Humanity is one of the most important and at the same time complex concepts. It is impossible to give an unambiguous definition to it, because it manifests itself in a variety of human qualities. This is the desire for justice, and honesty, and respect. Someone who can be called human is able to take care of others, help and patronize. He can see the good in people, emphasize their main virtues. All this can be confidently attributed to the main manifestations of this quality.

What is humanity?

There are many examples of humanity in life. These are the heroic deeds of people in wartime, and quite insignificant, it would seem, actions in ordinary life. Humanity and kindness are manifestations of compassion for one's neighbor. Motherhood is also synonymous with this quality. After all, every mother actually sacrifices to her baby the most precious thing that she has - her own life. The quality opposite to humanity can be called the brutal cruelties of the Nazis. A person has the right to be called a person only if he is capable of doing good.

dog rescue

An example of humanity from life is the act of a man who saved a dog in the subway. Once, a homeless dog found itself in the lobby of the Kurskaya station of the Moscow Metro. She ran along the platform. Maybe she was looking for someone, or maybe she was just chasing a departing train. But it so happened that the animal fell on the rails.

There were a lot of passengers at the station then. People were frightened - after all, less than a minute remained before the arrival of the next train. The situation was saved by a brave police officer. He jumped onto the tracks, picked up the unlucky dog ​​under his paws and carried him to the station. This story - good example humanity from life.

Action of a teenager from New York

This quality is not complete without compassion and goodwill. Currently, there is a lot of evil in real life, and people should show compassion to each other. An illustrative example from life on the topic of humanity is the act of a 13-year-old New Yorker named Nach Elpstein. For a bar mitzvah (or coming of age in Judaism), he received a gift of 300,000 shekels. The boy decided to donate all this money to Israeli children. It is not every day that one hears of such an act, which is a true example of humanity from life. The amount went to the construction of a new generation bus for the work of young scientists in the periphery of Israel. Given vehicle is a mobile class that will help young students become real scientists in the future.

An example of humanity from life: donation

There is no nobler act than to donate your blood to another. This is real charity, and everyone who takes this step can be called a real citizen and a person with capital letter. Donors are strong-willed people who have a kind heart. An example of the manifestation of humanity in life can serve as a resident of Australia, James Harrison. Almost every week he donates blood plasma. For a very long time, he was awarded a peculiar nickname - "The Man with the Golden Hand." After all, blood was taken from Harrison's right hand more than a thousand times. And in all the years that he has been donating, Harrison has managed to save more than 2 million people.

In his youth, the hero donor underwent a complex operation, as a result of which he had to remove a lung. He managed to save his life only thanks to donors who donated 6.5 liters of blood. Harrison never recognized the saviors, but he decided that he would donate blood for the rest of his life. After speaking with doctors, James learned that his blood type was unusual and could be used to save the lives of newborns. Very rare antibodies were present in his blood, which can solve the problem of incompatibility between the Rh factor of the blood of the mother and the embryo. Because Harrison donated blood every week, doctors were able to constantly make new doses of the vaccine for such cases.

An example of humanity from life, from literature: Professor Preobrazhensky

One of the most striking literary examples of the possession of this quality is Professor Preobrazhensky from Bulgakov's work "Heart of a Dog". He dared to defy the forces of nature and turn a street dog into a man. His attempts failed. However, Preobrazhensky feels responsible for his actions, and is trying with all his might to turn Sharikov into a worthy member of society. This shows the highest qualities of the professor, his humanity.

In the twentieth century, a fundamentally new situation began to take shape in the world. The trend of globalization is asserting itself with increasing force, and this leaves its mark on all philosophical concepts. Criticism of the Western technogenic-consumer civilization forced to reconsider, among others, the concept of humanism.

Heidegger revealed the insufficiency of the humanism of the Renaissance in our time. Criticizing Western humanism, Heidegger, in essence, led to the need for a synthesis of ancient humanism with modern European. This synthesis will not be a simple combination of both, but a qualitatively new formation, corresponding to our time. The synthesis of Western and Eastern humanism must combine the adherence to moral maxims with the creation of the new.

Heidegger argued: ““Humanism” means now, if we decide to keep this word, only one thing: the essence of man is essential for the truth of being, but in such a way that everything is reduced just not just to man as such.” ON THE. Berdyaev spoke about punishment for the humanistic self-affirmation of a person. It lies in the fact that a person opposed himself to everything around him, while he had to unite with it. Berdyaev wrote that humanistic Europe is coming to an end. But in order for a new humanistic world to flourish. The humanism of the Renaissance cherished individualism, the new humanism must be a breakthrough through individuality to being.

Ideas arose about a new humanism, integral humanism, universal humanism, ecological humanism, transhumanism. In our opinion, all these proposals go in the same direction, which can be called global humanism as a qualitatively new form of humanism of the 21st century. Global humanism is not the creation of any one civilization. It belongs to all mankind as becoming unified system. In relation to the two previous stages of humanism, which play the role of thesis and antithesis, it, in accordance with Hegelian dialectics, plays the role of synthesis. Global humanism to a certain extent returns to the first stage with its non-violence and environmental friendliness (the principle of ahimsa) and the primacy of morality and humanity (Confucius and the philosophical tradition Ancient Greece), and at the same time absorbs the best that Western thought has introduced - the desire for creative self-realization of man. This is embodied in modern forms of humanism, which will be discussed in succession below.

The first one is ecological humanism. , the main idea of ​​which is the rejection of violence against nature and man. Modern civilization does not teach the ability to live in peace with people and nature. We need a radical rejection of the aggressive-consumer orientation with its desire to take from nature everything that a person wants, which led to an ecological crisis. The new civilization, the impulse to which comes from the current ecological situation, is a loving-creative civilization.

The traditional understanding of humanism, according to Heidegger, is metaphysical. But being can give itself, and a person can treat it with reverence, which brings together the approach of M. Heidegger and A. Schweitzer. A. Schweitzer appeared when it was time to change the human attitude to nature. Nature enters the sphere of morality as a consequence of the increased scientific and technological power of man.

Humanism comes from "homo", in which not only "man", but also "earth" ("humus" as the most fertile layer of the earth). And man is "homo" from the earth, and not only "men" from the mind and "anthropos" from the striving upwards. In these three words are three conceptions of man. In "men" and "anthropos" there is nothing of the earth and of humanity. Humanism, thus, by the origin of the word is understood as earthly, ecological.

Ecological humanism fulfills the Heideggerian task of familiarizing with being. Entry into being is carried out through the practice of human nature-transforming activity. However, a person is not determined by the technological path he follows. He can move along an ecological path that will bring him more quickly into being. The paths he chooses determine whether he will come into existence or not.

The new ecological thought must be combined with traditional humanism, which is based on non-violence. This is what gives ecological humanism, representing the humanism of Confucius, Socrates, Christ and the Renaissance, extended to nature, the sprouts of which are in the philosophy of Tolstoy, Gandhi and others. Ethics must enter culture, nature must enter ethics, and through ethics culture in ecological humanism is connected with nature.

Environmental humanism lies at the intersection of Eastern and Western traditions. The West can give a lot in scientific and technical terms to solve environmental problem, India - the spirit of ahimsa, Russia - the traditional patience and the gift of self-sacrifice. Such ecological convergence is certainly beneficial. The synthetic power of ecological humanism is also expressed in the synthesis of the branches of culture that took part in its creation. It is art, religion, philosophy, politics, morality, science.

The ethics of ecological humanism is the ethics of ahimsa, extended to the whole world; "the golden rule of ecology", formulated by L.N. Tolstoy: "treat as you want to be treated not only by people, but also by animals." Ecological humanism requires a change in attitude towards nature (protection of animals, protection of the environment from pollution, etc.), towards people (preservation of cultural and individual diversity), towards the Universe. It connects the attitude towards man and the attitude towards animals, overcoming the paradox that people can fight for the rights of animals and not pay attention to violence against people. The rights of animals and people in it are equally sacred.

Ecological humanism is based on the principle of harmony between man and nature and the recognition of the equivalence of all living things. “An attempt to establish generally significant value differences between living beings goes back to the desire to judge them depending on whether they seem to us to be closer to a person or further away, which, of course, is a subjective criterion. For who among us knows what significance another living being has in itself and in the world as a whole. In practical terms, ecological humanism includes appropriate behavior and even nutrition, i.e. non-violence and vegetarianism, which stem from the principle of ahimsa and the commandment to protect the cow in Hinduism.

If we want to overcome the ecological crisis, we need to learn non-violent interaction with nature, first of all, to give up the desire to conquer it. Life is impossible without violence, but not wanting it and striving to reduce it is in our power. To those who say that nothing depends on our own behavior, it can be objected that we must act on the assumption that our personal action still has meaning and significance.

To free himself from the power of nature, man resorted to violence. Now he is free (by and large he only thinks so), and nature is defeated and further violence is dangerous. People begin to understand that violence against nature turns against them. And humanity in relation to nature will be another argument in justifying the need to refrain from violence in interpersonal relationships.

Why is it necessary to be humane from an environmental point of view? The preservation of the existing diversity preserves the world, and not only the material world, which is the more stable the more diverse it is, but also the human soul, as modern psychology in the person of E. Fromm confirms. Add to this the argument of karma, which in Christianity is interpreted as a punishment for sins. By renouncing violence, we save nature and our souls.

The rationale for non-violence in relation to nature is similar to that given by Tolstoy in relation to people. We do not know the universal truth, therefore, until it is found, we must not use violence against people. With regard to nature, we can say: we do not know the absolute truth, therefore, until it is discovered, we should not use violence against nature.

