Author: M. Asem Ismail Zahi
Humanism (part 17)
Various Forms of Humanism
Scientific humanism refers to the reliance and emphasis of dominant humanist thought on the scientific method. Literary humanism reflects humanists’ interest and attachment to the humanities, such as language, literature, philosophy, and history. Cultural humanism indicates the view that knowledge is attained only through rational methods and that it has its roots in ancient Greece and Rome. Philosophical humanism focuses on a philosophy centered on human needs and requirements. Sometimes humanism is associated with the name of a particular individual or school, such as Marxist humanism, Pragmatist humanism, Existentialist humanism, and Heideggerian humanism.
Pragmatist humanism has its roots in the philosophy of American pragmatist thinkers such as Charles Peirce, John Dewey, William James, and Schiller. They do not accept the notion of an inherent human essence or nature. They value human reason but do not accept human freedom and free will, and they claim that a person is what appears in his or her actions.
Existentialist humanism, which places less emphasis on reason and its capacity, places its greatest emphasis on human freedom and choice.
In Marxist humanism, the individual is largely shaped and formed by social relations and specific historical conditions. Marxists deny an independent human essence and instead emphasize social relations. They also stress a kind of historical determinism rather than human free will.
Heideggerian humanism views the human being primarily from an existential perspective. Heidegger believed that Enlightenment humanism had taken a wrong path by emphasizing the rational nature of the human being in explaining human essence and had failed to realize that the sole source of human essence lies in existence and in the authentic relationship of the human being with Being.
(Luik) The common feature of all these humanist tendencies is their focus on the human being and his dignity and status in existence, and their emphasis on his capacities and abilities to understand nature and to strive to organize life.
Secular Humanism as One of the Main Branches of Humanism
Secular humanism is a philosophy, belief system, or life stance that encompasses human reason, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism, while rejecting religious dogmatism, supernaturalism, and superstition as bases for morality and decision-making. Secular humanism assumes that human beings can be moral and act according to their conscience without religion or belief in God. However, it does not assume that humans are inherently good or evil, nor does it present humans as superior to nature. Instead, the humanist life stance emphasizes the unique responsibility of humanity and the ethical consequences of human decisions. The foundation of secular humanism is the strong view that ideology whether religious or political must be thoroughly examined by each individual, rather than being accepted or rejected merely on the basis of faith.
Alongside this, a fundamental component of secular humanism is the continuous search for truth, primarily through science and philosophy. Many secular humanists derive their ethical codes from utilitarian philosophy, ethical naturalism, or evolutionary ethics, and some advocate for the science of ethics. [1]
Schools Arising from Humanism
Communism, in which humanism claims it can abolish humanity’s alienation from itself, an alienation produced by private ownership and capitalist society.
Pragmatism, which—due to its human-centered perspective, similar to the theory of Protagoras—regards the human being as the measure of all things.
Personalism, or the primacy of the person (the school of the primacy of spirit) (Spiritualism), which affirms the human capacity to think about eternal truths and to enter into a relationship with transcendent reality.
Existentialism, which recognizes no realm as primary other than the human realm (the realm of subjectivity).
Liberalism, which focuses on human freedoms. [2]
Conclusion:
Humanism, by denying Allah, immaterial beings and angels, the immaterial human soul, rejects the existence of any kind of immaterial being and confines the human being to the body, whims, desires, inclinations, emotions, and feelings. Accordingly, it considers human desires, likes, and dislikes as the criterion of moral value. Beyond the human being and the understanding derived from his senses—which are limited to the material and natural world—it believes in nothing else. It regards monotheistic religions and their sacred books as illusory, empty, meaningless, and false, and considers their texts and contents unreal and deceptive.
For humanists, there is no ultimate good or definitive moral standard. Everything revolves around the core of the worldly needs of human life.
At this point, humanism arrives at nihilism [3] and meaninglessness regarding the philosophy of human life and allows the human being to do whatever he can in this catastrophic condition. Ultimately, the world is meaningless; the only thing that can be done is to give it some temporary meaning and then fall into destruction.
From what has been said, it can be understood that human happiness in humanism and similar schools is the product of the narrow vision of human reason, whose enlightenment is completely limited. In reality, every day one school emerges after another, each displaying itself for a time and then being thrown into the dustbin of history. Experience and the passage of time reveal the harmful nature of all material and incomplete schools produced by human thought, whereas human happiness in religious worldviews is the result of rulings issued from the Universal Intellect, which created both humanity and nature and is fully aware of the mysteries of both.
Continues…
References:
- Sharifian, Mahdi, Humanistic Perspectives in Iranian Mysticism, p. 39, article in Mystical Literature, year of publication: 1394 AH, Tehran.
- Ghanbari, Ayat, A Critique of Liberalism and Humanism, p. 321, Faraz-e Andisheh Publications, year of publication: 1383 AH (Qamari).
- For further understanding of the beliefs and doctrines of nihilism, refer to the section on theories and intellectual schools on the website of the Scientific and Research Administration of Kalemaat.
