The Humanist Affirmations Explored - Affirmation #2 - Part 2

Welcome back! In my last post, I discussed the below Second Affirmation of Humanism and left off with a claim that by embracing this affirmation, my life could be enriched:

Humans are an integral part of nature, the result of unguided evolutionary change. Humanists recognize nature as self-existing. We accept our life as all and enough, distinguishing things as they are from things as we might wish or imagine them to be. We welcome the challenges of the future and are drawn to and undaunted by the yet to be known.

Of course, a claim without evidence or at least a strong argument is just…well…a claim. So, let’s get started with a couple clarifications. For starters, what is the central claim? I see it as acknowledging that while I am “alone” in the universe and not the result of some master design, I am, in fact, part of the universe carried along by immutable physical laws that I am unable to transcend. Yikes! This can be quite hard to accept or even comprehend. That said, its acceptance allows me to embrace and thrive in the absurdity of my condition. The alternative is for me to reject it and seek out a fantasy.

Let me digress for just a minute and make a distinction. It is nearly impossible for me to go a day without entertaining a fantasy. Stories constantly run through my head telling me how successful or unsuccessful I am, why bad things happened to me, or what may happen to me in the future. These are coping and problem-solving mechanisms that are undoubtedly part of my evolutionary heritage and when used appropriately, can be quite soothing. However, these fleeting fantasies should not be conflated with permanently detaching ourselves from reality. For example, if I imagine I am a fish while swimming to help me swim better is quite different than believing I am a fish in my everyday life. The alternative would have weird and potentially disastrous consequences…lol. This extreme example aside, one might argue that I am justified constructing a reasonable fantasy considering how cruel reality is, right? I mean I am alone in the universe, there is no ultimate meaning, life sucks sometimes for no apparent reason, death is the end, I HAVE to pay my taxes…ugh. C’mon! Cut me a break!

Umm… still no. I am going to argue I am not justified accepting a fantasy, and that the reality of my condition is not cruel. And to do this let’s apply two, what I am calling, “Life Enrichment Principles” to the Second Affirmation.

Principle # 1 – Understanding I am part of the natural process, allows me to feel more grounded, connected, and at peace with my life. As I am writing this, I am occasionally staring into the small grove of woods behind my house. I observe the beautiful cycle of life. Squirrels scampering around in search of food. Trees emerging from the ground and others slowly being consumed back into it. The gentle drift of clouds collecting moisture and ultimately producing life-giving rain. It is truly a gorgeous and sometimes frightening symphony of nature.  Of course, I am not viewing nature. I am experiencing it as being part of it. I am a unique manifestation of nature, yes, but natural, nonetheless. I am nature. The point being that squirrels, clouds, and trees carry on just fine with their “lives” without fear of death, a search for ultimate meaning, or a belief in the divine. If they can, surely, I can and should as well. 

Principle # 2 – Recognizing my life as both predictable and unpredictable, unlocks the freedom to explore myself and the world.  By predictable, I simply mean that certain actions will produce consequences regardless of my beliefs. I leave grease unattended on my lit stove, I will very likely burn down my house. No amount of wishful thinking or believing will help. On the flip side, I know grease fires don’t magically appear, so there is no need to stay up all night worrying that my house will burn down from a grease fire. We may take this logical way of thinking for granted but for much of human history, humans had no idea the world obeyed underlying physical laws that govern what can or cannot happen. The point is, I can structure my life in such a way that allows me to worry only about those things that are impacted by my decisions. This can be a very liberating and empowering thought.

This leads me to the unpredictable aspect of life. Wait. What? How can life be both predictable and unpredictable!? Simple. Introduce enough complexity and life becomes unpredictable. For example, predicting how fast I will fall off a 10-foot building…easy. Predicting the path of a hurricane…not so easy. Predicting my actions 10 years from now on February 20th, 2033… impossible. What is the difference? All the above scenarios were governed by physical laws, but the examples had varying degrees of inputs that were either unknowable or too large to calculate. Where does this leave me?  This leaves me with the freedom to experience life as it happens. There is a certain excitement and anticipation in not knowing. Each day is a present ready to be unwrapped.

Ok, so to wrap things up (pun intended): It is fundamentally Humanist to accept we are a part of the natural world, reality is better than fantasy, life can be both predictable and unpredictable, and that by accepting and embracing these truths, we can live a life of surprising richness.