But the situation in the ecological field has its own specifics. Man must regulate the forces of nature, as N.F. Fedorov, but with love, not with violence, as he is doing now. The concept of love for nature, which is opposed to the desire to dominate it, remains important, despite the use of scientific terminology "regulation", "optimization", etc.

The material progress of a consumer civilization cannot but lead to a crisis, because material needs, in principle, can grow indefinitely, contradicting the possibilities of the biosphere to satisfy them. Ecological humanism makes it possible to weaken the antagonism of this contradiction. As a modern form of humanism, it combines the struggle for social justice and anti-war actions, the "green movement" and the movement for animal rights, viganism and charity.

All the great conductors of ecological humanism were in the highest degree the desire not only to think, but also to act. In ecological humanism, we come to the realization of being not only theoretically, but also practically - in our behavior. Humanism breaks through the framework of spiritual culture and enters the expanse of being.

The second form of global humanism can be called non-violent humanism. The trouble with Western civilization, according to A. Schweitzer, is that it tried to be satisfied with a culture divorced from ethics. But ultimate goal there must be spiritual and moral perfection of the individual. New European culture believed that spirituality would come with the growth of material well-being, but this did not happen.

Reviving the ancient principle of ahimsa, Schweitzer wrote: "For a truly moral person, all life is sacred, even that which, from our human point of view, seems inferior." Following Tolstoy and Gandhi, who spoke about the law of love, Schweitzer writes about the will to love, which seeks to eliminate the self-divided will to live.

Ecological and social crises require practical humanism, but they also force humanity to rise to a new theoretical level. The path to a truly global consciousness and world culture lies not through the suppression of some cultures by others, but through the unification of people and nations on the basis of universal moral wisdom. The unification of people into tribes and nations probably once followed the same path. The Christian Tolstoy and the Indian Gandhi were united by the invariants of ethics, which turned out to be more important than national and religious differences. And so the world should unite nonviolently to solve global problems.

The socially-oriented version of modern humanism is represented by the concept of new humanism A force that focuses on overcoming social inequalities through non-violent action. As for transhumanism, another form of modern humanism, while refusing to focus on the conquest of man and nature, at the same time it fully preserves and develops the creative nature of humanism. Transhumanism aims to increase the duration human life, the fight against diseases (including by replacing the organs of the human body with artificial organs and natural ones with the help of stem cells) and, ultimately, the practical achievement of immortality by man. Here, transhumanism merges with the ideas expressed in the 19th century by the Russian philosopher N.F. Fedorov and continued representatives of Russian cosmism K.E. Tsiolkovsky and others.

Content:

1. Introduction

Modern humanism is one of the ideological movements that received organizational formalization in the 20th century. and rapidly developing today. Today humanist organizations exist in many countries of the world, including Russia. They are united in the International Ethical and Humanistic Union (IHEU), which has more than 5 million members. Humanists build their activities on the basis of policy documents - declarations, charters and manifestos, the most famous of which are "Humanist Manifesto-I" (1933), "Humanist Manifesto-II" (1973), "Declaration of Secular Humanism" (1980) and " Humanist Manifesto 2000" (1999).

In the 1980s and 1990s, the Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences (INION) of the Russian Academy of Sciences established a tradition of scientific and information coverage of the problems of modern humanism, atheism and freethinking (2-4). This review continues this tradition. At the same time, it differs from previous works in its retrospective character. The purpose of the review is to present modern humanism as an integral phenomenon with a certain historical logic of development. According to the author, this logic is as follows: 1) the emergence of modern humanism (the middle of the 19th century - the beginning of the 30s of the 20th century); 2) the formation and development of an organized humanistic movement (early 30s - early 80s); 3) singling out secular (secular) 1 humanism as an independent ideological movement, its final disengagement from religious humanism (beginning of the 1980s to the present).

The review is addressed to two groups of readers. The first of them is all those who are interested in the intellectual history of the 20th century, the second is Russian humanists, for whom the appeal to the history of humanism in the 20th century is the most important. fundamentally important as a moment of self-identification.

The author expresses deep gratitude to Paul Kurtz, Chairman of the Council on Secular Humanism, Professor Emeritus of the State University of New York at Buffalo, for the opportunity to work on writing this review at the Center for Research on the Council on Secular Humanism and the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of Paranormal Phenomena (Amherst, NY). York, USA), to the President of the Russian Humanist Society (RGO), Professor Valery Alexandrovich Kuvakin for all possible support and assistance in the work, as well as to Professor of Anthropology at Canissius College (Buffalo, New York, USA) G. James Burks for an interview on secular humanism, which he gave in January 2001

2. The emergence of modern humanism

Until the middle of the XIX century. in the Western philosophical and cultural tradition, the concept of "humanism" was associated, as a rule, either with the humanism of the Renaissance, or with separate cultural currents. For the first time the term "humanism" in the meaning of a certain outlook on life, personal philosophy appeared in the Danish philosopher Gabriel Sibbern (Gabriel Sibbern, 1824-1903), the son of the famous thinker Frederick Christian Sibburn. In the book "On humanism" ("Om humanisme", 1858), published in Copenhagen in Danish, Sibburn criticized the concepts of revelation and supranaturalism.

In 1891, the famous British freethinker John Mackinnon Robertson (1856-1933), in his book Modern Humanists, used the word "humanist" to characterize thinkers who defended the right of a secular view of life. Among the latter, he mentioned T. Carlyle, R. W. Emerson, J. St. Mill and G. Spencer. Robertson did not explain why he called these particular authors humanists.

A well-known role in spreading the new meaning of the concept of "humanism" belonged to the British pragmatist philosopher Ferdinand Canning Scott Schiller (Ferdinand Canning Scott Schiller, 1864-1937). At the beginning of the XX century. he used the word in the titles of his books Humanism: Philosophical Essays (1903) and Studies in Humanism (1907). And although in these works Schiller wrote more about pragmatism than about humanism, nevertheless, in the English-speaking world, he was the first thinker to use the concept of "humanism" to express his own philosophical views.

Schiller's idea to use the term "humanism" in a new sense was supported in the USA by the philosopher John Dewey (1859-1952). Dewey believed that in the formation of correct points of view, we must proceed from the idea of ​​the integrity of human nature (sympathies, interests, desires, etc.), and not only from intellect, logic or reason. However, the complexity of Dewey's own works did not allow giving the concept of "humanism" a broad sound in the philosophical literature of his time (25, p. 299).

In the mid-1910s, a new understanding of humanism attracted the attention of representatives of the American Unitarian Church, who denied the dogma of the Trinity, the doctrine of the fall and the sacrament. Some Unitarian priests considered it possible, under the banner of religious humanism, to launch a campaign to democratize religious institutions. Key figures were Rev. Mary Safford and Curtis W. Reese (1887-1956) of the Des Moines Unitarian Church, Iowa, and Rev. John H. Dietrich. .Dietrich) from the Unitarian Church in Minneapolis (Minnesota).

Around 1917, Curtis Rize, addressing his community, stated the following: “The theocratic view of the world is autocratic. The humanistic view is democratic ... The humanistic, or democratic, view of the world order consists in the fact that this world is the world of man, and it is from much depends on what a person will look like... The revolution in the field of religion, consisting in the transition from theocracy to humanism, from autocracy to democracy, has matured over time... Democratic religion takes the form of "this-worldliness"... According to democratic religion, the main the purpose of man is to promote human well-being here and now" (19, p. 7). Subsequently, Riese became a well-known representative of religious humanism in the United States. In 1949-1950. he chaired the American Humanist Association.

In the introduction to his book "Humanist sermons" ("Humanist sermons", 1927), Riese described the features of his own version of humanism as follows. First, humanism is not materialism 2 . In his opinion, humanism contains an organic, not a mechanistic view of life. Second, humanism is not positivism. Positivism as a religion is an artificial system that tries to replace traditional worship with the service of humanity (humanity), considered in the unity of its past, present and future. However, it is obvious that the "humanity" of positivism is an abstraction, which in reality does not correspond to any specific object. For humanism, this is unacceptable. Humanistic "service" implies its focus on a specific specific person. Third, humanism is not rationalism. Humanism does not recognize either Absolute Mind or "mind" as a specific faculty of the mind. For him, intelligence is a function of organisms, manifesting itself at various stages of their development. Therefore, for humanism, dependence on reason is no less dangerous than dependence on the Bible or on the pope. Finally, fourthly, humanism is not atheism. Atheism usually means the denial of God. However, if humanists deny the existence of a personal transcendent God, then they are no more atheists than Spinoza or Emerson (31, p. 542).

The Unitarian version of humanism continues to exist today. In 1961, the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America merged to form the Unitarian Universalist Association. Modern Unitarians do not necessarily adhere to the religious version of humanism, among them there are also agnostic, atheistic or even secular humanists (31, p. 1117).

In the mid-1920s, more and more "ordinary" people began to appear in Western Europe and the United States, calling themselves humanists. They were agnostics, freethinkers, rationalists and atheists, who believed that the word "humanist" is more appropriate to denote the essence of their views.

Speaking about the emergence of the humanistic movement, one cannot ignore such a group of organizations as "ethical societies". Their main goal was to try to separate moral ideals from religious doctrines, metaphysical systems and ethical theories in order to give them an independent force in personal life and public relations. The ethical movement organized moral education programs in public schools, assisted the development of the women's movement, drew attention to existing racial, colonial and international problems (13, p.132-133).

The first Society for Ethical Culture in the world was formed by Felix Adler in New York in May 1876. After the social work of this society was recognized in his hometown, similar organizations began to organize on its model, such as in other US cities and in Europe. In 1896, English ethical societies founded a union, which from 1928 became known as The Ethical Union. The International Ethical Union was formed in 1896 in Zurich (Switzerland).

