Humanism is a definition for a certain range of beliefs and values. To the extent that a person shares these beliefs and relationships, he can call himself a humanist. What is important for humanists is that there are many values, and they are justified by the ideas of the humanities. They stem from human relationships; subsequently, they also help form social institutions and determine human activities.
What are values?
Values are ideas that help us act. In this they are similar to plans, goals, fears, intentions, policies, etc. All these are ideas that lead us to action.
Among these ideas, some values apply only to the methods of our actions, and not to the consequences (both plans, goals and fears) or the simple fact of their work (both with intentions and politics).
There is no specific way to share values, but there is a partial taxonomy. For example, there are values related to attitudes towards other people, actions, and attitudes to things.
The concept of humanism
It can be regarded as a worldview or lifestyle, as a more or less undeniable doctrine. Together, it is a set of beliefs and values that are a world view - a philosophy through which many people live their lives.
The word "humanism" is used in different senses - it was coined in the eighteenth century to describe the revival of classical education in the Renaissance, connected with the idea of the humanities and began to be applied to the current form of non-religious way of life only at the beginning of the twentieth century. The meaning of words is determined by their use, and the organized humanist movement does not have a monopoly on the use of the word "humanism".
Humanism and Morality
One of the key ideas that the representatives of the humanistic trend adhere to is that people are part of human nature, moral beings. On the other hand, people are not moral in the sense of good, but all of them, with the exception of psychopaths and extremely autistic people, have the ability to think morally and cannot avoid it. What is called morality (these are ideas about right or wrong) arises simply from human nature.
In fact, humanism is an alternative to religion, which performs the same function as the latter. It allows a person to shape his attitude to the world.
Mind
One of the main humanistic values is the value that is attached to truth and rational thinking as the only proven way to ensure knowledge of the facts of the Universe.
Religious people often give beautiful or comforting answers, even if they doubt how true they are or will rely on undeniable dogma in the face of evidence that this is clearly false. Often, critics of the so-called new atheism reject criticism of religion, saying that it is based on religion as a set of assumptions, hypotheses that seem meaningless. Instead, these critics say, religion is a perceived experience, relationship, or something else.
It is difficult for humanists to see the difference, with the exception of comparative antiquity, between the dominant religion and people of the “new era” who accept the thoughtless nonsense about the healing abilities of crystals, about Feng Shui, astrology or alternative medicine and who refuse to test it in controlled trials. For humanists, faith must be proportionate to evidence. Humanists see the value of skepticism when evidence is inadequate, and reject dogma, religious, political, or any other kind.
Thus, humanists reject ideas and theories that are not reasonable, and do not accept concepts that are not supported by adequate evidence. The goal of humanists is to get as close to the truth as possible. They find it insane to believe in things without enough evidence.
The role of science
Science is simply the best, almost the only way to reliably learn about the world, but its answers are always temporary, always open for re-examination in the light of new evidence. They are not eternal truths, never conclusive. Newton's laws were overthrown by Einstein; Einstein's theories cannot take into account quantum physics; string theory can reverse current ideas.
What science gives is not true, but a gradual approach to the truth. Science refuses to accept dogma, refuses, allows something to be indisputable, admits that it can make mistakes, but contains its own means to correct them. Of course, scientists may make mistakes, but this is a human error, not a mistake in a method. And this spirit of unbiased, intelligent research is an important part of humanistic ideas.
Morality
Human moral instincts are not necessarily a guide to how to behave, but they are a good starting point, as they stem from behaviors that fostered the survival of a group that have been shaped, worked out and adapted for thousands of years by moral philosophy and practical reasoning.
But circumstances change situations, and specific formulations of morality and ethics may become outdated. People are responsible for maintaining morality. The goal of morality, as humanists see it, is not to conform to some model. She exists to serve man.
Moral meaning, along with beliefs, provides the basis for ethics, in which humanists can apply a utilitarian ethics or ethics of virtue or can take any number of positions. At the same time, humanistic morality does not go so far as to establish fixed rules. This requires people to make judgments in the circumstances of each situation. This flexibility, this commitment to dialogue and ethical conversation is fundamental to humanistic moral values. They play a large role in the formation of personality.
Thus, humanistic morality gives value and significance to the individual. The interdependence of the individual and society implies the obligation of a person in relation to society - an individual responsibility for his behavior, since it affects society.
Spirituality
This concept is quite controversial for humanists, as they reject the existence of the transcendental kingdom, souls and spirits. However, this experience is still very real, even if it has a natural origin. The fact is that the mystical sense of expansion, union does not have a specific intellectual content. In addition, one should take into account the breadth of the humanistic tradition represented by some thinkers who are recognized as representatives of humanism, although this concept was not previously. This tradition includes Confucius, Epicurus, Stoic Marcus Aurelius, David Hume, John Locke, French philosophers, Tom Payne, Mary Wollstonecraft, George Eliot. Accordingly, spirituality should be considered as an important part of the system of humanistic values.
Rights and Dignity
There are a number of other values. The humanistic position is that all people have the right to dignity. This statement introduces the key idea that people have the right to life, thereby increasing the value and problems of the universality of rights, the diversity of rights (individual and collective, i.e. groups), their differentiation (civil, religious, close). Dignity as a humanistic value opens the door to many human rights. They should become part of world culture, contributing to the formation of a truly human society with rights and dignity that are the same for all people.
Human inner world
This concept is considered both by philosophers and psychologists, teachers. It is considered as a subjective reality, that is, everything that is the internal content of psychological activity is peculiar to only one specific person. This determines the individuality and uniqueness of each person. On the other hand, this concept is of great importance when considering humanistic values of a person.
The formation of the inner world is indirect. This process is associated with certain environmental conditions. This situation is explained by the fact that the inner world of a person is a specific form of reflection of the external world, which is characterized by its own spatio-temporal characteristic and content.
Some religious and philosophical concepts believe that a person initially has a certain inner world, and during his life his discovery and cognition take place. Other ideas about this category are based on a more materialistic basis. According to this point of view, the emergence and development of the inner world occurs in the process of the formation of a person as a person who is characterized by activity associated with the reflection and development of the surrounding reality.
Humanistic values in education
One of the goals of modern education is personal education. Spirituality and morality related to humanistic values act as the most important, basic characteristics of a person. In this case, the child acts as the center of spiritual life. Spiritual and moral education is an organized, purposeful process, which represents both the external and internal (emotional and heart) effects of a teacher on the spiritual and moral sphere of a developing personality. This sphere is system-forming in relation to the inner world of the child. Such an impact is determined by a complex, integrated character in relation to the feelings, desires, opinions of the individual. It is based on a certain system of humanistic values embedded in the content of education. The actualization of this system is determined by a certain position of the teacher.
