So what does Humanism really stand for?
- The most important Humanist ethic is that humans deserve respect. Every human should be treated with respect and allowed to have dignity. If all people act with respect for others, then people will live in peace and trust.
- Another important Humanist ethic is that people should all be able to decide how they want to live their lives. The Humanist belief is that if people think hard about what is right and what is wrong, they will know the difference and make right decisions. Thinking about problems is called reasoning.
- Humanists believe that people should choose what to believe by using reason. The Humanist ethic is that people should not follow any particular religion or philosophy or political belief without first testing it with their own reasoning.
- Humanists want to see all humans be as good as they can be. They also want people to be able to achieve the things that they want to do. Humanists decide what choices are good by whether those choices will help make human life better. Whenever there is a problem with our world or our society, humanists think that it is important to use reason to help fix that problem.
- Humanist writers glorified the individual and believed that man was the measure of all things and had unlimited potential.