3. Formation and development of the organized humanistic movement

In 1929, the first independent humanist societies were organized in the USA - the First Humanist Society of New York (founded by Dr. Charles Francis Potter) and the Hollywood Humanist Society (founded by Rev. Theodore Curtis Abel). Philosophers John Dewey and Roy Wood Sellars (1880-1973) were among the members of the first society, which met on Sundays at Stanway Hall on 57th Street in Manhattan.

The founder of the New York Humanist Society, Charles F. Potter (1885-1962), emphasized the need to develop organizational forms of the humanist movement. He wrote that humanism is not only a belief in the possibility of a gradual and sustainable self-improvement of the human race without help from supernatural forces, but also a reasonable implementation of this belief through the cooperation of humanistic groups and communities (31, p. 878).

In 1930, in Chicago, then the center of American humanism, Harold Bushman and Edwin H. Wilson founded a magazine called The New Humanist. This magazine, published every two months, contributed to the dissemination of information about humanism and paved the way for the creation of the "Humanist Manifesto-I" in 1933 (Humanist Manifesto I).

RV Sellars recalled that in the early 1930s he was invited to give a lecture at the University of Chicago on the subject of the current situation in the field of religion. The result of this speech was a request to formulate the basic principles of a humanistic position on this issue. After drafting the document, Sellars called it the "Humanist Manifesto." After the Manifesto was discussed and supplemented with some new proposals, it was published in 1933 in the New Humanist 3 . The Manifesto was signed by 34 liberal humanists of the time, including philosopher John Dewey, atheist William Floyd, historian Harry Elmer Barnes, and many leaders of Unitarian and Universalist societies such as Edwin H. Wilson . (20, p.137; 31, p.546). Later, Wilson specifically wrote the book "The Origin of the Humanist Manifesto" (32) 4 , in which he examined in detail the history of the creation of this program document and its influence on the development of the humanist movement.

"Humanistic Manifesto-I" was the program document of religious humanism. His idea was the need to create a new non-traditional humanistic religion, focusing exclusively on worldly values. The Manifesto emphasized that man's modern understanding of the universe, his scientific advances, and his closer connection with the brotherhood of man, had created a situation requiring a redefinition of the means and ends of religion. "The current era has given rise to great doubts in traditional religions, and no less obvious is the fact that any religion that claims to become the unifying and driving force of modernity must meet precisely the present needs. The creation of such a religion is the main necessity of modernity" (11, pp.67-68).

The most important provisions of religious humanism were formulated in 15 theses of the "Humanistic Manifesto-I". Religious humanists asserted the idea of ​​the uncreated universe, recognized the fact of the evolution of the natural and social worlds, as well as the version of the social roots of religion and culture. They rejected the traditional dualism of soul and body and offered instead an organic view of life. In their opinion, the new religion should formulate its hopes and plans in the light of the scientific spirit and scientific methodology. The traditional distinction between the sacred and the profane must also be rejected, for nothing human is alien to religion. The humanists expressed their firm belief that the existing utilitarian, profit-oriented society had shown itself to be untenable. In order to govern justly, a socially oriented collective economic order must be created. In the last, fifteenth, thesis of the Manifesto, it was stated that humanism "a) affirms life, and does not deny it; b) seeks real opportunities for life, but does not run away from it; c) strives to create conditions for a satisfactory life for everyone, and not for the chosen ones" (quoted from: 11, p. 68).

For its time, Humanist Manifesto-I was a fairly radical document. Its signing marked the beginning of an influential humanist movement, both in the United States and elsewhere in the world. This movement was called differently (religious humanism, naturalistic humanism, scientific humanism, ethical humanism, etc.), depending on the emphasis given to it by the followers.

In 1935, following the model of the British Rationalist Press Association (RPA), the Humanist Press Association (HPA) was organized in the United States. Somewhat later, at the suggestion of Curtis V. Rize, it was reorganized into the American Humanist Association (AHA) 5 . Since 1941, this organization has become the main humanist organization in the United States. The printed organ of the Association - the magazine "The humanist" ("The humanist", since 1942) 6 - continued the traditions of the magazines "New Humanist" (until 1937) and "Humanist Bulletin" ("Humanist bulletin", 1938-1942). ). The American Humanist Association is currently headquartered in Amherst.

Of course, one should not think that in the first half of the 20th century. The humanist movement developed exclusively in the United States. The emergence and growth of the humanist movement was, to a certain extent, an objective process for various countries and regions of the planet, being an inevitable consequence of the general process of secularization. At the same time, this process took place most vividly in the United States, and therefore this country can be called the ideological homeland of modern humanism.

In the 1930s and 1940s, organized forms of humanism also emerged in other countries. The birthplace of the humanist movement on the European continent is Holland. In 1945, the organization Humanitas was founded, the purpose of which was to carry out social work among people who did not belong to the church. Somewhat later, the Humanist Union (Humanistish Verbond) was formed. At this time, Jaap P. van Praag (1911-1981), professor of philosophy in Utrecht, later the first chairman of the International Humanistic and Ethical Union (IHEU), was actively developing. The Norwegian humanist philosopher F. Hjers calls van Praag one of the four world-renowned theorists of humanism; the other three are the Englishman Harold J. Blackham (b. 1903) and the Americans Paul Kurtz (b. 1925) and Corliss Lamont (Corliss Lamont, 1902-1995) (19, p. 169).

To date, the Netherlands is the most secularized society in the Western world: half of the Dutch are atheists and skeptics, and 25% of adults consider themselves humanists (see: 5, 1997, N3, p.76). A feature of the Dutch humanist movement, united in the Dutch Humanist League (HHL), is its complex organizational nature. The central body of the GGL provides and directs the activities of its many branches, which have a certain degree of autonomy. Professional chapter leaders are involved in training new members, so the latter are by no means isolated. The GHL includes services such as departments for women, youth, peace, funerals, ethical education, professional advice, scientific research, media, and others. Dutch humanists are active in nursing homes. The training of professional advisers within the framework of the GGL is carried out by the only humanist university in the world in Utrecht (4, pp. 26-28).

In Germany, the term "humanism" was officially adopted in Lower Saxony, Bremen and Hamburg only at the end of the 80s, but in fact the movement of non-religious communities gained breadth and fame already in the 20s. Drawing on the traditions of the Association of Non-Church Communities of Germany (founded in 1859), the German Freethinking Association (founded in 1881) and the German Monist Union (founded in 1906), members of German non-religious associations created "secular schools" in which not taught the law of God. In 1926, about a third of the Reichstag deputies considered themselves non-religious, and in 1932 there were about 2 million such people throughout Germany (11, p. 96).

The fact that the development of humanism in the first half of the XX century. was an objective process not only for individual countries, but also for entire continents, the fact of the birth of the humanist movement in India testifies. In the late 10s, the Nepalese Jai Prithvi Bahadur Singh (1877-1940) wrote a three-volume book "Philosophy of humanism" ("Philosophy of humanism"), which promoted the idea of ​​universal brotherhood and peaceful coexistence. In 1927, he organized the Humanist Club in Bangalore (South India), where he published books on humanism and initiated the release of the "Humanist magazine" ("Humanist magazine") (31, p. 1017).

In December 1946, at the fourth conference of the Radical Democratic Party in Bombay, another Indian humanist, Manavendra Nath Roy (1887-1954), formulated 22 theses of radical humanism. This document marked the beginning of the Radical Humanist Movement, which on November 2, 1969 was transformed into the Indian Radical Humanist Association (IRHA). Today this organization has about 1.5 thousand members (19, pp. 127-146).

Now from the characteristics of the humanistic movement of the first half of the 20th century. Let us turn to some thinkers who influenced the development of humanism of this period.

As already mentioned, the idea of ​​F.K.S. Schiller to use the word "humanism" in a new sense was supported by J. Dewey. In this regard, one of Dewey's letters to K. Lamont is of interest, in which he explains his own attitude to the concept of "humanism". He writes: "Humanism is a technical philosophical term associated with [F.K.S.] Schiller, and since I have great respect for his writings, it seems to me that he gave humanism an inappropriate subjectivist turn - he was so interested in the introduction of elements of human desire and purpose that were not considered in traditional philosophy, which, it seems to me, leaned towards the virtual isolation of man from the rest of nature.I have come to call my own position cultural or humanistic naturalism - naturalism, properly interpreted, seems to me a more adequate term than humanism" (quoted from: 20, p. 290). Apparently, while disagreeing with Schiller in particulars, Dewey still calls his worldview humanistic. And this is no coincidence. According to biographical data, Dewey provided ongoing financial support to the American Humanist Association. In his pedagogical writings "School and Society" ("The school and society", 1899; Russian translation - 1907), "How we think" ("How we think", 1910), "Democracy and Education" ("Democracy and education", 1916), "Reconstruction in philosophy" ("Reconstruction in philosophy", 1920), "General Faith" ("A common faith", 1934), etc. he was a staunch supporter of democratic teaching methods. Richard Rorty pointed out that Dewey was a philosophical giant, anti-communist and social democrat and understood pragmatism as a tool for expanding human freedom (31, p.290-291).

The humanistic orientation was the philosophy of George Santayana (1863-1952), the author of the works "The life of reason" ("The life of reason", 1905-1906), "Scepticism and animal faith" ("Scepticism and animal faith", 1923), "The Last puritan" ("The last puritan", 1935), etc. According to Santayana, the main task of philosophy should not be to explain the world, but to develop a "moral position" in relation to it.

