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Humanism Quotes

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Humanism Quotes

“Do something so radical Do something so radical that the laws of nature are shaken, Do something so radical that your very existence becomes someone's dream, Do something so radical that it appears impossible to your brethren, Do something so radical that others either hate you or worship you to the extreme, Do something so radical that your breath becomes someone's mental essence, Do something so radical that the intellectuals keep silent in front of you, Do something so radical that the weak regains strength by your presence, Do something so radical that no one can ever repay with all the I O U, Do something so radical that no death can ever make you perish, Do something so radical that all the sons and prophets pay you heed, Do something so radical that your immortality makes history cherish, Do something so radical that the meekest of slaves starts to lead, Do something my friend that matters to humanity beyond the society's wildest imagination, Thus you get to be the solution and not the problem like the rest of the population.”

LeadershipHumanismHumanitarianSecularismSonnetChange The WorldService To HumanityHumanitarian EffortsHumanitarian InterventionInspiring Poem
Book:Build Bridges not Walls: In the name of Americana
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“Different centuries may call me by different names, sometimes Shankara, sometimes Vivekananda and other times Naskar, but I, the ever-effulgent, indomitable force of oneness, will always make sure that humanity doesn't get torn apart into pieces by its innate self-centric activities.”

HumanismOnenessNondualityAdvaitaSecularismOne HumanityNondual PhilosophyAdvaita VedantaProphecies
Book:Build Bridges not Walls: In the name of Americana
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“Dependency on drugs is quite easily proclaimed by the so-called intellectual society as lethal, while that very society has been ever-lastingly dependent upon varied forms of ideologies, be it religious, atheistic, political or any other. They say, “don’t do drugs for it’s dangerous for you”, but they never say, “don’t do ideology for it’s dangerous for your society”.”

InspirationalHarmonyHumanismSelf RealizationIdeologyFundamentalismSocial IssuesExtremismFree ThinkingFreedom Of Mind
Book:Build Bridges not Walls: In the name of Americana
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“Salvation is no supernatural or extraterrestrial phenomenon, though, throughout history it is seen mostly as something supernatural and mystical. Salvation simply means to be not bounded by the chains of primitiveness. Salvation means to see no human as the "other" person, but simply as a reflection oneself.”

AcceptanceSalvationHumanismExistentialismMysticismSuperstitionsWorld PeacePrejudicesSectarianism
Book:Build Bridges not Walls: In the name of Americana
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“We aren’t born with a ready-made conscience. As we pass through life, we hurt people and people hurt us, we act compassionately and others show compassion to us. If we pay attention, our moral sensitivity sharpens, and these experiences become a source of valuable ethical knowledge about what is good, what is right and who I really am. Humanism thus sees life as a gradual process of inner change, leading from ignorance to enlightenment by means of experiences. The highest aim of humanist life is to fully develop your knowledge through a large variety of intellectual, emotional and physical experiences. In the early nineteenth century, Wilhelm von Humboldt – one of the chief architects of the modern education system – said that the aim of existence is ‘a distillation of the widest possible experience of life into wisdom’. He also wrote that ‘there is only one summit in life – to have taken the measure in feeling of everything human’. This could well be the humanist motto.”

FeelingsHumanismSensitivity
Book:Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow
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“In the Middle Ages, marriage was considered a sacrament ordained by God, and God also authorised the father to marry his children according to his wishes and interests. An extramarital affair was accordingly a brazen rebellion against both divine and parental authority. It was a mortal sin, no matter what the lovers felt and thought about it. Today people marry for love, and it is their inner feelings that give value to this bond. Hence, if the very same feelings that once drove you into the arms of one man now drive you into the arms of another, what’s wrong with that? If an extramarital affair provides an outlet for emotional and sexual desires that are not satisfied by your spouse of twenty years, and if your new lover is kind, passionate and sensitive to your needs – why not enjoy it? But wait a minute, you might say. We cannot ignore the feelings of the other concerned parties. The woman and her lover might feel wonderful in each other’s arms, but if their respective spouses find out, everybody will probably feel awful for quite some time. And if it leads to divorce, their children might carry the emotional scars for decades. Even if the affair is never discovered, hiding it involves a lot of tension, and may lead to growing feelings of alienation and resentment. The most interesting discussions in humanist ethics concern situations like extramarital affairs, when human feelings collide. What happens when the same action causes one person to feel good, and another to feel bad? How do we weigh the feelings against each other? Do the good feelings of the two lovers outweigh the bad feelings of their spouses and children? It doesn’t matter what you think about this particular question. It is far more important to understand the kind of arguments both sides deploy. Modern people have differing ideas about extramarital affairs, but no matter what their position is, they tend to justify it in the name of human feelings rather than in the name of holy scriptures and divine commandments. Humanism has taught us that something can be bad only if it causes somebody to feel bad. Murder is wrong not because some god once said, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ Rather, murder is wrong because it causes terrible suffering to the victim, to his family members, and to his friends and acquaintances. Theft is wrong not because some ancient text says, ‘Thou shalt not steal.’ Rather, theft is wrong because when you lose your property, you feel bad about it. And if an action does not cause anyone to feel bad, there can be nothing wrong about it. If the same ancient text says that God commanded us not to make any images of either humans or animals (Exodus 20:4), but I enjoy sculpting such figures, and I don’t harm anyone in the process – then what could possibly be wrong with it? The same logic dominates current debates on homosexuality. If two adult men enjoy having sex with one another, and they don’t harm anyone while doing so, why should it be wrong, and why should we outlaw it? It is a private matter between these two men, and they are free to decide about it according to their inner feelings. In the Middle Ages, if two men confessed to a priest that they were in love with one another, and that they never felt so happy, their good feelings would not have changed the priest’s damning judgement – indeed, their happiness would only have worsened the situation. Today, in contrast, if two men love one another, they are told: ‘If it feels good – do it! Don’t let any priest mess with your mind. Just follow your heart. You know best what’s good for you.”

