Big Issues

We are living through times of unprecedented technological change and destabilising political tension, with the 'Fourth Industrial Revolution' well underway; social media opening up unrivalled opportunities for communication and enterprise, but causing all kinds of havoc in its wake (including the spread of misinformation and hate speech). Then there's populism and identity politics, and the collapse of trust in politicians (and faith in democracy); and the concomitant rise of state repression, assisted by artificial intelligence (AI) and mass surveillance. And let's not forget climate change...

What’s more, international cooperation between the Superpowers — which is of paramount importance if we are to tackle future pandemics and the damage we're doing to the planet — has all but broken down. For an excellent analysis of the problem, we strongly recomment AC Grayling book 'For the Good of the World: Is a Universal Ethics Possible?'; and, in relation to the likely impact of climate change, Gaia Vince's new book, 'Nomad Century: how to survive the climate upheaval'.

With this page we want to open a debate within the humanist movement on what humanists have to say about these Big Issues — and more's the point, what we should be doing about them: it's all very well wanting to live a 'happy, confident and ethical life', but just how do we do that when living in a what feels like a permacrisis?  And what about aspiring to be a 'good ancestor' to those who come after?

Humanistically Speaking

Humanists aim to promote reason and science, free thought and free speech, tolerance and understanding, kindness and compassion.


Humanistically Speaking is a free online magazine for humanists, atheists, rationalists, agnostics, sceptics, and everyone who wants to make the world a better place through human effort and endeavour. It is an independent regular publication but sees itself as very much part of the global humanist community.


Humanistically Speaking was launched in the UK in 2020, and today comes out quarterly: You can access it here.

Contents
1   Humanism for the Common Good

In February 2023 Humanists for the Common Good — formerly the Future of Humanism Group [1] — published a Manifesto on 'The Future of Humanism'. This identified three contemporary issues that pose a growing threat to human rights, democratic government — and even human civilisation, if some sleuths are to be believed: misinformation, AI and climate change.

Basically, we'd like to see humanists being more vocal / active on such issues, and demonstrating in prctical ways just how much humanism has to offer — and injecting a little humanity and compassion in the process.

The Group has now developed the ideas in the Manifesto in a new paper, ‘Humanism for the Common Good’. This reinforces the case for humanist organisations getting more involved in initiatives that have the potential to benefit all of society and not solely those who are not religious — what veteran Dutch humanist, Jaap Van Praag [shown here], called the ‘great fight’ (as opposed to the ‘little fight’). The paper argues that this would be in line with — and in the spirit of — the commitments laid down in the Amsterdam (1952), Reykjavik (2019) and Copenhagen (2023) Declarations. It also makes the case for defining humanism along secular lines (rather than as a ‘non-religious lifestance’), and for humanist organisations adopting a common brand and logo.

There are actually two papers: the first sets out the main arguments for a rethink; and the second, 'Context, Conundrums & Comment', explains the context and explores 25 conundrums that society is facing as a result of the issues we are concerned about, including the future of the Internet -- the Internet both facilitates the spread of misinformation and also holds the key to addressing some of the problems that society has created — indeed, mankind would struggle to coordinate efforts to tackle climate breakdown without it! 
And an earlier paper, 'The Challenge of Regulation', explores attempts to tackle the problems created my misinformation, AI and the Internet without losing the things we consider so dear, our freedom to speak out and our democratic way of life.
[Feb 2023]
[Apr 2023]
[Mar 2024]
[Mar 2024]
The purpose of the latest paper [Aug 2024] is to encourage a discussion within humanism around three basic questions: a) Does humanism have a distinctive brand and USP [Unique Selling Point]? b) Do we need a new ‘Minimum Statement of Humanism’? and c) Why aren’t humanist organisations working for the common good [as proclaimed in Humanist Declarations]?
[Aug 2024]
[Mar 2025]
[Apr 2025]
[Available on Request]

Click on the hexagon s to download the Manifesto and other papers.

