The case for humanism


Philosopher A. C. Grayling has a new book out titled The God Argument: The Case Against Religion and for Humanism that I have not read yet but looks interesting. He appeared on The Colbert Report and it was pretty interesting. Despite the brevity of these interviews, he made some cogent points and provided a succinct definition of humanism, which he says is “an attitude about how we live the moral life… We human beings are responsible for thinking about our ethical outlook, not a set of laws or a code which comes from outside us but we have to take responsibility for ourselves, not just about how we are going to live good and flourishing lives but how we are going to relate well to other people.”

(This clip was aired on April 3, 2013. To get suggestions on how to view clips of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report outside the US, please see this earlier post.)

Comments

  1. mobius says

    I saw this clip yesterday on Why Evolution is True. It is well worth watching. Colbert is his usual Poe-like self satirizing conservatism and Greyling gives some excellent responses. I am definitely going to have to get his book through inter-library loan. It looks to be a great read.

    BTW…I want to complement you on you blog. Over the past month it has become one of my regular reads. I have been enjoying your series on the Higgs boson, a subject I find interesting but have little knowledge of.

    Besides your explanations of science, I have also enjoyed your posts on atheism,on human rights and on social issues. Keep up the good work.

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