Just before Christmas I visited the website of an American humanist organization because I was curious to see how the fine people there were addressing humanism after the birdemic.
Well, it was business as usual for the most part. There appeared to be zero awareness of the complete destruction the birdemic had inflicted upon humanism as an idea and as an ideal. Moreover, some writers on the site argued that the birdemic had strengthened humanism!!! -- that the birdemic was providing humanism with a moment to shine, so to speak! The inconceivable levels of denial and/or obliviousness made for some truly painful reading.
Equally painful were the famous quotes in support of humanism, some of which I shared on my blog: https://www.francisberger.com/blog/an-open-invitation-to-a-funeral
As you so correctly point out, it is striking how few people seem aware of the utter destruction of humanism as belief system. This cannot be emphasized enough. Humanism isn't merely a fail -- it's a epic fail. I mean, the birdemic has blasted everything humanism was based on out of the water -- yet people carry on if this were somehow not the case. Even worse, none have reversed course and none have taken a step in the right direction (acknowledging the reality of God, etc.).
The proper heyday of Humanism was the Renaissance, when it was still rubbing itself up against the warmth of Christianity, Christian and Classical culture. Contemporary "secular" Humanism is a much colder, barren descendant of it. For me, what makes Humanism such an obviously bankrupt ideology is how it fails so completely to produce any ideal of the human being beyond the sentimental.
I've grown up under the shadow of the EU and the global US empire and the secular Humanist ideology that governs it. I never was taught the word or concept of "virtue" until I discovered it myself in old books. I wasn't given any notion of transcendental Good until I decided myself to read Plato. All we were ever taught at school were negative values like tolerance and diversity. Nothing to inspire, uplift, or ennoble the human heart. Just crass selfishness and self-promotion hidden beneath a mask of sentimental humanitarianism. I distinctly remember being taught Darwinism in science class one day and intuitively thinking to myself: "well, there goes everything beautiful."
Here's the big thought experiment that seals it. Currently, Globalism is asking us to forego our traditional cultures, our faith, our ethnic identity, etc., in the name of World Peace and Humanity. Now ask yourself: what is the ideal of humanity being proffered — what is the grand, inspiring vision — that would make us want to abandon everything we've known for thousands of years; what is the great prize that will make us throw away nationhood and religion in exchange for a globalised humanity?... There is nothing, absolutely nothing. No heroism, no beauty, no sanctity, no greatness. Nothing. It is all but the most hollow utilitarianism covered over with sentimental phrases like peace and togetherness, etc. Humanism today means progressive dehumanisation. Chesterton was right that when you lose the supernatural, you quickly lose the natural. We have no noble vision of humanity even comparable to the ancient Greeks. Everything is sordid and vile, infinitely smug and complacent. This is most obvious in the realm of Art. Just look at how far we've fallen from the Renaissance Humanism of Raphael and Michelangelo, where human beings really do appear "a little lower than the angels". In modern art, humanity doesn't even receive the dignity of a beast; it's all depressing smudges and sickly caricatures. Even the logo that the Humanists use is a subhuman cartoon, a kind of stick figure. So pathetic.
“It turns-out that without God, and having eliminated the soul and life beyond death; instead of regarding other-humans as all-important - people-in-general now regard other-humans as merely things.“
The birdemic fraud has surely shown this. But haven’t we seen this at least as far back as the Somme? Except now it’s everywhere, all the time.
@AG - I am talking from my experience - yours may differ; but I was aware of many examples of people's friends and relations (parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren) so blatantly treated with such callousness; or such sudden and wholesale indifference to sick people ('patients'), old people, anyone who lives alone... the list goes on.
Generals supposedly treating their troops as means to the ends of winning a battle, has nothing on this.
It strikes me that utilitarianism (referring to the 'happiness' of 'people') has itself been replaced with something very close to 'the good of The System.
For example, in the UK the whole birdemic scam began with a lockdown projected for three weeks (itself a vastly net-harmful and callous imposition - even if it had not been perpetuated for many months more)...
Three weeks to Save the NHS (National Health Service) was how this was 'sold' to the public... In other words, the ultimate 'good' for which human beings were called to sacrifice was a bureaucracy - the largest bureaucratic element of the UK bureaucracy. We were 'saving the life' of an organization.
Each week people were allowed outside of their houses in order to applaud (clap) the NHS workers - abstract servant of The System. It was not *fully* abstract, as 'The NHS' was supposed to be the brave workers who were supposedly risking their lives by working instead of being locked in cages - but it had a strong flavour of the individuals being allowed to celebrate The System
24 January 2022 at 14:17
Todd said...
