THE AFFIRMATIONS OF HUMANISM: A STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES* We are committed to the application of reason and science to the understanding of the universe and to the solving of human problems. We deplore efforts to denigrate human intelligence, to seek to explain the world in supernatural terms, and to look outside nature for salvation. We believe that scientific discovery and technology can contribute to the betterment of human life. We believe in an open and pluralistic society and that democracy is the best guarantee of protecting human rights from authoritarian elites and repressive majorities. We are committed to the principle of the separation of church and state. We cultivate the arts of negotiation and compromise as a means of resolving differences and achieving mutual understanding. We are concerned with securing justice and fairness in society and with eliminating discrimination and intolerance. We believe in supporting the disadvantaged and the handicapped so that they will be able to help themselves. We attempt to transcend divisive parochial loyalties based on race, religion, gender, nationality, creed, class, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, and strive to work together for the common good of humanity. We want to protect and enhance the earth, to preserve it for future generations, and to avoid inflicting needless suffering on other species. We believe in enjoying life here and now and in developing our creative talents to their fullest. We believe in the cultivation of moral excellence. We respect the right to privacy. Mature adults should be allowed to fulfill their aspirations, to express their sexual preferences, to exercise reproductive freedom, to have access to comprehensive and informed health-care, and to die with dignity. We believe in the common moral decencies: altruism, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, responsibility. Humanist ethics is amenable to critical, rational guidance. There are normative standards that we discover together. Moral principles are tested by their consequences. We are deeply concerned with the moral education of our children. We want to nourish reason and compassion. We are engaged by the arts no less than by the sciences. We are citizens of the universe and are excited by discoveries still to be made in the cosmos. We are skeptical of untested claims to knowledge, and we are open to novel ideas and seek new departures in our thinking. We affirm humanism as a realistic alternative to theologies of despair and ideologies of violence and as a source of rich per sonal significance and genuine satisfaction in the service to others. We believe in optimism rather than pessimism, hope rather than despair, learning in the place of dogma, truth instead of ignorance, joy rather than guilt or sin, tolerance in the place of fear, love instead of hatred, compassion over selfishness, beauty instead of ugliness, and reason rather than blind faith or irrationality. We believe in the fullest realization of the best and noblest that we are capable of as human beings. *by Paul Kurtz For a parchment copy of this page, suitable for framing, please send $4.95 to FREE INQUIRY, P.O. Box 664, Amherst, New York 14226-0664 free inquiry http://www.secularhumanism.org 2 EDITORIAL Philip Appleman 34 Why Spirituality 5 Speaking Is Antihumanistic Personally: David Eller The Free Market 37 Heads I Win; with a Human Face Tails Don’t Count Paul Kurtz Stephen Hanson OP-ED FEBRUARY / MARCH 2004 VOL. 24, NO. 2 39 Ascension to ISSN 0272-0701 Humanism 9 Religion— Keenya H. Oliver Einsteinian or Supernatural? 7 Letters Richard Dawkins 23 Frontlines 12 A Coalition 42 Church-State Confronts Ashcroft Update Tom Flynn Nat Hentoff 14 Less than DEPARTMENTS Miraculous Christopher Hitchens 15 In Praise of 42 World Report Private Property Bill Cooke 43 Great Minds Rights John Rawls Tibor Machan Ernest Partridge 16 An Ethic of 45 Applied Ethics Responsibility ‘Stem Cells, Embryos, Peter Singer and Casualties of War’ 18 Once Again, Redux Science Explains Lawrence I. Bonchek, M.D. Religion 46 Media Scan Massimo Pigliucci Sixty Years of Mere 19 Humanism and Christianity Compulsion Jeremy Patrick Glade Ross 48 Faith and Reason 21 Two Paths for The Crisis of Dualism America William H. Dubay 50 Humanist Stuart Jordan Activism 22 The Choice Atheism Is Not a Civil Richard Taylor Rights Issue 29 The Rise of the Austin Dacey, DJ Nones: Part 2 Grothe BOOK REVIEWS Otis Dudley Duncan 51 Humanism and 32 A Priest Forever 53 Rational 56 The Man the Arts Mysticism Who Found Time Huck’s Heresy FEATURES By John Horgan By Jack Repcheck David Cozy Thomas W. Clark THE MISSIONS AND James Sullivan THE DAMAGE DONE 55 H. L. Mencken 57 What Men Really 24 Sins of the on Religion Think about Missionaries By S. T. Joshi Women Stephen R. Welch Thomas Larson By Allan Jay Norm Allen FI Editorial Staff FREE INQUIRY (ISSN 0272-0701) is published bimonthly by the Editorial Board Editor-in Chief Council for Secular Humanism, a nonprofit educational corporation, Paul Kurtz P.O. Box 664, Amherst, NY 14226-0664. Phone (716) 636-7571. Robert Alley Editor