A Secular Humanist Declaration
Encyclopedia
A Secular Humanist Declaration was an argument for and statement of support for 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.
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
secular humanism
Secular humanism
Secular Humanism, alternatively known as Humanism , is a secular philosophy that embraces human reason, ethics, justice, and the search for human fulfillment...
. The document was issued in 1980 by The Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism ("CODESH"), now the Council for Secular Humanism
Council for Secular Humanism
The Council for Secular Humanism is a secular humanist organization headquartered in Amherst, New York. In 1980 CODESH issued A Secular Humanist Declaration, an argument for and statement of belief in Democratic Secular Humanism...
("CSH"). Compiled by Paul Kurtz
Paul Kurtz
Paul Kurtz is a prominent American skeptic and secular humanist. He has been called "the father of secular humanism." He is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, having previously also taught at Vassar, Trinity, and Union colleges, and the New School for...
, it is largely a restatement of the content of the American Humanist Association
American Humanist Association
The American Humanist Association is an educational organization in the United States that advances Humanism. "Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism and other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that...
's 1973 Humanist Manifesto II
Humanist Manifesto II
The second Humanist Manifesto was written in 1973 by Paul Kurtz and Edwin H. Wilson, and was intended to update the previous one. It begins with a statement that the excesses of Nazism and world war had made the first seem "far too optimistic", and indicated a more hardheaded and realistic...
, of which he was co-author with Edwin H. Wilson
Edwin H. Wilson
Edwin Henry Wilson was an American Unitarian leader and humanist who helped draft the Humanist Manifesto of 1973....
. 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 AbellGeorge Ogden AbellGeorge Ogden Abell was an astronomer at UCLA. He worked as a research astronomer, teacher, administrator, popularizer of science and education, and skeptic. Abell received his B.S. , M.S. and Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology...
(professor of astronomy, UCLA) - John AntonJohn AntonJohn Hamish Hugh Anton is an English former cricketer who played 14 first-class games: ten for Cambridge University and four for Worcestershire....
(professor of philosophy, Emory University) - Khoren Arisian (minister, First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis)
- Isaac AsimovIsaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
(science fiction author) - Paul Beattie (minister, All Souls Unitarian Church; president, Fellowship of Religious Humanism)
- H. James BirxH. James BirxH. James Birx is an American anthropologist.Birx received his M.A. in anthropology and his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, and is now professor of anthropology at Canisius College, as well as Distinguished research Scholar in the SUNY Geneseo's...
(professor of anthropology and sociology, Canisius College) - Brand BlanshardBrand BlanshardPercy Brand Blanshard was an American philosopher known primarily for his defense of reason. A powerful polemicist, by all accounts he comported himself with courtesy and grace in philosophical controversies and exemplified the "rational temper" he advocated.-Life:Brand Blanshard was born August...
(professor emeritus of philosophy, Yale) - Joseph L. BlauJoseph L. BlauJoseph Leon Blau was an American scholar of Jewish history and philosophy.-Biography:Blau was born in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Columbia University, where he studied under Salo Wittmayer Baron. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1931, his master's in 1933, and his Ph.D. in 1944, all from...
(Professor Emeritus of Religion, Columbia) - Francis CrickFrancis CrickFrancis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, and most noted for being one of two co-discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953, together with James D. Watson...
(Nobel Prize Laureate, Salk Institute) - Arthur DantoArthur DantoArthur Coleman Danto Arthur Coleman Danto Arthur Coleman Danto (born January 1, 1924 is an American art critic, and professor of philosophy. He is best known as the influential, long-time art critic for The Nation and for his work in philosophical aesthetics and philosophy of history, though he...
(professor of philosophy, Columbia University) - Albert Ellis (executive director, Institute for Rational Emotive Therapy)
- Roy Fairfield (former professor of social science, Antioch)
- Herbert FeiglHerbert FeiglHerbert Feigl was an Austrian philosopher and a member of the Vienna Circle.-Biography:The son of a weaver, Feigl was born in Reichenberg , Bohemia, and matriculated at the University of Vienna in 1922...
(professor emeritus of philosophy, University of Minnesota) - Joseph FletcherJoseph FletcherJoseph Fletcher was an American professor who founded the theory of situational ethics in the 1960s, and was a pioneer in the field of bioethics. Fletcher was a leading academic involved in the topics of abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, eugenics, and cloning. Ordained as an Episcopal priest, he...
(theologian, University of Virginia Medical School) - Sidney HookSidney HookSidney Hook was an American pragmatic philosopher known for his contributions to public debates.A student of John Dewey, Hook continued to examine the philosophy of history, of education, politics, and of ethics. After embracing Marxism in his youth, Hook was known for his criticisms of...
(professor emeritus of philosophy, NYU, fellow at Hoover Institute) - George HouraniGeorge HouraniGeorge Fadlo Hourani was a British philosopher and classicist of Lebanese descent. He was the son of Fadlo Hourani, a Lebanese Christian shipping merchant, who was Lebanese counsel in Manchester...
(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 KostelanetzRichard KostelanetzRichard Kostelanetz is an American artist, author and critic.He was born to Boris Kostelanetz and Ethel Cory and is the nephew of the composer Andre Kostelanetz....