The naturalistic approach to reality, including society and morality, was developed by the famous American atheist philosopher Ernest Nagel (1901-1985), author of An introduction to logic and scientific method, 1934; together with M. R. Cohen), "Logic without metaphysics" ("Logic without metaphysics", 1956), etc. Nagel believed that humanity is a "random event" in the history of the Cosmos. Since the value of moral norms depends on their coincidence with real physical, biological and social needs, the moral value of an ideal is determined by its ability to organize and direct human activity. Nagel preferred to describe himself as a "materialist" and "contextual naturalist". His naturalism included such abilities as imagination, liberal values ​​and human wisdom (31, c.782).

Among the major European philosophers who shared the ideas of humanism or were wholly adjacent to the humanist movement, the names of Alfred Ayer (1910-1989) and Harold John Blackham (b. 1903) should be mentioned.

Alfred Ayer, a prominent representative of logical positivism, author of The foundation of empirical knowledge (1940), Philosophical essays (1954), The concept of a personality (The concept of a person", 1963), editor of the collection of articles "The humanist outlook" ("The humanist outlook", 1968), etc., was the first vice-president of the British Humanist Association, and from 1965 to 1970 was its president. At one of the conferences of the Humanist Society of Scotland, Ayer said that, according to humanists: 1) this world is all that we have, and it can provide us with everything we need; 2) we should try to live fully and happily and help others to do the same; 3) all situations and people deserve to be judged on their merits, according to the standards of reason and humanity; 4) individual and social cooperation are equally important (31, p.64).

Harold John Blackham, author of Humanism (1968), Six Existentialistic Thinkers (1990), The Future of Our Past: From Ancient Greece to the Global Village (The future of our past: From ancient Greece to global village", 1996), editor of the collection of articles "Objections to humanism" ("Objections to humanism", 1963), etc., was the director of the British Humanist Association. In the early 1950s, he was one of those who initiated the creation of the International Humanistic and Ethical Union (IHEU). In 1974, Blackham was awarded the SHES Humanist Prize for "his long and creative service to humanism in England and in the world" (31, p. 111).

In 1949, Warren Allen Smith, future compiler of the unique reference book Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Address Book for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Nontheists (31), in his undergraduate work, performed at Columbia University, identified seven types of humanism and gave them a detailed description. Smith's classification included:

1. humanism - a concept meaning attitude to human interests or to the study of the humanities (study of the humanities);
2. ancient humanism - a concept referring to the systems of philosophy of Aristotle, Democritus, Epicurus, Lucretius, Pericles, Protagoras or Socrates;
3. classical humanism - a concept referring to ancient humanistic ideas that became fashionable during the Renaissance with such thinkers as Bacon, Boccaccio, Erasmus of Rotterdam, Montaigne, More and Petrarch;
4. theistic humanism - a concept that includes both Christian existentialists and those modern theologians who insist on the ability of man to work towards his salvation together with God;
5. atheistic humanism - a concept that describes the work of Jean-Paul Sartre and others;
6. communist humanism - a concept that characterizes the beliefs of some Marxists (for example, F. Castro or the former secretary of L. Trotsky Rai Dunaevskaya), who believe that K. Marx was a consistent naturalist and humanist;
7. naturalistic (or scientific) humanism - an eclectic set of attitudes born in the modern scientific era and focused on the belief in the highest value and self-improvement of the human person.

The last, seventh, according to Smith's classification, kind of humanism became widely known in the 50s. It owed its popularity to the work of the American philosophers Sidney Hook (1902-1989) and Corliss Lamont (1902-1995). Hook noted that naturalistic humanism differs from theistic humanism in its rejection of any form of supranaturalism, from atheistic humanism in its desire to avoid exposing itself, and from communist humanism in its opposition to all beliefs that are not based on the idea of ​​freedom, the importance of individual and political democracy (31, p. 542). The naturalistic humanism of Hooke (29) and Lamont became the basis for the design of such a later version of humanism as secular humanism. Let us dwell in more detail on the views of Corliss Lamont 7 - the largest representative of the philosophical movement of naturalistic humanism.

Lamont lived a colorful life not only as a theorist, but also as an active public figure, a defender of civil liberties and a critic of the ruling circles that trampled on these freedoms. In the late 1950s, he won a State Department lawsuit that refused to issue a passport on the pretext that his travel abroad "might be contrary to the interests of the United States." In 1965, he won another lawsuit against the Central Intelligence Agency, which opened his correspondence, including letters from his wife. The federal court declared the actions of the CIA illegal (31, p.639). Lamont did much to develop productive ties between the US and the USSR at the same time that Senator Joseph McCarthy was inciting anti-Soviet hysteria. He was chairman of the Congress of American-Soviet Friendship (since 1942) and then of the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship (1943-1946).

Meanwhile, it is difficult to accuse Lamont of being pro-Soviet and supporting the Stalinist regime. At the age of 88, he wrote that, firstly, he always combined praise for the Soviet Union with criticism of this country for the insufficient development of democracy and civil liberties in it. Secondly, he never approved of Stalin's activities. And, thirdly, according to Lamont, humanism as such should neither support nor criticize foreign political regimes. Admitting that he sometimes made serious mistakes in his judgments about the Soviet Union, Lamont nevertheless believed that this did not give reason to question his humanistic convictions (31, p. 639).

Peru Lamont owns the book "Russia day by day" ("Russia day by day", with Margaret I. Lamont, 1933), "Freedom is as freedom does: Civil liberties in America" ​​("Freedom is as freedom does: Civil liberties in America", 1942; Russian translation - 1958), "The peoples of the Soviet Union" ("The peoples of the Soviet Union", 1946), "A humanist funeral service" ("A humanist funeral service", 1947), "Independent mind" ("The independent mind", 1951), "Soviet civilization" ("Soviet civilization", 1955), "Dialogue on John Dewey" ("Dialogue on John Dewey", 1959), "Dialogue about George Santayan" (" Dialogue on George Santayana", 1959), "The illusion of immortality" ("The illusion of immortality", 1965; Russian translation - 1984), "A humanist wedding service" ("A humanist wedding service", 1970), "Voices in the desert : Selected essays for fifty years" ("Voices in the wilderness: Collected essays of fifty years", 1974), "Yes to life - memoirs of Corliss Lamont" ("Yes to life - memoirs of Corliss Lamont", 1981), "Remembering John Masefield" ("Remembering John Masefield", 1990), etc.

One of the most famous works of Lamont is the book "The Philosophy of Humanism" ("The philosophy of humanism"), which had gone through eight editions by 1997 and was published for the first time under the title "Humanism as a philosophy" ("Humanism as a philosophy", 1949) (23). Today, this work is recognized by many as a classic work on naturalistic humanism.

In the introduction to the fourth edition, Lamont wrote that Humanism as Philosophy was the result of an expansion and revision of a course of lectures on "The philosophy of naturalistic humanism" which he had given at Columbia University since 1946. (24, p. IX). Perhaps that is why the book is structured strictly systematically, in fact, in the form of a training course. It consistently clarifies the meaning of humanism (Chapter 1), reveals the humanistic tradition in philosophy and culture (Chapter 2), analyzes the humanistic understanding of life (Chapter 3) and the ideas of humanists about the Universe (Chapter 4), examines the relationship of humanism to reason and science (ch. 5), as well as problems of humanistic ethics (ch. 6).

On the first pages of the publication, Lamont placed a diagram in which he presented the origins of modern humanism in graphic form. According to him, there are eight such sources: 1) lessons learned from such non-humanistic philosophical systems as dualism and idealism; 2) the ethical contribution of various religions and philosophies; 3) the philosophy of naturalism; 4) science and scientific method; 5) democracy and civil rights; 6) philosophy of materialism; 7) Renaissance humanism; 8) literature and art.

Lamont outlined his philosophical creed in "Ten Statements of Humanistic Philosophy". According to him, these theses make it possible to define the philosophy of humanism, as well as to separate it from other ideological directions. Lamont argued that:

1. all forms of the supernatural are a myth, and nature (nature), as a system of matter and energy that exists independently of consciousness and is in constant change, constitutes the fullness of being;
2. a person is a product of natural evolution, his consciousness is inextricably linked with the activity of the brain and has no chance of surviving after death;
3. people have the ability to solve their own problems, guided by reason and applying the scientific method;
4. people, although they are connected with the past, nevertheless, have the freedom of creative choice and action;
5. ethics is the basis of all human values ​​in this-earthly forms of experience and relationships;
6. the individual achieves good by harmoniously combining personal desires and continuous self-development with work that contributes to the welfare of society;
7. the broadest possible development of art is necessary and that aesthetic experience can become one of the basic realities in people's lives;
8. long-term social program providing for the establishment of democracy, peace and a high standard of living throughout the world;
9. the full realization of reason and scientific method is possible in all areas of economic, political and cultural life;
10. according to the scientific method, humanism involves endless questioning about its basic assumptions and beliefs. Humanism is not a new dogma, but a developing philosophy that remains always open to experimental verification, new facts and more rigorous reasoning (24, p.11-12).

“I think,” Lamont summed up, “that these ten points embody humanism in its most acceptable modern form. This philosophy can be characterized more specifically as scientific humanism, secular humanism, naturalistic humanism, or democratic humanism, depending on the emphasis , which they seek to give to him" (24, p. 11).

Note that with the same success Lamont's worldview can be defined as atheistic humanism. The following lines testify to this directly. "Whatever it may be called," Lamont writes, "humanism is the view that human beings have but one life and must do their best for creative work and happiness; that human happiness is its own justification and requires no sanction or support. from supernatural sources; that in any case the supernatural, usually understood in terms of heavenly gods or immortal skies, does not exist; and that people, using their own intelligence and freely cooperating with each other, can build a long-term citadel of peace and beauty on this earth" ( 24, p.11).

