has the following disclaimer: "Although we who endorse this declaration may not agree with all its specific provisions, we nevertheless support its general purposes and direction and believe that it is important that they be enunciated and implemented. We call upon all men and women of good will who agree with us to join in helping to keep alive the commitment to the principles of free inquiry and the secular humanist outlook. We submit that the decline of these values could have ominous implications for the future of civilization on this planet."

United States

*George Abell (professor of astronomy, UCLA)
*John Anton (professor of philosophy, Emory University)
*Khoren Arisian (minister, First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis)
*Isaac Asimov (science fiction author)
*Paul Beattie (minister, All Souls Unitarian Church; president, Fellowship of Religious Humanism)
*H. James Birx (professor of anthropology and sociology, Canisius College)
*Brand Blanshard (professor emeritus of philosophy, Yale)
*Joseph L. Blau (Professor Emeritus of Religion, Columbia)
*Francis Crick (Nobel Prize Laureate, Salk Institute)
*Arthur Danto (professor of philosophy, Columbia University)
*Albert Ellis (executive director, Institute for Rational Emotive Therapy)
*Roy Fairfield (former professor of social science, Antioch)
*Herbert Feigl (professor emeritus of philosophy, University of Minnesota)
*Joseph Fletcher (theologian, University of Virginia Medical School)
*Sidney Hook (professor emeritus of philosophy, NYU, fellow at Hoover Institute)
*George Hourani (professor of philosophy, State University of New York at Buffalo)
*Walter Kaufmann (professor of philosophy, Princeton)
*Marvin Kohl (professor of philosophy, medical ethics, State University of New York at Fredonia)
*Richard Kostelanetz (writer, artist, critic)
*Paul Kurtz (Professor of Philosophy, State University of New York at Buffalo)
*Joseph Margolis (professor of philosophy, Temple University)
*Floyd Matson (professor of American Studies, University of Hawaii)
*Ernest Nagel (professor emeritus of philosophy, Columbia)
*Lee Nisbet (associate professor of philosophy, Medaille)
*George Olincy (lawyer)
*Virginia Olincy
*W. V. Quine (professor of philosophy, Harvard University)
*Robert Rimmer (novelist)
*Herbert Schapiro (Freedom from Religion Foundation)
*Herbert Schneider (professor emeritus of philosophy, Claremont College)
*B. F. Skinner (professor emeritus of psychology, Harvard)
*Gordon Stein (editor, The American Rationalist)
*George Tomashevich (professor of anthropology, Buffalo State University College)
*Valentin Turchin (Russian dissident; computer scientist, City College, City University of New York)
*Sherwin Wine (rabbi, Birmingham Temple, founder, Society for Humanistic Judaism)
*Marvin Zimmerman (professor of philosophy, State University of New York at Buffalo)

Canada

*Henry Morgentaler (physician, Montreal)
*Kai Nielsen (professor of philosophy, University of Calgary)

France

*Yves Galifret (executive director, Union Rationaliste)
*Jean Claude Pecker (professor of astrophysics, College de France, Academie des Sciences)

Great Britain (i.e. United Kingdom)

* Sir A.J. Ayer (professor of philosophy, Oxford University)
*H.J. Blackham (former chairman, Social Morality Council and British Humanist Association)
*Bernard Crick (professor of politics, Birkbeck College, London University)
* Sir Raymond Firth (professor emeritus of anthropology, University of London)
*Jim Herrick (then editor of The Freethinker)
*Zhores A. Medvedev (Russian dissident; Medical Research Council)
*Dora Russell (Mrs. Bertrand Russell) (author)
*Lord Ritchie-Calder (president, Rationalist Press Association)
*Harry Stopes-Roe (senior lecturer in science studies, University of Birmingham; chairman, British Humanist Association)
*Nicolas Walter (editor, New Humanist)
*Baroness Barbara Wootton (Deputy Speaker, House of Lords)

India

*B. Shah (president, Indian Secular Society; director, Institute for the Study of Indian Traditions)
*V. M. Tarkunde (Supreme Court Judge, chairman, Indian Radical Humanist Association)

Israel

* Shulamit Aloni (lawyer, member of Knesset, head of Citizens Rights Movement)

Norway

* Alastair Hannay (professor of philosophy, University of Trondheim)

Yugoslavia

* Milovan Djilas (author, former vice president of Yugoslavia)
* M. Markovic (professor of philosophy, Serbian Academy of Sciences & Arts and University of Belgrade)
* Svet. Stojanovic (professor of philosophy, University of Belgrade)

See also

*Amsterdam Declaration 2002 - the defining statement of Humanism worldwide

External links

* [http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=main&page=declaration Text of the "Declaration"]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Secular humanism — is a humanist philosophy that upholds reason, ethics and justice, and specifically rejects the supernatural and the spiritual as the basis of moral reflection and decision making. Like other types of humanism, secular humanism is a life stance… …   Wikipedia

  • Humanist Manifesto — is the title of three manifestos laying out a Humanist worldview. They are the original Humanist Manifesto (1933, often referred to as Humanist Manifesto I), the Humanist Manifesto II (1973), and Humanism and Its Aspirations (2003, a.k.a.… …   Wikipedia

  • Humanist Movement — This article is about an organisation. For the human centered philosophy, see Humanism. The Humanist Movement is an international volunteer organisation that promotes nonviolence and non discrimination. It is not an institution. It takes its… …   Wikipedia

  • National Secular Society — Part of Philosophy series on Humanism (humanist philosophies) Happy Human …   Wikipedia

  • Council for Secular Humanism — Part of Philosophy series on Humanism (humanist philosophies) Happy Human …   Wikipedia

  • Norwegian Humanist Association — Part of Philosophy series on Humanism (humanist philosophies) Happy Human …   Wikipedia

  • Council for Secular Humanism — Das Council for Secular Humanism (ursprünglich Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism) ist eine US amerikanische Vereinigung zur Förderung von Säkularisierung und Humanismus undMitglied der Internationalen Humanistischen und Ethischen Union… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Humanist International — The Humanist International is a consortium of Humanist political parties, founded in Florence, Italy, on January 4 1989, by the approval of foundational documents and statutes by over 40 Humanist Parties from around the world. These foundational… …   Wikipedia

  • International Humanist and Ethical Union — This article discusses the non theistic life stance of a major Humanist organisation. :: For the non theistic humanistic life stance in a broader sense, please see Humanism (life stance). :: For secular humanism in general, please see Secular… …   Wikipedia

  • Amsterdam Declaration — The Amsterdam Declaration 2002 is a statement of the fundamental principles of modern Humanism passed unanimously by the General Assembly of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) at the 50th anniversary World Humanist Congress in… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”