About Humanism - Humanist Society of Scotland

What is Humanism?

Humanism is a diverse movement with ancient roots that reflects the views of millions of people around the world. Stated simply, Humanists believe that we can lead good and worthwhile lives guided by reason and compassion rather than religion or superstition, and that there are more things that unite humanity than divide it. Or, as we say in Scotland, “We’re a’ Jock Tamson’s bairns” - we’re all the same under the skin. There are several myths about the origins of this phrase; if you’d like to know more, please click here to read The Guardian newspaper’s article, “Who was Jock Tamson?”

Humanist values are more fully expressed in The Amsterdam Declaration , in these quotations and this essay by HSS member, Nigel Bruce.

Amsterdam Declaration

| Print |

Amsterdam Declaration 2002

In 1952, at the first World Humanist Congress, the founding fathers of IHEU agreed a statement of the fundamental principles of modern Humanism. They called it "The Amsterdam Declaration". That declaration was a child of its time: set in the world of great power politics and the Cold War.

The 50th anniversary World Humanist Congress in 2002, again meeting in the Netherlands, unanimously passed a resolution updating that declaration: "The Amsterdam Declaration 2002". Following the Congress, this updated declaration was adopted unanimously by the IHEU General Assembly, and thus became the official defining statement of World Humanism.

Quotations on Humanism

| Print |

If you recognise yourself in these, you’re probably a humanist. "Being a Humanist means trying to behave decently without expectation of rewards or punishment after you are dead." Kurt Vonnegut - Author.
Read more...

Essay on Humanism

| Print |

Written by Nigel Bruce, HSS Member and former President of the Edinburgh Group.

What is humanism?

Humanism, as I see it, is a world-view, an ethic and a commitment.

The Humanist world-view.

Throughout the Western world, most children are told, at home and at school, that there is a God and that He is watching us; that he has sent prophets and holy men to tell us what he wants, and that these messengers have compiled Holy Books, which are the Word of God. When we reach an age when we can think for ourselves, however, this elaborate structure starts to crumble, and once the dam has started to leak, its days are numbered. Initial doubts will lead either to compromise or rejection. This may cause alarm, or despair, but it may also bring with it a sense of personal liberation. Humanism is a fearless response to the death of God.
We are living at a time of disillusionment, with both religion and politics, a time when the younger generation are confused about the meaning of life, at a time when the future is concealed in a cloud of uncertainty.
Humanism replaces world-views which proceed downwards from God to Man, with one which is based firmly on the needs and potentialities of men, women and children.
Humanism offers an orientation toward life which is inspired both by the philosophers of ancient Greece and of the European Enlightenment, such as Voltaire and David Hume, and by the scientists of subsequent centuries such as Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Francis Crick and contemporary physicists and neuroscientists.
From philosophy and science Humanists have constructed an ethic suited to the world today, one which is capable of evolving in order to remain suitable for the world of the future.