It would seem that Lamont's atheism is quite obvious, but he diligently avoided the word "atheist" in relation to himself. What is the matter here? The answer can be found in the preface to the fourth edition of Philosophy of Humanism. Replying to one of his opponents, Lamont pointed out that humanists "are more and more inclined to call themselves non-theists or agnostics. Humanists do not find adequate evidence for the existence of a supernatural God ruling our planet and leading the human race to divine destiny; however, the immensity of the universe warns them against the absolute denial of God among billions of galaxies billions of years distant from us" (quoted from: 19, p.26-27).

Lamont's position on this issue is very indicative and characterizes the style of thinking of modern secular humanism. Although humanists actually deny the existence of supernatural phenomena, they do not consider the fight against religion as their main goal. A more fundamental value for them is the idea of ​​human rights, including the right of everyone to believe or not believe in God. The fact that secular humanists strive to demonstrate the correctness of their own point of view not through anti-religious activities, but by creating a real alternative to religious cults, without infringing on the right of others to self-determination, testifies to the humane, life-affirming nature of modern humanism.

Now, having completed a brief description of Lamont's views, let us return to the consideration of the history of the humanist movement. In the early 1950s, an event took place that makes it possible to speak of the emergence of international humanism not only in the geographical but also in the organizational sense of the word. In 1952 in Amsterdam seven national ethical and humanist organizations (the Dutch Humanist League, the Belgian Humanist League, the Austrian ethical society, British Ethical Union, American Ethical Union, American Humanist Association and Indian Radical Humanist Movement) founded the International Ethical and Humanist Union (IHEU; English name - International Humanist and Ethical Union, IHEU) (13, p.135). Today SHPP represents 5 million members from 90 organizations in 30 countries 8 . It promotes the development of non-theistic morality and has consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO and UNICEF. Every two years SHPP holds international congresses.

The organizers of the SHPP took an active part in the UN organization. Among them are Lord John Boyd Orr, the first head of the World Food Organization, Julian Huxley, the first Director General of UNESCO, and Brock Chisholm, the first head of the World Food Organization. Health (World Health Organization).

SHPP is subordinate to the UN bodies in matters of environment, economy, social and cultural rights. Support from organizations - members of the SHEC find such UN documents as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on Torture or the Geneva Refugee Convention. SHPP took part in the five-year campaign against hunger led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and participated in the UN Working Group on Science and Ethics.

As a federation of national and regional humanist groups, the IHEC coordinates their activities, helps build a strategy for working on the ground, promotes the development of new humanist organizations, and also represents the interests of humanists in the UN (New York, Geneva and Vienna), UNICEF (New York), UNESCO (Paris) and the Council of Europe (Strasbourg). The SHPP is a center of information and a forum where humanist organizations and individuals can exchange ideas and practical developments to enhance national activity.

Until 1996, the headquarters of the SHPP was located in Utrecht (Holland), and since 1996 it has been located in London. The printed organ of the SHPP is the quarterly journal "International humanist news" 9 .

In the late 1970s, some members of the IHES came up with a proposal to develop a short working definition of the term "humanism" for "external use". In their opinion, such a definition would make it possible to establish certain formal criteria for the admission of new members.

On July 11-13, 1991, the Board of the SHES at its meeting in Prague, after numerous discussions, approved the following “minimum statement” (minimum statement) of humanism: “Humanism is a democratic, non-theistic and moral life position (life stance), affirming the right and duty of human beings to determine the meaning and manner of their own lives. As a consequence, this position denies supranaturalistic views on reality" (31, p. 541).

In 1998, at a meeting in Heidelberg (Germany), a new organizational structure of the SHPP was adopted. The Council (consisting of representatives of organizations - members of the SHPP) was renamed the General Assembly, and the executive committee became known as the Board of Directors. The well-known Norwegian humanist Levi Fragell (b. 1939) (31, p. 575-576) was elected President of the SHPP.

In 1973, 40 years after the publication of the "Humanist Manifesto-I", a new policy document was adopted, called the "Humanist Manifesto II" (Humanist Manifesto II) 10 . This document collected the signatures of several hundred people, including such famous scientists and public figures as science fiction writer Isaac Asimov (Isaak Asimov), philosophers Alfred Ayer, Paul Edwards (Paul Edwards), Anthony Flew (Antony Flew), Sidney Hook, Paul Kurtz, Corliss Lamont, Harold J. Blackham, Joseph L. Blau, Joseph Margolis, Kai Nilsen, Roy Wood Sellars, Svetozar Stojanovic, psychologists B. F. Skinner (B.F. Skinner) and H. J. Eysenck (H. J. Eysenck), former CEO UNESCO biologist Julian Huxley, Nobel laureate, one of the authors of the DNA discovery Francis Crick, biologist Jaques Monod, Unitarian priests Edwin H. Wilson, Raymond B. Bragg and others signed the Manifesto and three of our compatriots. These are physicist and human rights activist Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR A.D. Sakharov, mathematician A.S. Yesenin-Volpin and biologist Zh.A. Medvedev.

"Humanist Manifesto-II" reflected "new shifts and realities in world history: the spread of fascism and its defeat in World War II, the split of the world into two opposing systems and the creation of a world "socialist camp", the "cold war" and the arms race, the creation of the UN, the acceleration of scientific and technological progress, the development of democracies and the strengthening of human rights movements in the West against the backdrop of improving the material well-being and quality of life of the population" (11, p. 11).

While acknowledging the enormous progress made by mankind since the signing of Humanist Manifesto I, the authors nonetheless pointed to many dangers threatening human well-being and even the very existence of life on Earth. These include: environmental threat, overcrowding, inhuman institutions, totalitarian repression, the possibility of a nuclear and biochemical catastrophe. No less dangerous was the spread of various kinds of irrational cults and religious teachings preaching humility and isolation.

The humanists who signed Manifesto II appealed to all the people of the planet to accept "a set of general principles that can serve as the basis for joint action, i.e. positive principles related to state of the art person" (11, p. 72). They proposed a project of a secular (secular) society on a global scale, the goal of which should be "the realization of the potential of every human individual - not a selected minority, but of all mankind" (ibid., p. 71-72 ).

In 17 theses of the "Humanistic Manifesto-II", divided into four sections - "Religion" (theses 1-4), "Individual" (theses 5-6), "Democratic Society" (theses 7-11) and "World Community" (abstracts 12-17), - a humanistic point of view on the meaning of life, civil liberties and democracy was presented, the rights of the individual to suicide, abortion, divorce, euthanasia and sexual freedom were defended, the need for world environmental and economic planning, as well as building a world community was emphasized (see also: 31, p. 547). The manifesto left room for both atheistic (associated with scientific materialism) and liberal-religious (denying traditional religions) humanism. The latter denied the existence of the supernatural and the afterlife, and saw himself as an expression of "sincere aspiration and 'spiritual' experience" inspiring the pursuit of "higher moral ideals." In fact, it was proposed to replace religion with universal human ethics, free from any theological, political and ideological sanctions.

The growth in the influence of the humanist movement on the public life of the United States and other countries that followed the publication of the Humanist Manifesto II caused serious concern on the part of both traditional and neo-fundamentalist religious circles. Of particular concern was the practical activity of humanists in schools, aimed at familiarizing students with the basics of a secular worldview. At the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, only in the United States were published three major works devoted to the analysis of the worldview foundations of secular humanism from a Christian point of view (15, 16, 18). The authors of these writings reproached secular humanism with arrogance (arrogance), declared it "the most dangerous religion in the United States."

4. Secular humanism

The response to criticism of secular humanism by conservative religious groups was a policy document called "Declaration of secular humanism" ("A secular humanist declaration") 11 . It was signed by 58 prominent scientists, writers, artists and public figures. Among them are the philosophers Paul Kurtz, Joseph L. Blau, Sidney Hook, Walter Kaufman, Joseph Margolis, Ernest Nagel, Willard Quine, Kai Nielsen, Alfred Ayer, Harold J. Blackham, the widow of philosopher Bertrand Russell Dora Russell (Dora Russell), psychologist B.F. Skinner, theologian Joseph Fletcher, science fiction writer Isaac Asimov, biologist Francis Crick, astronomer Jean-Claude Pecker, anthropologist H. James Birx ), President of the Indian Secular Society A.B. Shah, editors of humanist publications James Herrick and Nicholas Walter, Russian dissidents - computer technology specialist Valentin Turchin, biologist Zhores Medvedev and others. Subsequently P. Kurtz gave a more detailed answer to critics in the book "In defense of secular humanism" ("In defense of secular humanism", 1983), which included the text of the Declaration (22).

“Secular humanism,” read the first lines of this program document, “is a real force in the modern world. At present, it is being subjected to unfounded and unstoppable attacks from various sides. This manifesto defends that form of secular (secular) humanism, which definitely corresponds to the principles of democracy. He opposes all varieties of faith that seek supernatural sanctions for their values ​​or submit to the power of dictate" (quoted from: 11, p. 81). Having identified ten fundamental principles of secular humanism (free inquiry; separation of church and state; the ideal of freedom; ethics based on critical thinking; moral education; religious skepticism; reason; science and technology; evolution; education), secular humanists called on all people, including including believers, share their ideals and stand up for them. “Democratic secular humanism,” the Declaration concluded, “is too essential for human civilization to be neglected… Our task is to spread the ideals of reason, freedom, personal and social harmony and democracy throughout the world community… Secular humanism rather believes in human reason than to divine guidance. Skeptical of the theories of redemption, damnation and reincarnation, secular humanists try to comprehend human existence in realistic categories; people themselves are responsible for their own destinies "(ibid., p. 90-91).

The Declaration became a document that finally fixed the delimitation of secular and liberal-religious humanism. It emphasized the fundamental difference between religion and secular humanism, which reflected the general desire of the overwhelming majority of humanist organizations to reveal an independent philosophical, moral and civic status of humanism. The Declaration stated that secular humanism is a complex of moral and scientific values ​​that cannot and should not be equated with religious faith.