I am still gob-smacked by an episode last year, when I pointed out to an atheist-type friend, "The lockdown measures have hurt the economy and hurt more people than they have helped."
"Here in the USA, or just the Third World?"
That was it, I saw something horrible that I could not unsee. This supposed humanitarian, who goes on and on about the evils of the white Christians and evil European culture dismissed the deaths and suffering of thousands, perhaps millions (tens of millions?) of people by simply waving them away as being mainly in the Third World. I thought that the whole point of humanitarianism was to care more about those non-American/European peoples? At that point I realized that there is literally no reasoning with them. Reason has nothing to do with it.
"that it has become impossible for its adherents even to recognize that their own convictions and predictions are refuted and shown to be ridiculous."
I enjoy stripping away the veneer for my children from the woke storytellers' stories to show them how the stories actually condemn the woke. It's quite surprising how blind they are to ridiculing their own project when employing the remains of their actual talent.
Bruce, I wrote this comment earlier today and held it back because the tone seemed flippant but can no longer do so after reading your latest post 'How does Creation work':
As humans -- no, that sounds like humanitarian speak, or a condescending alien.
As *human beings* we're not merely assemblages of ideas, habits and anatomical parts, we have *names* which indicate that we are spirits. When a humanitarian calls his friends by their separate names he is conceding this, albeit tacitly. If he interacted with just a part of a person, in their presence, it would be ridiculous and comical. It would be like mechanically following the recommendations of a body language expert. (Yet bureaucrats interact in a similar way, from afar, when they treat people statistically.)
And there's another, single, spirit who manifests in all human minds, and he's called God.
So, humanitarians, if you do love truth, science and reality and you're serious about it, if you want to engage fully, make it personal!
25 January 2022 at 12:53
Humanism is implicitly the belief system of mainstream modernity; being derived from the 'commonsense' idea that by putting humans first, people will treat one-another better. Humanism grew among atheists-agnostics in opposition to Christianity, from the observation that it was a partial morality that distinguished-between people. Humanists particularly strongly rejected the idea of any life beyond death - which they regarded as merely a rationalization for neglecting the living, and an excuse for the Church manipulation of people in this earthly mortal life.Meanwhile, it was obvious to humanists; that this mortal life was in fact, actually, the only life. The after-life was a lie, propagated by priests; so that by promising rewards or threatening punishment in the 'next' (but non-existent) life, they could control people in this (the only) life. Humanism saw itself as superior to religion because it was rooted-in science and focused on actual and real life; and because was universal and non-judgmental without regard to 'creed' and rejecting many of the traditional distinctions that were rooted in religion. Humanism's concern was with every person - not just Christians, or the family; and it was rationally focused on the observable well-being of people (not on invisible and unreal things like 'souls'). As such, humanism was, of course, intrinsically a part of the Leftist project. 'Humanitarians' grew from humanism, and the concept was promoted as a term of approbation ('great humanitarian' was the sort of title given to winners of the Nobel Peace Prize and similar 'accolades') - meaning in theory someone who regarded humankind as the priority and every human as having equal priority; but in practice a humanitarian was someone whose priorities were not his family, and were other nations or creeds. (For instance, an English non-Christian leftist 'humanitarian' might make Palestinian Muslims his priority - the point being that the focused-upon representatives of humanity should not be Christian, should be unrelated, and elsewhere. This gratuitousness of concern being offered and taken as 'evidence' of pure altruism.) Some humanists were zealous in their dislike of religion generally, and Christianity specifically; and argued that religion was an obstacle in the path of human progress. Remove religion and there would be a better world...Well, humanists got what they wanted, and religion was eliminated from the significant discourse of all the major social functions - so that not even churches let religion interfere with the secular (left) projects that were their primary concern (poverty, foreign aid, environmentalism, sexual 'equality' etc.).In theory, this secularization would increase 'humanity' - because with religion out of the way, mankind was freed to focus properly on its own well-being. Now humans could display concern and provide help regardless of religious barriers and restrictions. Without religion, this would become a kinder, more compassionate, mutually helpful and humane world. And with religion - and its irrational superstitions and restrictions - out for the way; science and reason could come to the fore; and public policy could effectively and efficiently be focused upon its proper objectives - better actual-lives for all people... The humanist perspective won! Religion (i.e. Christianity) was destroyed or assimilated. And