Toward a New Enlightenment: The Philosophy of Paul KurtzTransaction Publishers - 401 Seiten 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 issues that have concerned Kurtz throughout his career: ethics, politics, education, religion, science, and pseudoscience. The chapters are linked by a common theme: the need for a new enlightenment, one committed to the use of rationality and skepticism, but also devoted to realizing the highest values of humanist culture. Many writings included here were first published in magazines and journals long unavailable. Some of the essays have never before been published. They now appear as a coherent whole for the first time. Also included is an extensive bibliography of Kurtz's writings. "Toward a New Enlightenment "is essential for those who know and admire Paul Kurtz's work. It will also be an important resource for students of philosophy, political science, ethics, and religion. Among the chapters are: "Humanist Ethics: Eating the Forbidden Fruit"; "Relevance of Science to Ethics"; "Democracy without Theology"; "Misuses of Civil Disobedience"; "The Limits of Tolerance"; "Skepticism about the Paranormal: Legitimate and Illegitimate"; "Militant Atheism vs. Freedom of Conscience"; "Promethean Love: Unbound"; "The Case for Euthanasia"; and "The New Inquisition in the Schools." |
Inhalt
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Democracy without Theology Dialogue with Evangelists | 63 |
Excellence and Irrelevance Democracy and the Higher Learning | 73 |
Misuses of Civil Disobedience | 87 |
The Church under Siege Reflections on the VaticanHumanist Dialogue | 199 |
The Argument from Revelation Reexamined | 217 |
Is Life Meaningful in a Universe without God? | 233 |
Finding a Common Ground between Believers and Unbelievers | 247 |
The Growth of Fundamentalism Worldwide A Humanist Response | 253 |
Introduction to Part Five | 269 |
In Defense of Eupraxophy | 271 |
Promethean Love Unbound | 279 |
The Limits of Tolerance | 99 |
Beyond Multiculturalism Toward a Humanist Universalism | 105 |
Will Secularism Survive? | 109 |
Introduction to Part Three | 119 |
The Scientific Attitude vs Antiscience and Pseudoscience | 123 |
Antireason | 135 |
Science and the Paranormal An Overview | 143 |
Skepticism about the Paranormal Legitimate and Illegitimate | 151 |
Introduction to Part Four | 165 |
Humanism and the Open Society Dialogues with Marxists and Roman Catholics | 167 |
Militant Atheism vs Freedom of Conscience Reflections on the Moscow AtheistHumanist Dialogue | 171 |
Humanism and Atheism Exploring Similarities and Differences | 189 |
On Nearly DyingUnceremoniously and Unexpectedly | 293 |
The Case for Euthanasia A Humanistic Perspective | 297 |
Introduction to Part Six | 307 |
Does Faith Healing Work? | 309 |
Faith Healing Miracle or Hoax? | 321 |
The New Inquisition in the Schools | 327 |
Bigfoot on the Loose or How to Create a Legend | 333 |
A Case Study of the West Pittston Haunted House | 339 |
NearDeath Experiences A Skeptical View | 349 |
Selected List of Publications by Paul Kurtz | 353 |
Index | 389 |
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Toward a New Enlightenment: The Philosophy of Paul Kurtz Paul Kurtz,Vern L. Bullough,Tim Madigan Keine Leseprobe verfügbar - 1994 |
Häufige Begriffe und Wortgruppen
American Angley asked Astrology atheism basic Beckjord Behavioral believe Bigfoot Buffalo Bullough and Madigan century Christian church civil disobedience claims committed conscience creative critical CSICOP cults of unreason cultural defend Defense of Secular democracy democratic develop dialogue divine economic edited Enlightenment Eupraxophy euthanasia evidence existence experience faith Faith Healing Free Inquiry freedom fundamentalist healing human rights Humanist Ethics Humanist Manifesto II humankind ideals IHEU individual institutions liberty live Marx Marxist means methods nature nonbelievers one's Orthodox outlook paranormal Parapsychology Paul Kurtz person Philosophy political problems Promethean Prometheus Books psychic published question reason recognize religion religious responsible revelation Roman Catholic scientific scientists Secular Humanism Secular Humanist Declaration secular humanists seek sense sexual Sidney Hook Skeptical Inquirer Smurl social society Soviet Union theistic theory tion tolerance traditional transcendental temptation truth University values Vatican wish world community York
Beliebte Passagen
Seite 235 - ... of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system, and that the whole temple of Man's achievement must inevitably be buried beneath the debris of a universe in ruins — all these things, if not quite beyond dispute, are yet so nearly certain, that no philosophy which rejects them can hope to stand. Only within the scaffolding of these truths, only on the firm foundation of unyielding...
Seite 178 - Citizens of the USSR are guaranteed freedom of conscience, that is, the right to profess or not to profess any religion, and to conduct religious worship or atheistic propaganda. Incitement of hostility or hatred on religious grounds is prohibited. In the USSR, the church is separated from the state, and the school from the church.
Seite 235 - ... all the labours of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system...
Seite 66 - Whilst we assert for ourselves a freedom to embrace, to profess, and to observe the Religion which we believe to be of divine origin, we cannot deny an equal freedom to those whose minds have not yet yielded to the evidence which has convinced us.
Seite 235 - That Man is the product of causes which had no prevision of the end they were achieving ; that his origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms...
Seite 59 - Fanatically bent on making value expand itself, he ruthlessly forces the human race to produce for production's sake; he thus forces the development of the productive powers of society, and creates those material conditions which alone can form the real basis of a higher form of society, a society in which the full and free development of every individual forms the ruling principle.
Seite 213 - I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.
Seite 235 - Nature, omnipotent but blind, in the revolutions of her secular hurryings through the abysses of space, has brought forth at last a child, subject still to her power, but gifted with sight, with knowledge of good and evil, with the capacity of judging all the works of his unthinking Mother. In spite of Death, the mark and seal of the parental control, Man is yet free, during his brief years, to examine, to criticize, to know, and in imagination to create.
Seite 79 - Belief in equality is an element of the democratic credo. It is not, however, belief in equality of natural endowments. Those who proclaimed the idea of equality did not suppose they were enunciating a psychological doctrine, but a legal and political one. All individuals are entitled to equality of treatment by law and in its administration. Each one is affected equally in quality if not in quantity by the institutions under which he lives and has an equal right to express his judgment, although...