We are currently working on a set of Humanists Response Guides, which are designed to help people ‘think for themselves’ and better understand some of the difficult conundrums that society is facing as a result of recent advances in information technology and the evolution of social media, coupled with growing inequality, rising inter-state tensions and climate breakdown — and the collapse of the rules based international order.

WE WELCOME FEEDBACK!


We very much welcome feedback or comments about our work.


Please use the Contact Form.

2   The Battle for Truth
This section is under development. It will explore the impact of 'fake news', lies and disinformation on society, and provide information on who's doing what to tackle the problem.

For the moment, readers might like to consult the Fighting Fake website and read the article on 'What is Truth?'
3   The Climate Emergency
This section provides information on The Climate Emergency, and in particular our efforts to develop a coherent strategy and advice for humanists -- basically, how to think about and prioritise the momentous issues we are facing.

3.1  How Should We Respond to the Climate Crisis?
This paper includes a list of practical things that individuals can do to reduce their carbon footprint, and it draws together some of the best scientific advice on the climate crisis. It was submitted (on 31 Jan 2020) to Milton Keynes Council's Climate Change Task and Finish Group.

A copy of the paper and other evidence submitted to the Council can be found here.
3.2  Action on Climate Change
This paper identifies a range of moral and ethical issues that humanists / humanist organisations might like to reflect on; and it makes some practical proposals for how we might play our own distinctive part in responding to the challenge of climate change.

You may also be interest to contact Humanist Climate Action, which is a volunteer led initiative. It can be contacted through Humanists UK.
A fuller version of the paper explores what various humanist manifestos / declarations have had to say about our responsibilities towards the environment / planet; it also looks in more dep th at the moral and ethical issues that we are likely to be facing as the climate crisis develops. Comments and constructive suggestions welcom e!
4   Whither Humanism, Whither Humanity?
 In ‘Whither Humanism?’ we raise questions about what it means to be a humanist at a time of increasing tension, turmoil and uncertainty in the world, and he expresses his concerns about organised humanism’s focus and priorities. Whilst much has been achieved in recent years to put humanism on the map, humankind is today facing some of the most serious threats in its history. A companion paper, 'Whither Humanity', takes a broader perspective. Again, comments welcome!
 [Mar 2022]
 [Jul 2022]
Have Humanists Got Their Priorities Right?

Our Manifesto is UK-focused, but the message would appear to be relevant to many (perhaps most?) humanist organisations around the world, especially those lucky enough to be based in the Rich World.


If we / they fail to provide guidance on the implications of the growing threats we all are facing, humanists are likely to be seen as out of touch, and not least by the young. 

Our 'brand' is also threatened when influential writers like Yuval Harari appear to misrepresent what we stand for, and when others choose oxymoronic labels like ‘Christian humanist’ or ‘pro-life humanist’ -- or simply like the cuddly feel of the term ‘humanistic’ and use it indiscriminately to describe their various endeavours, and especially with AI...

Notes
1)      The Future of Humanism Group was established in the summer of 2022 by a number of engaged and concerned local humanists in the UK. It aims to stimulate debate within the humanist community about how people of goodwill can live ‘happier, more confident, and more ethical lives’ — and endeavour to be ‘good ancestors’ to future generations — in today’s increasingly polarised and turbulent world. 

Contact: mike@criticalinformation.org.uk
2)        Annex 1 of the 'Challenging Conundrums' paper is entitled 'Economics as if People Mattered'. Readers might be interested to read this article in Nature [12 Dec 2022] entitled 'Degrowth Can Work -- Here's how science can help'. It is written by a team of 8 academics including Professor Tim Jackson.
Credits
#   "There's no planet B - Melbourne climate strike - IMG_4280" by John Englart (Takver) is marked with CC BY-SA 2.0.
# "Artificial Intelligence & AI & Machine Learning" by mikemacmarketing is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit .