Reason with Compassion: The Humanist Way

By Glenn M. Hardie

This book has been written as a kind of primer in humanistic thought for the benefit of others who, like myself, are not profound scholars of philosophy or religion. All of the information in this book came from readily available sources, such as public lectures, libraries, and bookstores. It is directed towards ordinary people who have to work at other things for a living, and who thus may not have the time, money, facility, or inclination to permit extensive and detailed study of matters pertaining to humanism.
The book is also directed towards that vast and rapidly increasing number of humans who do not subscribe to any particular religion, and who may find in this book the expression of their own developed or latent humanism. Many people are simply not aware of the lengthy existence and growing significance of the Humanist Movement. They may be relieved to discover, as I was, that they are not alone, and to know that a channel exists into which they may direct their thoughts, energies, and support, if they should so choose to assist in improving the only world in which we all have to live.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 25, 2009
• ISBN: 9781465326447

Glenn M. Hardie

Glenn Hardie was a founding member of the British Columbia Humanist Association and served on its Executive Board for many years. He is also a member of the Humanist Association of Canada, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and the B.C. Skeptics Society Mr. Hardie holds university degrees in Philosophy and Education and professional diplomas in Construction Economics and Property Appraisal. Married to Lorraine for 43 years, he is now retired and lives in Vancouver, B.C..

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Copyright © 2009 by Glenn M. Hardie.

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This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

Foreword

Rationale

Acknowledgments

Biography

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Appendixes

Endnotes

A wise man . . . proportions his belief to the evidence.

David Hume (1711-1776), Of Miracles

Foreword

This book has been written as a kind of primer in humanistic thought for the benefit of others who, like myself, are not profound scholars of philosophy or religion. All of the information in this book came from readily available sources, such as public lectures, libraries, and bookstores. It is directed towards ordinary people who have to work at other things for a living, and who thus may not have the time, money, facility, or inclination to permit extensive and detailed study of matters pertaining to humanism.

The book is also directed towards that vast and rapidly increasing number of humans who do not subscribe to any particular religion, and who may find in this book the expression of their own developed or latent humanism. Many people are simply not aware of the lengthy existence and growing significance of the Humanist Movement. They may be relieved to discover, as I was, that they are not alone, and to know that a channel exists into which they may direct their thoughts, energies, and support, if they should so choose to assist in improving the only world in which we all have to live.

It has often been said that it is wrong to criticize religion, because religion makes people virtuous and lets them feel comfortable. While one might debate why anyone would want to choose comfort over reason, there is not much evidence anywhere in the world that so-called religious people are more virtuous than non-religious people. In fact, some recent psychological studies have shown that there is no significant difference between religious and non-religious people in the results of tests of matters involving conscience and morality. Virtuous sentiments, such as give to the poor and judge not lest ye be judged, are viewed as having an essentially theoretical value for most religious protagonists; they are certainly not widely acted upon in real life.

However, this essay is not intended as an attack on anything or anybody. It is presented rather as a positive and hopefully constructive argument for abandoning ancient, superstitious, and harmful religious beliefs in favor of a more cogent set of modern, scientific, and kindly precepts for the conduct of human affairs.

Glenn M. Hardie

Vancouver, B.C.

Spring 2008

Rationale

This book is an edited version of an earlier work, self-published in 2004 through Xlibris Corporation under the title "The Essence of Humanism." The concept for the original book arose primarily from three sources. The first was my own life experiences, such as family upbringing, interactions with friends and relations, and various readings I had undertaken from time to time as I matured in my thoughts and behaviors. I resolved to try to organize and articulate my thoughts and feelings in connection with these general themes.

The second source arose at a meeting of local humanists, when, during an oral presentation on the basic tenets of humanism, I asked the members of the audience how many of them could name at least one humanist hero. The results astonished me. Apart from a few academics in the group, about 15% of the remainder of the people present could not identify one single name of importance to the Humanist Movement. They had never heard of Robert Ingersoll, or Charles Bradlaugh, or even Bertrand Russell. They were either unaware of, or could not identify, the humanist inclinations of people like Isaac Asimov, the well known science fiction author and former President of the American Humanist Association, Carl Sagan of Cosmos fame, and Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, to name just a few. They had never heard of the various editions of the Humanist Manifesto, and had never read any of the works of influential and published humanists, such as Paul Kurtz and Corliss Lamont. I wondered just how such people could consider themselves to be humanists, if they were so lacking in what seemed to me to be basic knowledge of the movement in general. I resolved to do something to fill this apparent vacuum and this book is the result.