Fax (716) 636-1733. Copyright ©2004 by the Council for Secular Professor of Humanities Emeritus, Thomas W. Flynn Humanism. All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be University of Richmond, Virginia Managing Editor Deputy Editor Andrea Szalanski Norm R. Allen, Jr. reproduced without permission of the publisher. Periodicals postage Hector Avalos Columnists paid at Buffalo, N.Y., and at additional mailing offices. National Associate Professor of Vern Bullough, Richard Dawkins, distribution by International Periodicals Distributors, Solana Beach, Religious Studies, Ronnie Dugger, Nat Hentoff, California. FREE INQUIRY is indexed in Philosophers’ Index. Printed Iowa State University Christopher Hitchens, Wendy Kaminer, in the United States. Postmaster: Send address changes to FREE Tibor R. Machan, Massimo Pigliucci, INQUIRY, P.O. Box 664, Amherst, NY 14226-0664. Opinions Joe E. Barnhart Peter Singer expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or Professor of Philosophy, Senior Editors North Texas State University Vern L. Bullough, Bill Cooke, publisher. No one speaks on behalf of the Council for Secular Richard Dawkins, Martin Gardner, Humanism unless expressly stated. H. James Birx James A. Haught, Gerald A. Larue, Professor of Anthropology, Taslima Nasrin Canisius College Associate Editor TO SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW Wendy McElroy • CALL TOLL FREE 800-458-1366 (have credit card handy). George Bishop Professor of Political Science, Contributing Editors • Fax credit-card order to 716-636-1733. Jo Ann Boydston, Paul Edwards, University of Cincinnati Albert Ellis, Roy P. Fairfield, • Internet: www.secularhumanism.org Charles Faulkner, Antony Flew, Rob Boston Levi Fragell, Adolf Grünbaum, • Mail: FREE INQUIRY, P.O. Box 664, Amherst, NY 14226- Author, Americans United for Marvin Kohl, Thelma Lavine, 0664. Separation of Church and State Lee Nisbet, J. J. C. Smart, • Subscription rates: $35.00 for one year, $58.00 for two years, Svetozar Stojanovic, Barbara Forrest Thomas Szasz $84.00 for three years. Foreign orders add $10 per year for surface Associate Professor of Philosophy, Editorial Associate mail. Foreign orders send U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank; Visa, Southeastern Louisiana Univ. MasterCard, or American Express are preferred. Austin Dacey Stewart Guthrie Editorial Assistant • Single issues: $5.95 each. Shipping is by surface mail in U.S. Professor of Anthropology, David Park Musella (included). Canadian and foreign orders include $1.56 for 1–3 Fordham University Art Director Lisa A. Hutter issues and $3.00 for 4–6 issues. By air mail, $3.00 for 1–3 issues and $7.20 for 4–6 issues. William Harwood Production Author, Mythology’s Last Gods Christopher Fix, Paul E. Loynes, Sr. CHANGE OF ADDRESS Cartoonist Webmaster • Mail changes to FREE INQUIRY, ATTN: Change of Address, Stuart Jordan Senior Staff Scientist, Don Addis Terese Rozelle P.O. Box 664, Amherst, NY 14226-0664. Contributing Illustrators NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Brad Marshall, Todd Julie, Fovea • Call Customer Service: 716-636-7571. Alfred Kisubi Cover Illustration • E-mail: [email protected] Lisa A. Hutter Philosopher, Poet, Cover Photos BACK ISSUES University of Wisconsin Earth: NASA, Crucifix: Tom Flynn • Back issues through Vol. 23, No. 3 are $6.95 each. Back issues Lena Ksarjian Vol. 23, No. 4 and later are $5.95 each. 20% discount on Committee on the History of Culture, Council for Secular Humanism orders of 10 or more. Call 800-458-1366 to order or to ask for University of Chicago a complete listing of back issues. Chair Ronald A. Lindsay Paul Kurtz REPRINTS/PERMISSIONS Lawyer, Philosopher Board of Directors • To order reprints of articles or to request permission to use any (Chair) Vern Bullough, Jan Loeb Eisler, part of FREE INQUIRY, write to FREE INQUIRY, ATTN: Timothy J. Madigan University of Rochester Press Jonathan Kurtz, Joseph Levee, Permis sions Editor, P.O. Box 664, Amherst, NY 14226-0664. Kenneth Marsalek, Jean Millholland, Edward Tabash WHERE TO BUY FREE INQUIRY Michael Martin Professor of Philosophy, Executive Director • FREE INQUIRY is available from selected book and magazine Boston University David Koepsell sellers nationwide. Director of Educational Programs (CFI) ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS John Novak Austin Dacey Professor of Education, Brock University Director, Campus and • Complete submission guidelines can be found on the Web at Community Programs (CFI) www.secularhumanism.org/fi/details.html. Jean Claude Pecker Astronomer, Educator, Author, DJ Grothe • Requests for mailed guidelines and article submissions should be Professeur Honoraire, Collège de France Director, African Americans addressed to: Article Submissions, ATTN: Tom Flynn, for Humanism Norm R. Allen, Jr. FREE INQUIRY, P.O. Box 664, Amherst, NY 14226-0664. Anthony Pinn Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Western Development Officer (CFI) LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Macalester College James B. Kimberly • Send submissions to Letters Editor, FREE INQUIRY, P.O.