physical human beings in this mortal life were made the official focus of concern - disregarding the soul and other transcendental aspects. So how did this work-out in the birdemic? Having got rid of the irrational superstitions and distorted emphases of religion - was there then a more human and human-focused response to the stress of the birdemic (or, more accurately, the stress of the officially-endorsed response to the birdemic). Was it a fact that in this 'pandemic' people were more humane and humanitarian? Were people this time kinder, more compassionate, more mutually helpful and empathic than in the past when religion ruled? Was science and reason now able to act fully and comprehensively; could pure disinterested truth now become the guide to social policy? Truth freed from blind faith in the non-existent and blind terror of the imaginary? Or was there, perhaps, instead -- rampant selfish cowardice; cruel neglect of the old, sick and children; callous indifference to the fate of others - including family, friends and those to whom duty was owed; and irrational, labile incoherence of lying discourse, to a degree unmatched in human history? To ask these questions is to answer them. Humanism, and the theory that people would be more humane after God and the soul were deleted from belief; ranks as among the grossest of error - and has the status of an exploded fraud.It turns-out that without God, and having eliminated the soul and life beyond death; instead of regarding other-humans as all-important - people-in-general now regard other-humans as merely things. It turns-out that without God; instead of allowing pure truth to become the rational determinant of policy; nothing stood in the path of the grossest, most nonsensical and blatant dishonesty to be deployed in service to temporary expediency, or to manipulate the population in accordance with the desires of power. Humanists and humanitarians will no doubt continue to boast of their inclusivity and universalism. But the birdemic showed-up secular humanism for what it truly is: utterly indifferent to the human, and slavishly obedient in service to the machine of the global System of bureaucracies and mass media:Humanists are revealed as apologists for a System that at best regards humans as 'human resources' - and always regards humans as things: things to be manipulated or eliminated as convenient to System requirements. And having eliminated God out from the world of power; they have cleared the way for Satan; who now controls The System; and the humanists have ensured that - by assumption - Satan can never be detected or resisted. Worst of all; so thoroughly has humanism destroyed the capacity for coherent thought and principled reasoning; that it has become impossible for its adherents even to recognize that their own convictions and predictions are refuted and shown to be ridiculous. They are so very wrong, that even the possibility of knowing and repenting their error has been eliminated! Great work chaps! Note: The above is an ex-insider perspective; because for several decades I regarded myself as a humanist, and revered the architects of humanism.
"The birdemic certainly exploded the pretensions of humanism..."
8 Comments -
Just before Christmas I visited the website of an American humanist organization because I was curious to see how the fine people there were addressing humanism after the birdemic.
Well, it was business as usual for the most part. There appeared to be zero awareness of the complete destruction the birdemic had inflicted upon humanism as an idea and as an ideal. Moreover, some writers on the site argued that the birdemic had strengthened humanism!!! -- that the birdemic was providing humanism with a moment to shine, so to speak! The inconceivable levels of denial and/or obliviousness made for some truly painful reading.
Equally painful were the famous quotes in support of humanism, some of which I shared on my blog: https://www.francisberger.com/blog/an-open-invitation-to-a-funeral
As you so correctly point out, it is striking how few people seem aware of the utter destruction of humanism as belief system. This cannot be emphasized enough. Humanism isn't merely a fail -- it's a epic fail. I mean, the birdemic has blasted everything humanism was based on out of the water -- yet people carry on if this were somehow not the case. Even worse, none have reversed course and none have taken a step in the right direction (acknowledging the reality of God, etc.).
24 January 2022 at 11:01
The proper heyday of Humanism was the Renaissance, when it was still rubbing itself up against the warmth of Christianity, Christian and Classical culture. Contemporary "secular" Humanism is a much colder, barren descendant of it. For me, what makes Humanism such an obviously bankrupt ideology is how it fails so completely to produce any ideal of the human being beyond the sentimental.
I've grown up under the shadow of the EU and the global US empire and the secular Humanist ideology that governs it. I never was taught the word or concept of "virtue" until I discovered it myself in old books. I wasn't given any notion of transcendental Good until I decided myself to read Plato. All we were ever taught at school were negative values like tolerance and diversity. Nothing to inspire, uplift, or ennoble the human heart. Just crass selfishness and self-promotion hidden beneath a mask of sentimental humanitarianism. I distinctly remember being taught Darwinism in science class one day and intuitively thinking to myself: "well, there goes everything beautiful."