The growth in popularity of the secular humanist movement in the post-World War II period was associated with the strengthening of democracy, civil liberties, law and order, along with the progress of knowledge, culture, technology and living standards. “Today, the definition of “secular,” notes V.A. Kuvakin, “is aimed at balancing skeptical, agnostic, rationalistic, scientific-materialistic consciousness within the framework of the general humanistic worldview. The term “secular” is also loaded with a certain social meaning, mainly general democratic and anti-clerical. A modern human rights and environmental program is invested in it, as well as a specific style and psychology of thinking" (6, pp. 44-45).

Modern organizations of secular humanism have a developed infrastructure, including in the form of printed publications, radio and television programs. The journal "International Humanist News" regularly publishes data on periodicals of a humanist nature. At present, the Internet site of the SHPP contains information on 155 such publications 12 .

In the suburb of Buffalo, Amherst (USA, state of New York), there is the world's largest humanistic publishing house "Prometheus Books" (Prometheus books) 13 . The catalog of the publishing house for the second half of 2000 offered readers about 1 thousand books on the most various subjects(28). The range of issues covered reflects the breadth of interests of contemporary secular humanists. Catalog sections include Alternative Medicine, Atheism, Biblical Criticism, Christian Science, Church and State, Creation and Evolution, Critical Thinking, Education, Free Thought Library, "Homosexuality and Lesbianism", "Golden Age" (problems of the elderly), "Health", "Humanism", "Human Sexuality", "Islamic Studies", "Literary Classics", "Moral Issues" (problems of abortion, animal rights, death penalty, euthanasia and medical ethics), "Popular Science", "Psychology", "Religion and Politics", "Russian History", "Science and the Paranormal" (astrology, magic, parapsychology and physics, sea mysteries, UFOs), " Sexual Autobiography", "Social Science and Current Events", " Women's issues"," Young readers ", etc.

The latest trends in the activities of the world humanist movement are: 1) the development of secular civil service programs (from naming rituals to funerals); 2) teaching in schools and other educational institutions the disciplines of the humanistic cycle as a real alternative to religious education programs; 3) protection of the rights and freedom of conscience of unbelieving citizens; 4) scientific analysis of religion and independent examination of statements about paranormal phenomena (6, p.46). In order to implement these programs, various national and international humanistic structures are being created.

In 1980, an international organization was created - the Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism (Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism, Codesh). Since 1996, it has become known as the Council for Secular Humanism (CFH). The Council for Secular Humanism publishes the journals Free Inquiry 14 and Philo: Journal of the Society of Humanist Philosophers 15 .

In 1983, the Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism organized the International Academy of Humanism. The members of the academy, whose permanent number should not exceed 60, reject supernatural or occult explanations of the universe, concentrate their efforts on the development of the mind and scientific research, encourage moral growth and the ethical development of the individual based on experience. Additional humanist laureates are elected by the members of the academy for outstanding service in education, scientific research, creativity in the field of literature and art, or other achievements. The activities of the academy include holding seminars and congresses, publishing public statements, publishing articles, monographs and books demonstrating a humanistic view of the world. The academy secretariat includes: Paul Kurtz (President), Vern Bullough, Anthony Flew, Gerald Laru and Jean-Claude Pecker. In 1999, such well-known people as philosopher Isaiah Berlin, human rights activist Elena Bonner, philosopher of science Mario Bunge, biologist Francis Crick, biologist Richard Dawkins, semiotician Umberto Eco, philosopher Paul Edwards, philosopher Jürgen Habermas, physicist Sergei Kapitsa, poet Octavio Paz, philosopher Richard Rorty, ex-president Senegal Leopold Senghor, philosopher Svetozar Stoyanovich and others (31, p.574-575).

Another well-known international humanitarian organization is the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) 16 established in 1976. This organization also has its own publication, the Skeptical Inquirer 17 .

In 1995, a special research center for the Council on Secular Humanism and the Center for Inquiry (CFI) 18 was built and opened in Amherst, in close proximity to the State University of New York at Buffalo campus. In this center on an area of ​​more than 1.8 thousand m? housed the two organizations mentioned above, as well as the editorial offices of the journals Svobodnoe Issledovanie, Philo, and Skeptical Researcher. The Research Center has a library that has no analogues in the world on the problems of humanism and freethinking with a volume of about 50 thousand volumes.

The experience of creating the Amherst Research Center, which coordinates information, communication and research resources, develops specific humanitarian and philanthropic programs, and organizes various events, led to the creation of a network of similar centers both in the USA (Kaznas City, Los Angeles) and in other countries - Great Britain (Oxford) and Russia (Moscow).

In 1988, at the World Humanist Congress in Buffalo (USA), another policy document of secular humanism was adopted under the name "A declaration of global interdependence" 19 . This Declaration was intended to supplement the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN in 1948, with a code of mutual moral, legal and civil obligations of the individual and society in the light of the globalization of human relations (30, p.38-44).

Today, the leading theoretician of secular humanism is the chairman of the Council on Secular Humanism, President of the International Academy of Humanism, Professor Emeritus of the State University of New York at Buffalo Paul Kurtz (USA) 20 . Kurtz was the organizer of "Dialogues on Humanism between Marxists and Non-Marxists" and "Dialogue between the Vatican and Humanists", was a defender of freedom of conscience and the rights of unbelievers. He is the author of more than 35 books and hundreds of articles on the problems of humanism.

Among the main works of P. Kurtz are the books "Decision and the condition of man" ("Decision and the condition of man", 1965), "The fullness of life" ("The fullnes of life", 1974), "In defense of secular humanism" ( "In defense of secular humanism", 1984), "The transcendental temptation: A critique of religion and the paranormal", 1986; Russian translation - 1999), "Forbidden Fruit: The Ethics of Humanism" ("Forbidden fruit: The ethics of humanism", 1987; - Russian translation - 1993), "Eupraxofy: Living without religion" ("Eupraxofy: Living without religion", 1989), "Philosophical essays on pragmatic naturalism" ("Philosophical essays in pragmatic naturalism", 1990), "The new skepticism: Inquiry a. reliable knowledge", 1992), "Toward a new Enlightenment: The philosophy of Paul Kurtz", 1994), "The courage to become: The virtues of humanism", 1997; Russian translation - 2000), "The Humanist Manifesto 2000: Call for a new planetary humanism" ("Humanist Manifesto 2000: A call for a new planetary humanism", 2000; Russian per. - see: 11) and others 21

Kurtz is the founder of the world's largest humanist publishing house, Prometheus Books, the Council for Secular (Secular) Humanism - the founder of the journal Free Research, and the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Paranormal Claims. On February 8, 1999, at the XIV World Congress of the SHPP, held in Bombay (India), he was awarded the International Humanist Prize. SHES President L. Fragell noted that "Paul Kurtz has been considered for decades the world's leading propagandist of the ideals and values ​​of secular humanism, a critic of totalitarian and fundamentalist dogmas and a consistent defender of human rights and freedoms" (cited in: 7, p. 154).

Among other active representatives of the global humanist movement today, we can note the names of Timothy J. Madigan, Thomas Flynn, G. James Burks, John Xanthopoulos (USA), Norman Backrak (Norman Bacrac) and James Herrick (UK), Robert Tielman (Holland), Levi Fragell and Finngeir Hiorth (Norway), William Cooke (New Zealand) and others (31).

In 1991, in order to represent the humanistic worldview and protect the rights of non-believers in the Council of Europe and the European Parliament, a substructure of the SHPP was formed - the European Humanist Federation (EHF) 22 . In 1993, the EHF held its founding congress in Berlin, and in 1994 the Secretariat for Eastern and Central Europe was created within its framework, the purpose of which is to support emerging or resurgent secular humanist movements in the countries of the former socialist camp. In October 1995, the First International Conference on the Development of Secular Humanism in the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe took place in Berlin, in which delegates from Russia also took part. In 1995, Steinar Nilsen (Norway) was elected President of the EHF Executive Committee, and Ann-Marie Franchi (France) and Robert Tilman (Netherlands) were elected Vice-Presidents (6, p. 45). ; 31, p.354).

In the 1990s, the attention of humanists was attracted by the wide spread in the world of such an ideological movement as postmodernism. It gained fame as a result of the total criticism of "modernity" (modernity), which was understood as a tradition associated with the rationalism of the New Age and the Enlightenment. Postmodernists questioned the activities of Descartes and Bacon, Locke and Voltaire, Diderot and Condorcet, Kant and Goethe, Marx and Freud.

Such French postmodernists as J. Derrida, J. Lacan, J.-F. Lyotard, J. Baudrillard, J. Deleuze and others, take an anti-humanist position in general. Based on the pessimistic philosophy of the late Heidegger, they consider objective scientific knowledge to be a kind of myth and criticize the development of technology. In their opinion, people are not capable of free and autonomous choice, cannot follow rational principles and be responsible for their actions. Postmodernists doubt the possibility of developing universal ethical norms, they criticize the ideas of liberal democracy and human rights that are central to modern humanism (31, p. 878).

Humanists agree with postmodernists that the 20th century really exposed the inhumane tendencies present in the culture. At the same time, they cannot accept the idea of ​​a complete rejection of "modernity". In particular, P. Kurtz believes that if the ideals of the Enlightenment are appropriately adapted to the current situation, they can become viable again. "The key contribution of modernity," he writes, "still has its significance, but perhaps only in the form of "post-post-modernism" (post-post-modernism), or a new humanist renaissance. We need not deconstruction, but the reconstruction of human knowledge and values rather revision than ridicule (derision) of human capabilities" (30, p.5).