FeelingsEthicsHumanism
Book:Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow
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“When Nietzsche declared that God is dead, this is what he meant. At least in the West, God has become an abstract idea that some accept and others reject, but it makes little difference either way. In the Middle Ages, without a god I had no source of political, moral and aesthetic authority. I could not tell what was right, good or beautiful. Who could live like that? Today, in contrast, it is very easy not to believe in God, because I pay no price for my unbelief. I can be a complete atheist, and still draw a very rich mix of political, moral and aesthetical values from my inner experience. If I believe in God at all, it is my choice to believe. If my inner self tells me to believe in God – then I believe. I believe because I feel God’s presence, and my heart tells me He is there. But if I no longer feel God’s presence, and if my heart suddenly tells me that there is no God – I will cease believing. Either way, the real source of authority is my own feelings. So even while saying that I believe in God, the truth is I have a much stronger belief in my own inner voice.”

GodFeelingsReligionHumanism
Book:Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow
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“For centuries scientists too accepted these humanist guidelines. When physicists wondered whether to get married or not, they too watched sunsets and tried to get in touch with themselves. When chemists contemplated whether to accept a problematic job offer, they too wrote diaries and had heart-to-heart talks with a good friend. When biologists debated whether to wage war or sign a peace treaty, they too voted in democratic elections. When brain scientists wrote books about their startling discoveries, they often put an inspiring Goethe quote on the first page. This was the basis for the modern alliance between science and humanism, which kept the delicate balance between the modern yang and the modern yin – between reason and emotion, between the laboratory and the museum, between the production line and the supermarket.”

ScienceHumanism
Book:Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow
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“Sonnet of Sapiens No religion is greater than love, For love is the embodiment of divinity, No church is higher than the self, Cause the self is the manifestation of the Almighty, No worship is greater than help, For helping is the service of God, No prayer is as sacred as kindness, For in kindness lies the real act of the Lord, No scripture is more glorious than the mind, For the mind is the creator of the scriptures, So learn from that scripture within to be of help to your kind, And be the glue to the fabric of humanity healing all ruptures, Heal your kind my friend with your wisdom and warmth transcendent, If not you then who else will unify humanity and rise as sapiens triumphant.”

LoveReligionSpiritualityKindnessHumanismHumanitarianHelping OthersDivinitySonnetPhilosophy Of Religion
Book:Fabric of Humanity
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“The most interesting discussions in humanist ethics concern situations like extramarital affairs, when human feelings collide. What happens when the same action causes one person to feel good, and another to feel bad? How do we weigh the feelings against each other? Do the good feelings of the two lovers outweigh the bad feelings of their spouses and children? It doesn’t matter what you think about this particular question. It is far more important to understand the kind of arguments both sides deploy. Modern people have differing ideas about extramarital affairs, but no matter what their position is, they tend to justify it in the” “name of human feelings rather than in the name of holy scriptures and divine commandments. Humanism has taught us that something can be bad only if it causes somebody to feel bad. Murder is wrong not because some god once said, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ Rather, murder is wrong because it causes terrible suffering to the victim, to his family members, and to his friends and acquaintances. Theft is wrong not because some ancient text says, ‘Thou shalt not steal.’ Rather, theft is wrong because when you lose your property, you feel bad about it. And if an action does not cause anyone to feel bad, there can be nothing wrong about it. If the same ancient text says that God commanded us not to make any images of either humans or animals (Exodus 20:4), but I enjoy sculpting such figures, and I don’t harm anyone in the process – then what could possibly be wrong with it? The same logic dominates current debates on homosexuality. If two adult men enjoy having sex with one another, and they don’t harm anyone while doing so, why should it be wrong, and why should we outlaw it? It is a private “matter between these two men, and they are free to decide about it according to their inner feelings. In the Middle Ages, if two men confessed to a”

FeelingsEthicsHumanismHomosexuality
Book:Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow
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“Humanism split into three main branches. The orthodox branch holds that each human being is a unique individual possessing a distinctive inner voice and a never-to-be-repeated string of experiences. Every human being is a singular ray of light, which illuminates the world from a different perspective, and which adds colour, depth and meaning to the universe. Hence we ought to give as much freedom as possible to every individual to experience the world, follow his or her inner voice and express his or her inner truth. Whether in politics, economics or art, individual free will should have far more weight than state interests or religious doctrines. The more liberty individuals enjoy, the more beautiful, rich and meaningful is the world. Due to this emphasis on liberty, the orthodox branch of humanism is known as ‘liberal humanism’ or simply as ‘liberalism’. It is liberal politics that believes the voter knows best. Liberal art holds that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Liberal economics maintains that the customer is always right. Liberal ethics advises us that if it feels good, we should go ahead and do it. Liberal education teaches us to think for ourselves, because we will find all the answers within us.”