Here's the big thought experiment that seals it. Currently, Globalism is asking us to forego our traditional cultures, our faith, our ethnic identity, etc., in the name of World Peace and Humanity. Now ask yourself: what is the ideal of humanity being proffered — what is the grand, inspiring vision — that would make us want to abandon everything we've known for thousands of years; what is the great prize that will make us throw away nationhood and religion in exchange for a globalised humanity?... There is nothing, absolutely nothing. No heroism, no beauty, no sanctity, no greatness. Nothing. It is all but the most hollow utilitarianism covered over with sentimental phrases like peace and togetherness, etc. Humanism today means progressive dehumanisation. Chesterton was right that when you lose the supernatural, you quickly lose the natural. We have no noble vision of humanity even comparable to the ancient Greeks. Everything is sordid and vile, infinitely smug and complacent. This is most obvious in the realm of Art. Just look at how far we've fallen from the Renaissance Humanism of Raphael and Michelangelo, where human beings really do appear "a little lower than the angels". In modern art, humanity doesn't even receive the dignity of a beast; it's all depressing smudges and sickly caricatures. Even the logo that the Humanists use is a subhuman cartoon, a kind of stick figure. So pathetic.
24 January 2022 at 13:10
Comment from Avro G:
“It turns-out that without God, and having eliminated the soul and life beyond death; instead of regarding other-humans as all-important - people-in-general now regard other-humans as merely things.“
The birdemic fraud has surely shown this. But haven’t we seen this at least as far back as the Somme? Except now it’s everywhere, all the time.
24 January 2022 at 14:04
@AG - I am talking from my experience - yours may differ; but I was aware of many examples of people's friends and relations (parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren) so blatantly treated with such callousness; or such sudden and wholesale indifference to sick people ('patients'), old people, anyone who lives alone... the list goes on.
Generals supposedly treating their troops as means to the ends of winning a battle, has nothing on this.
24 January 2022 at 14:08
@Jack - good points.
It strikes me that utilitarianism (referring to the 'happiness' of 'people') has itself been replaced with something very close to 'the good of The System.
For example, in the UK the whole birdemic scam began with a lockdown projected for three weeks (itself a vastly net-harmful and callous imposition - even if it had not been perpetuated for many months more)...
Three weeks to Save the NHS (National Health Service) was how this was 'sold' to the public... In other words, the ultimate 'good' for which human beings were called to sacrifice was a bureaucracy - the largest bureaucratic element of the UK bureaucracy. We were 'saving the life' of an organization.
Each week people were allowed outside of their houses in order to applaud (clap) the NHS workers - abstract servant of The System. It was not *fully* abstract, as 'The NHS' was supposed to be the brave workers who were supposedly risking their lives by working instead of being locked in cages - but it had a strong flavour of the individuals being allowed to celebrate The System
24 January 2022 at 14:17
I am still gob-smacked by an episode last year, when I pointed out to an atheist-type friend, "The lockdown measures have hurt the economy and hurt more people than they have helped."
"Here in the USA, or just the Third World?"
That was it, I saw something horrible that I could not unsee. This supposed humanitarian, who goes on and on about the evils of the white Christians and evil European culture dismissed the deaths and suffering of thousands, perhaps millions (tens of millions?) of people by simply waving them away as being mainly in the Third World.
I thought that the whole point of humanitarianism was to care more about those non-American/European peoples?
At that point I realized that there is literally no reasoning with them. Reason has nothing to do with it.
24 January 2022 at 14:28
"that it has become impossible for its adherents even to recognize that their own convictions and predictions are refuted and shown to be ridiculous."
I enjoy stripping away the veneer for my children from the woke storytellers' stories to show them how the stories actually condemn the woke. It's quite surprising how blind they are to ridiculing their own project when employing the remains of their actual talent.
24 January 2022 at 16:27
Bruce, I wrote this comment earlier today and held it back because the tone seemed flippant but can no longer do so after reading your latest post 'How does Creation work':
As humans -- no, that sounds like humanitarian speak, or a condescending alien.
As *human beings* we're not merely assemblages of ideas, habits and anatomical parts, we have *names* which indicate that we are spirits. When a humanitarian calls his friends by their separate names he is conceding this, albeit tacitly. If he interacted with just a part of a person, in their presence, it would be ridiculous and comical. It would be like mechanically following the recommendations of a body language expert. (Yet bureaucrats interact in a similar way, from afar, when they treat people statistically.)
And there's another, single, spirit who manifests in all human minds, and he's called God.
So, humanitarians, if you do love truth, science and reality and you're serious about it, if you want to engage fully, make it personal!
25 January 2022 at 12:53