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Quote by Paul Kurtz

“Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning and enrichment, emotion and cognition.”

Quote by Paul Kurtz

Author

Paul Kurtz was a prominent American philosopher, writer, and advocate for science. Born on December 21, 1925, and passing away on October 22, 2012, Kurtz is known for his contributions to scientific rationality, atheism, and liberal thought. more

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“Three key humanist virtues are courage, cognition, and caring - not dependence, ignorance, or insensitivity to the needs of others.”

Needs Three Virtue Atheism Ignorance Keys Caring Positive Atheism Humanist Dependence Cognition Needs Of Others Insensitivity

Author:Paul Kurtz

“The overriding need is "to develop a new Planetary Humanism" that will seek to preserve human rights and enhance human freedom and dignity and will emphasize our commitment "to humanity as a whole." The underlying ethical principle "is the need to respect the dignity and worth of all persons in the world community." Thinkers as diverse as Peter Singer and Hans Küng also emphasize the need for a new global ethic beyond nationalistic, racial, religious, and ethnic chauvinism.”

“Human life has no meaning independent of itself. There is no cosmic force or deity to give it meaning or significance. There is no ultimate destiny for man. Such a belief is an illusion of humankind's infancy. The meaning of life is what we choose to give it. Meaning grows out of human purposes alone. Nature provides us with an infinite range of opportunities, but it is only our vision and our action that select and realize those that we desire.”

“We need to be skeptical of utopianists who offer unreliable totalistic visions of other worlds and strive to take us there. We need some ideals, but we also need to protect ourselves from the miscalculations and misadventures of visionaries.”

World Needs Vision Atheism Offers Protect Ideals Strive Positive Atheism Skeptical Visionaries Other Worlds Unreliable Miscalculations Misadventure

Book:The New Skepticism: Inquiry and Reliable Knowledge

Source: The New Skepticism: Inquiry and Reliable Knowledge

“Secular humanism proposes ... the complete implementation of the agenda of modernism ... what is necessary for it to occur is a ... New Enlightenment.”

Atheism Enlightenment Humanism Positive Atheism Agendas Secular Propose Modernism Implementation Secular Humanism

Author:Paul Kurtz

“The skeptic has no illusions about life, nor a vain belief in the promise of immortality. Since this life here and now is all we can know, our most reasonable option is to live it fully.”

Knows Belief Atheism Promise Illusion Positive Atheism This Life Vain Immortality Reasonable Here And Now Skeptic

Book:The Transcendental Temptation: A Critique of Religion and the Paranormal

Source: The Transcendental Temptation: A Critique of Religion and the Paranormal

“I believe that a person should take an affirmative outlook. There are always problems in life, old and new, uncertainties, and unexpected contingencies. The optimal way to deal with this is not to give up in despair, but to move ahead using the best intelligence and resources that we have to overcome adversity.”

“Here, no mercy is shown. One hates one's fellow man to the glory of God.”

Men Hate Atheism Glory Mercy Fellows Fellow Man Glory Of God

Author:Selma Lagerlöf

“Supernatural entities simply do not exist. This nonreality of the supernatural means, on the human level, that men do not possess supernatural and immortal souls; and, on the level of the universe as a whole, that our cosmos does not possess a supernatural and eternal God.”

Men Humans Mean Doe Soul Whole Universe Levels Atheism Eternal Positive Atheism Cosmos Immortal Entity Immortal Soul

Author:Corliss Lamont

“God, once imagined to be an omnipresent force throughout the whole world of nature and man. has been increasingly tending to seem omniabsent. Everywhere, intelligent and educated people rely more and more on purely secular and scientific techniques for the solution of their problems. As science advances, belief in divine miracles and the efficacy of prayer becomes fainter and fainter.”