What Are the Political Implications of Humanism?

“Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without supernaturalism, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity.”

The above is the American Humanist Association’s definition of humanism. It states that humanists should “aspire to the greater good of humanity.” But should we do more than aspire and what exactly is the greater good of humanity? We will discuss the political implications of the humanist philosophy. While individual humanists are often active in the political process, should there be an organized Humanist Party that brings humanists values to the public in a well-defined, systematic manner? How big is the humanist tent? Can you be a humanist no matter what your political beliefs are? This discussion will be moderated by Timothy Travis. Timothy is the founder of the UU Infidels and helped influence the Supreme Court with his sign “Freedom of Religion Also Means Freedom From Religion” which Justice Scalia publicly criticized and thus had to recuse himself from a case before the court.

We recommend that you read the linked articles “Humanism Is Political or It Isn’t Humanism (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/templeofthefuture/2011/10/humanism-and-politics-1-humanism-is-political-or-it-isnt-humanism/)”, “An American Political Party?” (http://infidels.org/kiosk/article/an-american-humanist-political-party-774.html) and “We Need A New Noam Chomsky (http://www.salon.com/2016/01/03/we_need_new_noam_chomskys_heres_how_we_revitalize_liberal_intellectualism_battle_the_rights_koch_funded_idea_machine/)” in preparation for this discussion.

We will go to a nearby restaurant for dinner after the discussion. Everyone is welcome. If you want to learn more about Bay Area Humanists, check out our website (http://www.sfhumanists.org) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/bayareahumanists) page.

This event is free.