The Humanist Affirmations Explored - Affirmation #1
Most people are confused by the term Humanist. You love humans? That’s cool! Oh sorry, you are a proponent of the humanities? Even better! The confusion is understandable. Humanism is not self-descriptive to be sure. Like other philosophies it requires a little investigation to begin to understand its purpose and meaning. That said, it is designed to be intuitive and easy to apply to one’s life. It is worth noting that the affirmations of humanism are not infallible and are certainly open to amendment as they have been over the last several decades. There are six affirmations that make up the Humanist Manifesto III. This will be the first of several blog posts introducing these six affirmations and discussing how they can be applied to one’s life to become a more caring and rational person. So let’s get started with the first affirmation…
Knowledge of the world is derived by observation, experimentation, and rational analysis. Humanists find that science is the best method for determining this knowledge as well as for solving problems and developing beneficial technologies. We also recognize the value of new departures in thought, the arts, and inner experience—each subject to analysis by critical intelligence.
To start, let’s quickly get a working definition of knowledge. The first result on the internet defines knowledge as: facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education. This seems straightforward, right? Well, not exactly. If you have ever been a human, you will have inevitably had the experience of being tricked or simply misunderstanding a situation. I certainly have. As an eighteen-year-old kid, I remember being forbidden to go to “magic” shops because they engaged in all manner of the dark arts. My curiosity got the best of me one day and myself and a couple friends decided to experience one of the magic shops firsthand. The magician quickly demonstrated his ability to magically change nickels into dimes. We were flabbergasted and for the first time we had “knowledge” of a man that could literally defy the laws of physics. Or so we thought. The magician informed us we could also defy the laws of physics for $34.99. We hesitated but decided to take the plunge wondering if we had just sold our souls to the Great Trickster himself. Ten minutes later, we discovered the simple gimmick and the necessary sleight of hand. We left a bit disappointed but ready to trick others with our new-found knowledge.
The point of the above story is to demonstrate that knowledge is not just derived by observation alone. If that were the case, we could have claimed the supernatural switch from nickels to dimes. No, for our knowledge to be a factual representation of the world, we had to experiment and rationally analyze the situation. Once we did this, our knowledge was once again in harmony with how the world works. But here is the rub. It took extra work and a little extra money in our case to acquire true knowledge. The easier and more tantalizing path would have been to simply believe the magician and hold on to the illusion. We all have this tendency. Whether it be thinking we are performing better at work than we are or playing the lottery against impossible odds. We create distorted narratives in our head that are often detached from reality.
So how do we be good Humanists and value knowledge? The first step is to become aware of our own susceptibility to being tricked or manipulated. Just this little bit of heightened self-awareness can go a long way. The second step is not letting belief become your instant default reaction to every experience. Take a breath and let yourself doubt and question what you just heard or saw. Worst case, your doubt was unjustified. Best case, you have sharpened your critical thinking skills and not fallen victim to a fraud or scam. Finally, learn how to research and identify good sources of truth. This takes energy and time. I get it. But I can assure you that you will be a better and stronger person for it!
