Skepticism and Humanism

This book PDF is perfect for those who love Philosophy genre, written by Paul Kurtz and published by Taylor & Francis which was released on 31 May 2023 with total hardcover pages 279. You could read this book directly on your devices with pdf, epub and kindle format, check detail and related Skepticism and Humanism books below.

Skepticism and Humanism
Author : Paul Kurtz
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Language : English
Release Date : 31 May 2023
ISBN : 9781000950908
Pages : 279 pages
Get Book

Skepticism and Humanism by Paul Kurtz Book PDF Summary

As we begin the third millennium there is cause for cautious optimism regarding the human prospect. Democratic revolutions and the doctrine of universal human rights have captured the imagination of large sectors of humanity, while major advances in science and technology continue to conquer disease and extend life, contributing to rising standards of living, affluence, and cultural freedom on a worldwide basis. Paradoxically, at the same time ancient authoritarian fundamentalist religions have grown in vitriolic intensity along with bizarre New Age, media-driven paranormal belief systems. Also surprising is the resurgence of primitive tribal and ethnic loyalties, unleashing wars of intolerance and bitterness. In Skepticism and Humanism, Paul Kurtz locates these threatening developments within a long-standing and largely unchallenged theological worldview. He proposes, as an alternative to religion, a new cultural paradigm rooted in scientific naturalism, rationalism, and a humanistic outlook. An estimated 60 percent of scientists are atheists or agnostics. However, the skeptical world view has been given little currency even in advanced societies, because of a cultural prohibition against the criticism of religion. At the same time, science has become increasingly narrow and specialized so that few people can draw on its broader intellectual and cultural implications. Skepticism and Humanism attempts to meet this need. It defends skepticism as a method for developing reliable knowledge by using scientific inquiry and reason to test all claims to truth. It also defends scientific naturalism-an evolutionary view of nature, life, and the human species. Kurtz sees the dominant religious doctrines as drawn from an agricultural/nomadic past, and emphasizes the need for a new outlook applicable to the postindustrial information age. At the same time, he rejects postmodernism for abandoning science and embracing a form of nihilism. There can be no doubt that as a new global civilization emerges, scientific naturalism, rationalism, and secular humanism have something significant to say about the meaning of life. Skepticism and Humanism shows how they can to foster democratic values and social prosperity. The book will be important for philosophers, scientists, and all those concerned with contemporary issues.

Skepticism and Humanism

As we begin the third millennium there is cause for cautious optimism regarding the human prospect. Democratic revolutions and the doctrine of universal human rights have captured the imagination of large sectors of humanity, while major advances in science and technology continue to conquer disease and extend life, contributing to

Get Book
Exuberant Skepticism

For more than three decades, philosopher Paul Kurtz has been a strong advocate of skepticism, not only as a philosophical position, but also as a fulfilling way of life. Contrary to the view that skepticism is merely a negative, nay saying, or debunking stance toward commonly held beliefs, skepticism as

Get Book
Dictionary Of Atheism Skepticism   Humanism

[B]elongs in every thinker's (or freethinker's) reference library. -Free Inquiry[F]ills a void in the reference literature of religion by focusing on atheism, skepticism, and humanism....the work should be purchased by libraries serving seminaries and other religious institutions and by academic libraries that support programs in religion

Get Book
The New Skepticism

Kurtz argues that there are objective standards for judging truth claims in science, ethics, and philosophy. Of special interest is the application of the new skepticism to paranormal claims such as reincarnation and faith healing, and to religious beliefs, ethics and politics.

Get Book
Toward a New Enlightenment

Paul Kurtz has been the dominant voice of secular humanism over the past thirty years. This compilation of his work reveals the scope of his thinking on the basic topics of our time and his many and varied contributions to the cause of free thought. It focuses on the central

Get Book
Skepticism and Humanism

As we begin the third millennium there is cause for cautious optimism regarding the human prospect. Democratic revolutions and the doctrine of universal human rights have captured the imagination of large sectors of humanity, while major advances in science and technology continue to conquer disease and extend life, contributing to

Get Book
SECULAR HUMANISM

Download or read online SECULAR HUMANISM written by BOB. REES, published by Unknown which was released on 2018. Get SECULAR HUMANISM Books now! Available in PDF, ePub and Kindle.

Get Book
The Transcendental Temptation

In this landmark work, Paul Kurtz examines the reasons why people accept supernatural and paranormal belief systems in spite of substantial evidence to the contrary. According to Kurtz, it is because there is within the human species a deeply rooted tendency toward magical thinking—the “transcendental temptation”—which undermines critical

Get Book