Film, Literature, & the Human Condition

Secular humanism is not a religion, it is a philosophy, one which I’ve come around to in recent times. I don’t know how controversial this statement may be, but I believe it’s a duty all human beings have to others and the world in which we live. To look at a narrow definition of humanism, an alarm may go off inside yourself. It could be thought of as a life stance focusing on how to lead good, happy, and functional lives. If you’re like me and have a habit of seeing most things through a filter of cynicism, at first glance you may think the idea of humanism to be a pretentious, cultlike system looking to gain your veneration. It’s not that at all, nor does it disregard any of the great religions of our world. Humanism is simply an ethical approach to life that seeks to find human solutions to human arguments without recourse to supernatural or spiritual elements that involve god, gods, sacred texts, or religious creeds. I’m not saying that religion is a bad thing. Faith is very powerful. It can motivate people to achieve noble dreams and ideals. But it can also be a kind of translucent barricade that keeps us divided, ultimately making some of us feel superior to others because we place our beliefs on a higher platform. In that sense, religion can be negative. But there is a lot of positive I think humanism percolates from all the great belief systems. It gets to the bone and reminds us the fundamental obligations we have towards one another. (continue reading…)