The "post-postmodern" worldview of modern humanism has been expressed in a new policy document entitled "Humanist Manifesto 2000: A Call for a New Planetary Humanism" 23 .

The emergence of the "Humanist Manifesto 2000" was caused by changes in recent decades 20th century Among them are the collapse of communism in the USSR and the countries of Eastern Europe, the cessation of confrontation between military blocs, the acceleration of the globalization of the world economy, the preservation of high rates of scientific and technological progress, the emergence and rapid development of a global computer network Internet, etc. These and other profound changes have caused the need for a new integrative assessment of modern life and the prospects of the world community from the point of view of a humanistic worldview.

A fair question may arise: why was the new policy document called "Humanist Manifesto 2000" and not "Humanist Manifesto III"? The fact is that the draft text was prepared by the International Academy of Humanism, and the copyright for the first two manifestos belongs to the American Humanist Association. The appearance of the "Humanist Manifesto III" would automatically mean that the Association could claim the copyright of this document. Therefore, the new manifesto was called the "Humanist Manifesto 2000".

The document was signed by: philosophers Paul Kurtz, Daniel Dennett (Daniel Dennett), Mario Bunge, sociologist Rob Tilman, science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, Nobel laureate in literature José Saramago (Jos? Saramago), writer, civil liberties advocate Taslima Nasrin ( Taslima Nasrin), Nobel Laureates in Chemistry Paul D. Boyer, Harold W. Kroto, Ferid Murad, Herbert A. Hauptmann, Nobel laureates in biology Jens C.Skou, Jean-Marie Lenn, Baruj Benaserraff, biologist Richard Dawkins, zoologist Edward O.Wilson , anthropologist G. James Burks, astronomer Jean-Claude Pecker, President of the Moscow Hydroelectric Power Plant Levi Fragell and others. .I.Abelev, Professors Yu.N.Efremov, S.P.Kapitsa, V.A.Kuvakin, A.V.Razin, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences G.V.Givishvili. The manifesto was also supported by academicians of the RAS N.G. Basov, E.P. Velikhov, E.P. Kruglyakov, corresponding members of the RAS A.A. Guseinov, V.A. of Philosophical Sciences L.B. Bazhenov, V.G. Burov, M.N. Gretsky, D.I. Dubrovsky, V.M. Mezhuev, Doctor of Philosophy G.L. .Gobozov, A.F.Zotov, A.D.Kosichev, M.A.Maslin, V.V.Mironov, A.P.Nazaretyan, A.T.Pavlov, Yu.M.Pavlov, Z.A.Tazhurizina , A.N. Chanyshev, Professor of St. Petersburg University, Doctor of Philosophy Yu.N. Solonin, V.P. Bransky and others (see: 5, 1999, N 13, p. 36-38).

"Humanistic Manifesto 2000" is a comprehensive program for building a global planetary community. It consists of ten sections: I. Preamble: Prologue to this manifesto. Why Planetary Humanism? II. Prospects for a better future. III. Scientific outlook. IV. The positive fruits of technological progress. V. Ethics and reason. VI. Our common duty to the united humanity. VII. Planetary Bill of Rights and Duties. VIII. New global action plan. IX. The need for new planetary institutions. X. Optimism about the prospects of humanity. Without going into the details of this very extensive document, let us once again note its post-enlightenment and post-postmodern character. "The philosophical Enlightenment of the 18th century, which in many ways constitutes the spirit of this manifesto, was undoubtedly limited by the framework of its time. Its interpretation of the mind as an absolute rather than as a trial and error instrument for the achievement of human goals has by now been overcome. Nevertheless , his conviction that science, reason, democracy, education and humanistic values ​​contribute to human progress, has a great attraction for us today.The planetary humanism presented in this manifesto is post-postmodernist in its worldview.It is based on the highest values ​​of modernity , seeks to overcome the negative impact of postmodernism and is focused on the information age, the dawn of which is just coming, and on everything that the latter portends for the future of mankind" (11, p.38-39).

Thus, modern secular humanists, recognizing the presence of destructive tendencies in modern society and modern philosophy, look to the future with optimism. In their opinion, the disclosure of the resource of humanity potentially inherent in each person will depend both on the personal efforts of the individuals themselves and on states and governments that create favorable conditions for the life and work of their citizens.

An important theoretical problem, repeatedly discussed by humanists in the XX century. and continuing to be discussed today is the question of what humanism is.

About 30 years ago, P. Kurtz invited thirty well-known humanists to give their own definitions of humanism. As a result, a large number of different definitions were obtained (among the authors - Sidney Hook, Joseph L. Blau (Joseph L. Blau), G. J. Blackham, Anthony Flew, Burres F. Skinner, K. Lamont, J. P. van Praag and others). Thus was born the book The Humanist Alternative: Some Definitions of Humanism (20).

As is usually the case with the most general philosophical concepts, humanism has as many definitions as there are major philosophers (12). And yet, on this issue, there is a need not just for philosophical reflection, but for identifying the essential features of the humanistic worldview, allowing us to draw a line separating it from other types of worldviews.

Eric Matthews, a Scottish humanist philosopher, an employee of the University of Aberdeen, offers his own version of the definition of secular humanism. Secular humanism, he points out, is not any particular belief system, religious or quasi-religious. Rather, it represents a certain attitude to life (attitude to life). Matthews quotes a definition of humanism from the Humanist Society of Scotland: "Humanists believe that the life we ​​have is the only one, and we should strive to make it as worthy and happier as possible for ourselves and other people. We do not agree that there is evidence for the existence of any gods or life after death, and we believe that we must face the problems of this world without the prospect of otherworldly help.There is no need for life to have an "ultimate goal."Life can as much meaning or purpose as the individual seeks to give it" (26, p. 3).

For many years, P. Kurtz has been developing his own version of the definition of secular humanism. In The Encyclopedia of Unbelief, Kurtz defined secular humanism as: 1) a research method; 2) worldview and 3) system of values ​​(17, p.330-331). In one of his last articles, published in 1998, he again returns to this issue.

According to Kurtz, it is not easy to give a more or less clear, even the most general definition of humanism, with which all who call themselves humanists would agree. It is well known from the history of ideas that often philosophers who have united in a certain direction have connected them "against" rather than "for". It is also necessary to understand what humanism really is - a certain philosophical school (like empiricism, rationalism, pragmatism, logical positivism or analytical philosophy), a metaphysical doctrine (such as Platonism, Aristotle's school, idealism, materialism) or it offers its own special ethics (like utilitarianism or neo-Kantianism)?

Today, many important philosophies identify themselves with humanism; many great thinkers (from Marx and Freud to Sartre and Camus, Dewey and Santayana, Carnap and Ayer, Quine, Popper, Flue and Hook, Habermas and Ferry) consider themselves humanists. Finally, there are various varieties of humanism - naturalistic, scientific and secular, atheistic and religious, Christian, Jewish and Zen, Marxist and democratic, existentialist and pragmatic.

A fair question arises: "Are we not entering here into a bottomless quagmire, where by humanism everyone can understand whatever he pleases - whether justice, democracy, socialism or liberalism - and is this term not capable of stretching, like elastic socks, to measure Few people in the past would have agreed to be considered anti-humanist, it would have been the same as being anti-human - until recently, when postmodernists and fundamentalists openly rebelled against humanism. Nowadays, many animal advocates condemn humanism, suspecting it of an exclusive predilection for the human race , whereas, in their opinion, the same right to exist should be recognized for all forms of life on the planet" (7, p. 138).

Yet Kurtz believes that it is possible to define humanism. This, of course, should not be done in the spirit of essentialism, because there is no special humanistic essence inherent in the nature of things. The term "humanism" has two aspects - descriptive (descriptive) and prescriptive (prescriptive). It is descriptive in the sense that it helps to classify some thinkers and/or some schools as humanist, but it also has a normative character in that it can predetermine some new application of the principle.

Kurtz proposes to single out the following five "core" signs of humanism:

1. Humanism offers a set of values ​​and virtues that flow from the recognition of human freedom and autonomy. The ethics of humanism opposes the ethics of religious authoritarianism;
2. humanism denies the idea of ​​the supernatural;
3. humanism is committed to a method of research based on reason and scientific objectivity;
4. humanism has its own non-reductivist natural ontology based on scientific knowledge;
5. the business of humanist philosophers is not only questions of theory, but also the embodiment of the ideas of humanism in practical life as an alternative to theistic religions (7, p. 136).

It is important to emphasize that these principles are connected by the logical relation of conjunction, i.e. humanism should be understood as something that obeys all of the listed features without exception.

Kurtz pays special attention to the problems of humanistic practice (the fifth principle). If humanism cannot be considered a faith, then how can it satisfy the existential need of every person - the need for meaning? If we discard faith in God as pure madness, then what can we offer instead?

In this regard, he proposes to introduce a new concept, located between religion, on the one hand, and philosophy and science, on the other. This concept is "eupraxophia" (eupraxsofia; from Latin eu - bliss, praxis - practice and sofia - wisdom). Kurtz believes that "until humanism - secular humanism - develops into eupraxophy, it will not be able to win people's hearts, which it must do if it wants to win recognition" (7, p. 150). Until humanism becomes a real alternative to religious cults, it "seems to be in danger of remaining one of the interesting intellectual movements, occupying a limited number of learned philosophers, but having little to do with living life" (ibid.).

Thus, modern secular humanism declares itself as an ideological movement in which theory and practice must be inextricably linked and organically complement each other. Therefore, among the range of philosophical problems discussed by humanists, first of all, we should single out the problems of ethics (21, 27), the problems of the development of science and technology, as well as global problems of our time. The authors of the book "Building a World Community: Humanism in the 21st Century." (14) believe that in the near future the most relevant for secular humanism will be the following issues: 1) the development of science, technology and ethics; 2) ethics of global cooperation; 3) ecology and population; 4) global war and global peace; 5) human rights; 6) ethics of the future; 7) sexuality and gender; 8) religions of the future; 9) upbringing of children and moral education; 10) biomedical ethics; 11) the future humanist movement.

