Humanist Ethics

Preface

(Some of the statements on this page were not made by persons who would think of themselves as Humanists -- but their words show they share many Humanist values. They are quoted in that spirit!)

Torture

Humanists stongly oppose the use of torture! The following link to The Center for Victims of Torture points out (a) that simply because Americans choose to do it does not justify this offense, and (b) simply calling it something else does not make it stop being torture. Take a few moments to read ... Call It Torture!. [The article was originally published in the May 9th edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune].

For a detailed examination of "torture" see The Free Dictionary explanation at Torture defined and examined

Here is a link to the "Lawyers' Statement on Bush Administration's Torture Memos" Lawyers' Statement . It is worthwhile reading, and it is reassuring to read the list of signatories, who make the point that the executive branch is not able to abrogate law at its whim, nor to excuse immoral behavior with appeals to military necessity.

Human Rights

"Peace, in the sense of the absence of war, is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove the pain of torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who have lost their loved ones in floods caused by senseless deforestation in a neighboring country. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free." (Dalai Lama)

"In its use of the language of power... the United States apparently cannot be wrong about anything, nor does it have to apologize to anybody. In many parts of the world people have come to believe, fairly or not, that Americans regard the life of their countrymen as infinitely more valuable than the lives of any other of the earth's inhabitants." The New York Times, March 13, 2004, p.A15

"What was the greatest cause of mass death in the 20th century? It wasn't natural disasters, disease, famine or war. These tragic body counts cannot compare to the number of humans intentionally slaughtered by their own governments.... During the 20th century, around 40 million people died in international and civil wars. Yet nearly 200 million, about five times as many were killed by their own government for their race, religion, [or] imputed political dissent." Richard T. Halvorson, writing in The Harvard Crimson.... See Predatory Politics in the 20th Century

Religion & Ethics

"The Old Testament offers a morality concerned more with strict obedience to laws than their impact on humanity. Humanists can offer something better…"

"As the name humanist suggests, our morality flows from a concern with human beings. Killing is wrong because of the harm it does to people, not because God forbids it. As Socrates argues in Plato’s Euthyphro, if that were the case, morality would be reduced to the arbitrary whims of a God or gods. Ethics, if they are to be genuine, must be independent of religion."

"…abandoning religion does not mean abandoning morality."

(From an article in The Secular Humanist Bulletin (Winter 2003/2004), by Thomas Ash . Mr. Ash's website is at... Thomas Ash ). The Secular Humanist Bulletin may be found at ... Secular Humanist Bulletin )).

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"Almost all vice crimes stem from religious-based conceptions of good and evil. Drugs, alcohol, gambling, prostitution, adultery, fornication, sodomy, pornography, and other obscentiies are banned by the State on the basis of notions of human wickedness and righeousness and, ultimately, the desire to reform society in accord with puritanical or Victorian standards."

".... Overcriminalization weakens the moral force of the criminal law... what should or should not be subject to the single most powerful action any government can take: the deprivation of human liberty or even life itself."

(-- From an article by Erik Luna in the Cato Policy Report, Nov/Dec 03 issue)

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"When men give up reason and freedom, the vacuum is filled with faith and force."

(-- From 'Requiem for Man', by Ayn Rand.

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