Humanism...

ClaireBear

ClaireBear

Banned
My family have never had strong religious beliefs... neither my sister or I were "baptised" into any faith... the decision has been left up to ourselves.

At 14, whilst rooting around in a second hand book shop with my father (as I have done before and repeatedly since) , I came across a book entitled "Humanist Veiwpoint".. on opening the book I discovered that many of the pages had been ripped out... This intregued me so I took it across to my Dad to ask why someone would destroy a book in that way... as a bibliophile family damaging a book is tantermount to a crime!

He explained to me that it was the book's content that insensed the person or persons to do this... and that Humanism was an alternative belief held by many that disregards all religion... My Dad admitted to not knowing much about it... but I was facinated and set about discovering more... which I did!

I have actually found that the Humanist beliefs... (which by no means is a new phenomenon... it dates back to Ancient Greece and Rome and the Rennaisance period) matched my own... and many many many people are infact Humanists with out realising it...

Below is a simple "quiz" to see how "Humanist" you are... nabbed from the BHA (British Humanist Association) for you to try!

Are you a humanist?

Which of the following statements is closest to your point of view? (You can choose more than one answer to each question if you need to.)

1 Does God exist?
A) I am sure there is a God ruling over the universe.
B) It depends what you mean by God, but I think so.
C) I don ' t know.
D) There is no evidence that any god exists, so I ' ll assume that there isn ' t one.

2 When I die…
A) my soul will go to another place where I will be rewarded if I was good and punished if I was bad.
B) I will survive in some kind of afterlife.
C) that will be the end of me.
D) I will live on in people ' s memories or because of the work I have done or through my children.

3 How did the Universe begin?
A) God created it.
B) It was set up as an experiment by extremely intelligent aliens from another universe, who drop in every now and then to see how we ' re doing.
C) I don ' t know.
D) The scientific explanations are the best ones available - no gods were involved.

4 The theory that life on Earth evolved gradually over billions of years is…
A) just a theory. My religion tells the true story.
B) likely to be true, but I think God had a part in it too.
C) probably true, because my Science teacher said it was true.
D) true - there is plenty of evidence from fossils showing that this is how it happened.

5 When I look at a beautiful view I think that …
A) it must have been designed by God.
B) it would be a nice place for a motorway.
C) this is what life is all about - I feel good.
D) we ought to do everything possible to protect this for future generations.

6 I can tell right from wrong by…
A) reading a holy book or listening to a religious leader.
B) I don ' t really think about it much - people should just do as they like.
C) accepting what my parents and teachers say.
D) thinking hard about the probable consequences of actions and their effects on other people.

7 It ' s best to be honest because…
A) my religion tells me so.
B) it ' s usually against the law or the rules to be dishonest.
C) people respect you more if you ' re trustworthy.
D) I ' m happier and feel better about myself if I ' m honest.

8 Other people matter and should be treated with respect because…
A) God created us all in his image.
B) they are useful to me.
C) they are people with feelings like mine.
D) we will all be happier if we treat each other well.

9 Animals should be treated …
A) with respect because they are part of God ' s creation.
B) however we see fit - they don ' t have souls and were created for us to use.
C) kindly because they are sweet and fluffy and nicer than people.
D) with respect because they can suffer too.

10 The most important thing in life is…
A) to have a good relationship with God.
B) to make lots of money.
C) to preserve the planet for future generations.
D) to increase the general happiness and welfare of humanity.

Interpreting your answers
This is a more or less serious set of questions designed to help you think about whether you are committed to a religious view of the world, and how this affects your moral beliefs. However, many people have a fairly mixed collection of beliefs, and few are completely consistent, so it is possible that none of the profiles below truly reflects your world view. But they do give an indication of what most humanists believe – and don’t believe.

All or mostly As: You definitely have a religious faith and Humanism is not for you, though you may agree with humanists on some issues, especially if you also collected a few Cs or Ds.

All or mostly Bs: You may have some religious beliefs, or you might still be exploring ideas and not yet made up your mind. Some of your choices are not very ethical – so you ' re unlikely to be a humanist!

All or mostly Cs: Your answers are fairly neutral, perhaps a bit dependent on authority or other people or pure emotion. Humanists try to think, and to think for themselves. You may be an agnostic or a humanist or vaguely religious, depending on what your other answers were.

All or mostly Ds: You are a humanist or very close to humanist thinking. Many people are, often without even knowing it! Humanists don ' t agree about everything, and you may have collected some other answers too, though if they include As and Bs you’re unlikely to be a humanist.
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I couldn't answer some of those. There must be more than four types of people.
Those kind of quizzes can be quite vague.
 
Lopan said:
I couldn't answer some of those. There must be more than four types of people.
Those kind of quizzes can be quite vague.
Click to expand...

I think its meant to be the 4 most common answers... and building up a type from the frequency of the type of answer... :shrug:

Its not the best... I'll try to explain a little more about Humanism... it may help focus you into what it is and if it relates to your belief system...