HumanismLiberalism
Book:Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow
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“I am not a hero, and definitely not a messiah or a political leader and no, I am not a prophet - you know what I am - I am an idiot who thinks that all humans should think of themselves as humans above their tribal labels - I am just a fool, passing through time and space, being an embodiment of help, harmony and humanity.”

HeroHarmonyBrainy QuotesHumanismHelping OthersOne HumanitySage SayingsUniversal AcceptanceOne Human Race
Book:Fabric of Humanity
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“The need has finally arisen, for the humans to stand up, in order to make humanity come true, otherwise, we will end up as yet another dying species - and unlike other animal species, we will not die probably of starvation or sickness, rather we will die due to our intellectual stupidity - due to the unrealization of our innate humanity.”

HumanityWords Of WisdomSalvationBrainy QuotesHumanismSelf RealizationPearls Of WisdomSecularismHuman Progress
Book:Time to Save Medicine
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“By equating the human experience with data patterns, Dataism undermines our main source of authority and meaning, and heralds a tremendous religious revolution, the like of which has not been seen since the eighteenth century. In the days of Locke, Hume and Voltaire humanists argued that ‘God is a product of the human imagination’. Dataism now gives humanists a taste of their own medicine, and tells them: ‘Yes, God is a product of the human imagination, but human imagination in turn is the product of biochemical algorithms.’ In the eighteenth century, humanism sidelined God by shifting from a deo-centric to a homo-centric world view. In the twenty-first century, Dataism may sideline humans by shifting from a homo-centric to a data-centric view. The Dataist revolution will probably take a few decades, if not a century or two. But then the humanist revolution too did not happen overnight. At first, humans kept on believing in God, and argued that humans are sacred because they were created by God for some divine purpose. Only much later did some people dare say that humans are sacred in their own right, and that God doesn’t exist at all. Similarly, today most Dataists say that the Internet-of-All-Things is sacred because humans are creating it to serve human needs. But eventually, the Internet-of-All-Things may become sacred in its own right.”

GodHumanismDataism
Book:Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow
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“Someone asked me the other day - 'could you tell me, what is right human living' - I put my hand on his shoulder and asked him to sit beside me, with a gentle smile on my face, then uttered softly, 'I don't know your religious belief or disbelief, I don't know your professional background, I don't know your economic or social status, all I need to know is that you are a human being, a reflection of my own self, so I treat you with kindness and acceptance, same as I treat myself'. The world is flooded with judgments and opinions - for once my friend, take a step beyond that flood, and you shall see a beautiful world, where being human is a beautiful thing - in that world being human is all that matters.”

SpiritualityCompassionKindnessBrainy QuotesHumanismOnenessPearls Of WisdomNondualitySecularismLove Thy Neighbor
Book:Fabric of Humanity
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“Sonnet of Human I am but a human who's got no name, Simply alive in the land of liberty, I am but a human who talks no lame, Simply communicates with utter serenity, I am but a human who despises harming, No matter what some books command, I am but a human who loves not blaming, No matter how much my peers demand, I am but a human who lives not in history, Simply breathes in the now and here, I am but a human who's curious in mystery, And loves to investigate forged with questionnaire, I am but a human teeming with awareness beyond all race and clans, I am but a human whose religion is liberty and god the humans.”

SpiritualityAwarenessPoemEnlightenmentBrainy QuotesHumanismHumanitarianSonnetSpiritual Poem
Book:Fabric of Humanity
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“And, substantially they hope to supplant the “disciplining of the higher faculty of the imagination” by what they call “education for democracy.” ... The very banality of the expression helps to ensure its triumph. Who could be against education? Who could be against democracy? Yet the phrase begs two questions: What do you mean by “education”? And what do you mean by “democracy”? The school of Dewey has long been fond of capturing words and turning them to their own purposes: they tried hard to capture “humanism”, and even laid siege to “religion” Now I am convinced that if, by “education,” the champions of this slogan mean merely recreation, socialization, and a kind of custodial jurisdiction over young people, then they are deliberately perverting a word with a reasonably distinct historical meaning and making it into what Mr. Richard Weaver, in his book, "Ethics of Rhetoric”, calls a "god-term"—that is, a charismatic expression drained dry of any objective significance, but remaining an empty symbol intended to win unthinking applause”

EducationDemocracyEthicsHumanismRhetoricAcademic FreedomRelgionJohn DeweyGod Term
Book:Academic Freedom: An Essay in Definition
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