Reviews for Humanist anthology

The average rating for Humanist anthology based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-07-19 00:00:00 Romeo Casanova This anthology is a collection of short excerpts (1-2 pages) from the writings of people who may be regarded as humanists (secular) although historically many were very careful not to attract the ire of the authorities by declaring their unbelief openly. She included selections from Confucius, Epicurus, Mencius, Cicero, Lucretius, Seneca, Plutarch, Marcus Aurelius, Montaigne, Giodano Bruno, Spinoza. Margaret Knight published the initial anthology in 1961 and James (Jim) Herrick revised the book in 1995, adding many new excerpts from more recent persons such as : Mark Twain, George Eliot, E. M. Forster, J. Bronowski, Richard Dawkins, David Attenborough, A. J. Ayer, Anthony Flew, Sidney Hook, Paul Kurtz, M. N. Roy and Gora. There are many other writers included but I can't tell which were added later. I bought this book looking for moral counsel and meditations from humanism. I am a bit disappointed because most of the excerpts are arguments against religion, Christianity in particular. Interestingly, practically all of the arguments are on moral grounds: look at all the horrible persecutions, tortures, and burnings that happened under the approval of the Christian church. Some are based upon the incompatibility of evil in the world created by a beneficent God. So Christian religion is probably not a very reliable source for moral guidance because of its practices in history. Only a few of the selections, primarily those from the ancients, are truly helpful with living life as a humanist. This book may be a help to new humanists looking for bolstering their rejection of Christianity. There certainly is a lot of well-known names included to give secular humanism credibility. But it gradually began to feel like a box of ammo for atheists arguing against Christianity. An anthology of essays and selections by humanist authors that help to guide one through life's challenges is bound to have a growing market. If you know of such books, please let me know. This book is a start but I feel that much more could have been included, excluding arguments against theistic religions.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-09-17 00:00:00 Jason Millican An uneven collection spanning the vast but vague philosophy of humanism. Most excerpts are too short to offer any meaningful engagement with the issues, resulting in a book that's merely a feel-good reader for the pseudo-intellectual who wants to truthfully claim to have read Freud, Feuerbach, Hume and Huxley without necessarily understanding the ideas they discuss.