Discussion Group Report

"What place does human life, my life or your life, or that of society, have in the grand scheme of things?" asks Paul Kurtz in his book The Courage to Become. People wonder whether the aspirations and achievements of humans can find safe haven in the universe at large. They yearn for immortality for themselves and their loved ones. "Alas, the testimony from everyday life hardly supports the vain hope that human life has any special ontological anchor in reality, or that humans will exist in some idyllic state of immortality. Life can be wonderful, but the brutal fact is that each individual at some time must die."

The Copernican and Darwinian revolutions have dethroned us from the conviction that we are the center of a universe that was created for us, and the belief that we are fundamentally different from all other species. Many refuse to accept the full implications of these discoveries.

"If there is no discernible purpose to human existence, and nature is ultimately indifferent to our fondest hopes and deepest aspirations," queries Kurtz, "what is left for us? If we are all dead in the end, why does anything matter? Experiencing failure, illness, conflict, the death of friends or family, or other tragedies only intensifies a person's longings for answers to these root questions. Do they have any deeper meaning? Or is it all 'a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing?"

There are three major responses to the quest for meaning, two of which are anti-humanist.

First is the theistic response, which begins by denying our finitude and defeat by death. It holds forth the prospect that there is a hidden purpose to reality, and an ultimate meaning to human existence. It involves a leap of faith, goaded on by what Kurtz calls the "transcendental temptation:" the human tendency to believe in a world beyond, and to seek a solution to human finitude by postulating a transcendental reality that will save us from the finality of death. Extremely pessimistic about human power, this approach is grounded in denial; it seeks to persuade us that we do not have the power to control our destinies, that we are weak and dependent creatures, and that we can only be rescued in the end by a divine or higher power. It denies that the universe is impersonal and is based on a belief that there is a spiritual key to our destiny. Theists invent tales and parables that promise eternal life. They yearn to be released from the trials, tribulations and tragedies of life by convincing themselves that God has created the universe and will save us from oblivion.

The second response to the question of the meaning of life is skeptical nihilism. Nihilists agree with humanists that there is no evidence that God exists, no separable immortal soul, and no divine scheme of salvation; but they infer that there is no humanist foundation for human ethics or social justice either. All values ultimately are subjective, a question of caprice and taste. Nihilists are often depressed by what they meet with in life. All of our projects will fail inevitably, they say, for in the end we all must die. There is no real hope for humankind. The reality principle can inhibit motivation and undermines the enthusiasm for living and the gusto for achievement. All knowledge is subjective and all values are relative. Because there are no truths, passion and the will-to- power eventually prevail in the human domain. Nihilists have little or no faith in the abilities of us humans to solve our problems or the possibility for human progress. They lack confidence in the worth and significance of the human prospect and become irremediable pessimists.

The third response is Humanism. That is "What it means to be human: pluck and audacity, the will to survive and thrive." It focuses on the need for self-reliant striving. "Humanism seeks to portray the human condition in realistic terms, though very few individuals are able to face the brute character of existence: the fact that the universe at large is blind to our deepest expectations and darkest fears, that there is no teleological purpose discoverable in the nature of things, and that there is no conscious exaltation or grieving by nature, per se, if any particular organism or species fails, or succeeds, in its ventures, survives or dies.

The 'patron saint' of Humanism is the ancient mythological character Prometheus, who challenged the gods on high, stole fire, and bequeathed to humankind the arts of civilization so that we might take destiny into our own hands and overcome the limits of our animal natures." This exultant humanism is an expression of optimism. Humanists advise to be courageous, to use our best talents, especially our rational power, to understand the natural causes of things, and to focus on ways of resolving problems. They are determined to persevere and overcome adversities. They exude a positive outlook and may even at times be exuberant. They affirm the possibility of the good life here and now; they believe that human suffering can be ameliorated and that the problems of life can be overcome by human efforts. They advise both individual enterprise and cooperative action to mitigate evils and attain social justice. They feel we are part of a community of persons; our highest ideals are realized within the parameters of society and culture. The goal of human life is not only to survive, but to flourish, to fulfill our dreams and aspirations. We are free to create our futures, and to leave our mark upon the world.

Our vistas require a quality of character that is pivotal to all human enterprises: the quality of courage. It is the courageous person who can best bear adversity in spite of it all. Bacon observes, "It is a miserable state of mind to have few things to desire and many things to fear." Shakespeare said, "Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once." Emily Bronte expresses, "No coward soul is mine, no trembler in the world's storm-troubled sphere." Our prospect depends on what we will or will not dare to do, how we will respond to challenges that we meet with, and how we will face death. Dylan Thomas sums up the humanistic attitude towards death: "Do not go gentle into that good night . . . Rage, rage against the dying of the light."