Humanism is an approach to life based on humanity and reason... humanists recognise that moral values are properly founded on human nature and experience alone. Our decisions are based on the available evidence and our assessment of the outcomes of our actions... not on any dogma or sacred text. It encompasses atheism and agnosticism... but is an active and ethical philosophy far greater than these negative responses to religion. We believe in individual rights and freedoms...but believe that individual responsibility, social co-operation and mutual respect are just as important.

Humanist believe that people can and will continue to find solutions to the world's problems... so that quality of life can be improved for everyone. We are positive... gaining inspiration from our lives, art and culture, and a rich natural world. Humanists believe that we have only one life ‑ it is our responsibility to make it a good life, and to live it to the full.
 
Don't know what I fall into? I certainly don't believe in God, but I find it hard to give a toss about my fellow man. I care about some issues though.
Maybe I'm just an arsehole with a conscience.
 
Humanistic theory was a notion I ran across during my psych classes. It is a harmless little notion that explains little and generally makes everyone feel yummy about themselves...exactly what it was designed to do. As a life philosophy, I prefer something else, but a little humanistic theory never hurt anybody (God knows...). A nice sappy little string of thought.
 
Lopan said:
I couldn't answer some of those. There must be more than four types of people.
Those kind of quizzes can be quite vague.
Click to expand...

No there aren't. You know there are only two. :lloyd:

SouthernN'Proud said:
Humanistic theory was a notion I ran across during my psych classes. It is a harmless little notion that explains little and generally makes everyone feel yummy about themselves...exactly what it was designed to do. As a life philosophy, I prefer something else, but a little humanistic theory never hurt anybody (God knows...). A nice sappy little string of thought.
Click to expand...

I've never heard a better description.

Lopan said:
Maybe I'm just an arsehole with a conscience.
Click to expand...

As you get older you'll get tired of the whole "conscience" thing. :D
 
bwahahaha!

Sorry forgot, if you aren't conservative then you must be a liberal. Sorts out any problems I had with where I stood.

Arsehole without a conscience relieves me of any nagging doubts.
 
As soon as you guys look at how people live their lives, you'll realize that, once again, I am correct.

Oh, the test. Wow, that's a fair & balanced quiz using logic to find a pattern isn't it?
 
Gonz said:
As soon as you guys look at how people live their lives, you'll realize that, once again, I am correct.
Click to expand...
Y'know, I find that somewhat unlikely. :swing:
Gonz said:
Oh, the test. Wow, that's a fair & balanced quiz using logic to find a pattern isn't it?
Click to expand...
Sure you didn't mean create?
 
All or mostly Ds: You are a humanist or very close to humanist thinking. Many people are, often without even knowing it! Humanists don ' t agree about everything, and you may have collected some other answers too, though if they include As and Bs you're unlikely to be a humanist.
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only one or two was not a D for me.
As soon as you guys look at how people live their lives, you'll realize that, once again, I am correct.
Click to expand...


:rofl4: :rofl4:
 
ClaireBear said:
So Gonz have you found out something you rather you hadn't?

Whats with the angsty negativity?...

Oh...silly me... it you isn't it! :rolleyes: :D :D
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C
D
C
unanswerable, given the options
C
D
C
B
B
D

It took 3 questions to recognize the pattern. (Two was too soon to call it a pattern) ;)
 
# 10. D) to increase the general happiness and welfare of humanity.

Um no. Um no. You've lived this long and haven't learned the basic fallacy of this?

I am not responsible for your 'feelings' or 'welfare'.
I can not make you feel any certain way.
Example: I want my wife to be happy.
I try to do all the things that would make her happy.
But in the end it's up to her to be happy.
I can not ‘make’ her happy its up to her.
Not to say that I don’t try that’s part of being a husband.

Fuck the rest of 'humanity' their on their own.
 
1 Does God exist?
D) There is no evidence that any god exists, so I'll assume that there isn't one.

2 When I die…
C) that will be the end of me.

3 How did the Universe begin?
C) I don't know.

4 The theory that life on Earth evolved gradually over billions of years is…
D) true - there is plenty of evidence from fossils showing that this is how it happened.

5 When I look at a beautiful view I think that …
D) we ought to do everything possible to protect this for future generations.

6 I can tell right from wrong by…
D) thinking hard about the probable consequences of actions and their effects on other people.

7 It's best to be honest because…
D) I'm happier and feel better about myself if I'm honest.

8 Other people matter and should be treated with respect because…
C) they are people with feelings like mine.

9 Animals should be treated …
D) with respect because they can suffer too.

10 The most important thing in life is…
C) to preserve the planet for future generations.

I've always considered myself to be a humanist/atheist/agnostic. According to this I'm borderline neutral-humanist.
 
BeardofPants said:
I've always considered myself to be a humanist/atheist/agnostic. According to this I'm borderline neutral-humanist.
Click to expand...


The day I need some half-witted pop-psychology magazine test to tell me what kind of person I am, someone please, in the name of all that is holy and sane in this world, shoot me on the fucking spot.
 
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