The third source arose from casual conversations I have had with a number of humanist colleagues, in which I happened to mention the names of a couple of the lesser known religions, such as Jainism or Shintoism, and some mystical pursuits, such as astrology or feng shui, in order to compare them to the rational basis of humanism. As these conversations developed, it became clear to me that many of my colleagues not only did not know much about these admittedly esoteric life stances, they were quite unclear on the basis of and differences between some of the more mainline religions, such as Islam and Hinduism. It seemed to me that it is not enough just to absorb the principles of humanism and adopt its practices. It is also desirable to have at least some rudimentary knowledge of some of the 20,000 competing religious denominations to be found throughout the world and against which humanism can be fairly compared. This is not to say that humanists should be against religion; they should be for secular education and the acquisition of useful knowledge in order to be in a position to make informed judgments.

As a consequence, in this book, the principles of humanism and the basis of free-thought are discussed at some length. The topics of religion in general and the basis of belief in particular are outlined in one chapter as a guide to further study. There is a number of appendices containing useful source material included at the end of the book, as well as a fully detailed index to facilitate the pin-pointing of specific issues.

Acknowledgments

Although virtually every person we encounter on our way through life has some effect on our thoughts and outlook, it is considered appropriate to acknowledge the more direct contributions to the present work of a small number of specific individuals personally known to the author from the recent and more distant past. They are listed in terms of their approximate chronological involvement in the experiences that led to this present work.

Leslie Rosin, a Jewish friend, who showed me that, although most religious dogmas are incompatible one with another, humans beings of good will can live in harmony with each other.

Keith Collier, a Christian friend, who introduced me to the works of several theologians and who engaged me in constructive philosophical polemic whenever it seemed justified.

Gordon Rodgers, a Humanist friend, who specifically showed me humanism in action in ordinary life, and who generally gave direction to the efforts of myself and many other humanists.

Lorraine Hardie, my wife and closest friend, who listened to my ideas, offered her own ideas, and again gave me the space and time to complete this revised project.

I acknowledge the thoughtful contributions of Theo Meijer (Past President of the British Columbia Humanist Association), Pat Duffy Hutcheon (Canadian Humanist of the Year 2000) and Ernest Poser (one of the leaders of modern humanism in Canada), all of whom suggested improvements to the original manuscript.

I am especially grateful to Henry Beissel, Dan Morrison and Paul Pfalzner of Canadian Humanist Publications for their patience, their superlative editing skills, their encouraging comments, and practical advice at several stages of the process.

Biography

It was felt appropriate to place this book into context with the life experiences of the author, as it is out of those experiences that the content emerged. This biographical outline deals with the philosophical development of the author. Readers who do not wish to review these personal reminiscences can skip to Chapter One with no loss of continuity or clarity in understanding of the principles and practices of humanism.

While the sum total of life experiences of each individual is unique, it is possible that many activities or events described by the author have similarly occurred in the lives of some readers. It is hoped that to discover them in the life of another person may strike a responsive chord of empathy, and occasionally sympathy, in the mind of the reader. It is a fact that the great majority of people hold the same religious, political, and societal beliefs as their parents and their extended families, and moreover, hold these beliefs in a relatively unquestioning atmosphere. However, things can and do change from time to time, and my life is proof of that fact.

Beginnings

I was born in 1930 in Glasgow, Scotland, into a family which practiced Scottish Presbyterianism. Because of this so-called accident of birth, I was raised as a Christian for the first few years of my life, without choice or opinion. My parents had me baptized at birth because according to their views it was the thing to do, living as they did in fear of their God and their church, and more likely of the opinion of neighbors and of society. I hold no grudge against them for having done it. They viewed baptism as a form of spiritual insurance, just like a vaccination is a form of medical insurance, and a fire-and-theft policy is a form of financial insurance.

Philosophical Awakening

When I was about 3 or 4 years old, my parents sent me to a Sunday School operated by their church to coincide with the services for adults. I continued with that formal though sporadic instruction until I was about 10 years of age.