(writer, artist, critic) - Paul KurtzPaul KurtzPaul Kurtz is a prominent American skeptic and secular humanist. He has been called "the father of secular humanism." He is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, having previously also taught at Vassar, Trinity, and Union colleges, and the New School for...
(Professor of Philosophy, State University of New York at Buffalo) - Joseph MargolisJoseph MargolisJoseph Zalman Margolis is an American philosopher. A radical historicist, he has published many books critical of the central assumptions of Western philosophy, and has elaborated a robust form of relativism....
(professor of philosophy, Temple University) - Floyd Matson (professor of American Studies, University of Hawaii)
- Ernest NagelErnest NagelErnest Nagel was a Czech-American philosopher of science. Along with Rudolf Carnap, Hans Reichenbach, and Carl Hempel, he is sometimes seen as one of the major figures of the logical positivist movement....
(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 RimmerRobert RimmerRobert Henry Rimmer was the author of several books, most notably The Harrad Experiment, which was made into a film in 1973....
(novelist) - Herbert Schapiro (Freedom from Religion Foundation)
- Herbert SchneiderHerbert SchneiderHerbert Schneider was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership...
(professor emeritus of philosophy, Claremont College) - B. F. SkinnerB. F. SkinnerBurrhus Frederic Skinner was an American behaviorist, author, inventor, baseball enthusiast, social philosopher and poet...
(professor emeritus of psychology, Harvard) - Gordon Stein (editor, The American Rationalist)
- George Tomashevich (professor of anthropology, Buffalo State University College)
- Valentin TurchinValentin TurchinValentin Fyodorovich Turchin was a Soviet and American cybernetician and computer scientist. He developed the Refal programming language, the theory of metasystem transitions and the notion of supercompilation...
(Russian dissident; computer scientist, City College, City University of New York) - Sherwin WineSherwin WineSherwin Theodore Wine was a rabbi and a founding figure in Humanistic Judaism. Originally ordained a Reform rabbi, Wine founded the Birmingham Temple, the first congregation of Humanistic Judaism in 1963, in Birmingham, Michigan, outside Detroit, Michigan .In 1969...
(rabbi, Birmingham Temple, founder, Society for Humanistic Judaism) - Marvin Zimmerman (professor of philosophy, State University of New York at Buffalo)
Canada
- Henry MorgentalerHenry MorgentalerHenry Morgentaler, CM is a Canadian physician and prominent pro-choice advocate who has fought numerous legal battles for that cause.-Early life:...
(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 CrickBernard CrickSir Bernard Rowland Crick was a British political theorist and democratic socialist whose views were often summarised as "politics is ethics done in public"...
(professor of politics, Birkbeck College, London University) - Sir Raymond FirthRaymond FirthSir Raymond William Firth, CNZM, FBA, was an ethnologist from New Zealand. As a result of Firth's ethnographic work, actual behaviour of societies is separated from the idealized rules of behaviour within the particular society...
(professor emeritus of anthropology, University of London) - Jim HerrickJim HerrickJim Herrick is a British Humanist and secularist. He studied history and English literature at Trinity College, Cambridge University, and then worked as a school teacher for seven years...
(then editor of The FreethinkerFreethoughtFreethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason, and should not be influenced by authority, tradition, or other dogmas...
) - Zhores A. Medvedev (Russian dissident; Medical Research Council)
- Dora RussellDora RussellDora Black, Lady Russell was a British author, a feminist and socialist campaigner, and the second wife of the eminent philosopher Bertrand Russell....
(Mrs. Bertrand RussellBertrand RussellBertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
) (author) - Lord Ritchie-Calder (president, Rationalist Press Association)
- Harry Stopes-RoeHarry Stopes-RoeDr. Harry Stopes-Roe is a British philosopher and humanist. He is a Vice-President of the British Humanist Association.He is the son of Marie Stopes, the women's rights and family planning pioneer, and Humphrey Verdon-Roe. He started his career as a physicist, and received a BSc and MSc in...
(senior lecturer in science studies, University of Birmingham; chairman, British Humanist Association) - Nicolas WalterNicolas WalterNicolas Hardy Walter was a British anarchist and atheist writer, speaker and activist.-Career overview:Walter was born in London; his father was the neurophysiologist and pioneer of cybernetics, William Grey 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. TarkundeV. M. TarkundeVithal Mahadeo Tarkunde also popularly known as Justice V.M.Tarkunde was a prominent Indian lawyer, civil rights activist, and humanist leader and has been referred to as the "Father of the Civil Liberties movement" in India...
(Supreme Court Judge, chairman, Indian Radical Humanist Association)
Israel
- Shulamit AloniShulamit AloniShulamit Aloni is an Israeli politician and left-wing activist. She is a prominent member of the Israeli peace camp, founded the Ratz party and was leader of the Meretz party and served as Minister of Education from 1992 to 1993.-Biography:...
(lawyer, member of KnessetKnessetThe Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
, head of Citizens Rights Movement)
Yugoslavia
- Milovan Djilas (author, former vice president of Yugoslavia)
- Mihailo MarkovicMihailo MarkovicMihailo Marković, PhD was a Serbian philosopher. He was born in Belgrade, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes...
(professor of philosophy, Serbian Academy of Sciences & Arts and University of Belgrade) - Svetozar StojanovicSvetozar StojanovićSvetozar "Sveta" Stojanović was a Serbian philosopher and political theorist....
(professor of philosophy, University of Belgrade)