5. Humanism in modern Russia

The emergence of an organized humanist movement in our country is associated with the activities of the Russian (until 2001 - Russian) Humanist Society (RGO). It received legal registration on May 16, 1995 as an interregional public association of secular (non-religious) humanists. The society became "the first non-governmental organization in the history of Russia, which set as its goal the support and development of the idea of ​​secular humanism, the humanistic style of thinking and psychology, the humane way of life" (5, 1996, N 1, p.6). The founder of the Russian Geographical Society and its permanent leader is Doctor of Philosophical Sciences, Professor of the Department of the History of Russian Philosophy, Faculty of Philosophy, Lomonosov Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosova V.A. Kuvakin.

According to the Charter of the Russian Geographical Society, the main goal of the Society is "theoretical research, cultural, educational and social practice aimed at disseminating and implementing in public life the ideas and principles of secular (secular, non-religious) humanism; bringing together for joint activities people who share the attitudes and principles of skepticism, rationalism, various forms of non-totalitarian freethinking and indifference towards religion" (5, 1996, N 1, p.6). The society has five main directions of its activity: 1) scientific; 2) educational and educational, cultural and educational; 3) publishing; 4) social; 5) international.

Since the autumn of 1996, the quarterly "Common Sense: A Journal of Skeptics, Optimists, and Humanists" (5) has been published (to date, 23 issues have been published) 24 . The journal is published by the Russian Humanistic Society, the Research Center of the Russian Geographical Society at Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov with the support of the American Research Center and the Council for Secular Humanism (Amherst), the Faculty of Philosophy of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov, the Russian Philosophical Society and the All-Russian Public Movement "For a Healthy Russia". The editorial board includes: vice-president of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences physicist Sergei Kapitsa, dean of the Faculty of Philosophy of Moscow State University Vladimir Mironov, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences physicist Vitaly Ginzburg, chairman of the Council for Secular Humanism Paul Kurtz (USA), anthropologist H. James Burks (Canissius College, USA), Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, physicist Eduard Kruglyakov, writer, editor of the journal "International Humanistic News" Jim Herrick (Great Britain), researcher at the Cancer Center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Doctor of Medical Sciences David Zaridze and member of the Council for Secular Humanism Timothy Madigan (USA). The editor-in-chief of the journal is Professor V.A. Kuvakin.

The Russian Geographical Society is engaged in the study of the history of humanism, the development of the philosophical foundations of the humanistic worldview (1, 5, 6, 11), conducts research and expertise in its own Research Center (Center for Inquiry, Moscow), composes training courses on the theory and practice of modern humanism, translates into Russian language and publishes the works of leading theorists of the world humanist movement. The Society held two international conferences - "Science and Common Sense in Russia: Crisis or New Opportunities" (Moscow, October 2-4, 1997) and "Science and Humanism - Planetary Values ​​of the Third Millennium" (St. Petersburg, June 14-18) 2000), which brought together humanists from Russia and various countries of the world (8, 9).

Among the most important activities of Russian secular humanists is the criticism of various forms of mysticism and irrationalism. In this area, the Russian Geographical Society closely cooperates with the Commission of the Russian Academy of Sciences on Combating Anti-Science and Falsification of Scientific Research, headed by Academician E.P. Kruglyakov. On October 3-7, 2001, in Moscow, in the building of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, an international symposium "Science, anti-science and paranormal beliefs" was held, at which the problems of the social and value status of science, the confrontation of scientific and anti-scientific knowledge, the spread of paranormal beliefs, etc. were discussed (10) .

Among the Russian secular humanists are well-known scientists, academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences G.I. Abelev, V.L. Ginzburg, E.P. Kruglyakov, professor Yu.N. Efremov, S.P. Kapitsa, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences G.V. Givishvili, Doctor of Philosophy L.B. Bazhenov, M.N. Gretsky, D.I. Dubrovsky, V.N. Zhukov, A.F. Zotov, V.A. Kuvakin, Yu.M. Pavlov, A.V. Razin, Z.A. Tazhurizina, V.N. Shevchenko, Candidates of Sciences V.B. Andreev, L.E. Balashov, A.V. Sokolov and others), publicists V.M. Vasin, A.G. Kruglov (Abelev), E.K. Smetanin and others, teachers, as well as other representatives of various strata of Russian society 25 . The activities of the Russian Geographical Society are supported by the Vice-Rector and Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov Professor V.V. Mironov and Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy of St. Petersburg University Professor Yu.N. Corned beef. At one time, the activities of the Society were also supported by the now deceased Academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences N.N. Moiseev and I.T. Frolov.

Now let us turn to those definitions of humanism that are given today by Russian humanists.

Valery Kuvakin believes that humanism is a consequence of humanity naturally inherent in man. "It is assumed by the ordinary fact that each of us has his own Self, that there is a person as a person who has something positive" behind his soul "(11, p. 101). However, this does not mean at all that people are, so to speak, "doomed" to humanism. Even the philosophers of Ancient Greece (Chrysippus, Sextus Empiricus) noticed that a human being has three groups of qualities - positive, negative and neutral.

Neutral human qualities (these include all physical, neuro-psychological and cognitive abilities, freedom, love and other psycho-emotional characteristics) are neither good nor bad in themselves, but become such when combined with positive and negative qualities of a person. On the basis of negative qualities, something opposite to humanism is formed, for example, a criminal or sadistic worldview. It is quite real and represents the irrational craving of a person for destruction and self-destruction. The qualities that characterize the positive pole of human nature include "benevolentness, sympathy, compassion, responsiveness, reverence, sociability, participation, a sense of justice, responsibility, gratitude, tolerance, decency, cooperativeness, solidarity, etc." (11, p. 102).

The main sign of the fundamental nature of humanism is the special nature of its connection with a person who makes an actual choice of himself not just as an individual I (which happens in the usual act of self-consciousness), but a I worthy of the best in itself and equally worthy of all the values ​​of the world. “A person’s awareness of his own humanity, its resources and capabilities is a decisive intellectual procedure that transfers him from the level of humanity to the level of humanism. normal person. Absolutely inhuman people do not exist and cannot exist. But there are no absolutely, one hundred percent human people. We are talking about the predominance and struggle in the personality of both" (11, p. 102).

Thus, an important feature of the humanistic movement is the priority of the value of the most concrete person, his worthy lifestyle over any form of ideological and ideological organization, including in relation to any, even the most brilliantly formulated humanistic doctrine or program. The humanistic call is “ultimately, a call to a person not to accept something from the outside indifferently, but first to find himself with the help of himself and objective possibilities, this is a call to courageously and benevolently accept yourself as you are or what you are, to dig, to see in itself the positive foundations of oneself, one's value, freedom, dignity, self-respect, self-affirmation, creativity, communication and equal cooperation with one's own kind and all others - social and natural - no less worthy and amazing realities" (11, p. 108).

Alexander Kruglov also believes that humanism is humanity, i.e. "willingness to build a life together on a minimum of the simplest, directly felt by everyone, universal values ​​(the obvious mutual right of everyone to life, dignity, property), leaving views on everything else to freedom of conscience" (11, p. 109). Thus, humanism is not an ideology, but is the ground on which we stand when we want to forget the sacred tyranny of any ideologies.

Humanism as a worldview position, alternative to any ideological system, can offer a person the consciousness of any life as a value, as well as teach him to live for values ​​outside of himself - for the near, the planet, the future. "The meaning of my life is in itself, and in how I will help the lives of others; in the fact that with me the world will not die, and I can also contribute to this, my immortality is also contained. And if personal metaphysics whispers something me about some kind of immortality - my happiness" (11, p. 122).

Lev Balashov puts forward 40 theses about humanism. He notes that humanistic philosophy is "the mindset of thinking people, a conscious attitude to humanity without borders", and humanism is "a conscious meaningful humanity" (11, p. 123). For a humanist, a person is valuable in itself as such, already by virtue of his birth. Initially, all people deserve a positive attitude - law-abiding and criminals, men and women, fellow tribesmen or representatives of another nationality, believers or non-believers. Humanism seeks to avoid the extremes of both collectivism, which infringes on the individual freedom of a person, and individualism, which ignores or infringes on the freedom of others.

The main principle, a guideline of moral and, accordingly, legal behavior for a humanist is the golden rule of behavior. In its negative form, the golden rule is formulated as follows: "Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you", in its positive form it says: "Do to others as you would like to be done to you." The negative form of the golden rule sets the minimum bar for a person’s moral attitude towards other people (forbids doing evil), the positive form sets the maximum bar for moral attitude (encourages good), determines the maximum requirements for human behavior.

Yevgeny Smetanin defines humanism as "a worldview based on humanity, i.e. philanthropy, respect for human dignity" (11, p.131). He associates the genealogy of humanity with those features that distinguish homo sapiens from animals. Humanity begins with awareness of oneself and one's place in the world around. If an animal is inherent in the desire to survive biologically, then in humans it is transformed into a desire for self-improvement, for the acquisition of useful experience. "Humanity is born when this desire is directed to someone else, first, let it be close, familiar, then to a distant one, and often to a stranger" (ibid., p. 132).

Such a transfer of feelings and attitudes from oneself to other members of the human race, a gradual transition from instincts to conscious actions directed with good intentions to other people and to the world characteristic of all human activity. One of the conditions for maintaining humanity in society is the presence and accumulation of moral and ethical forms of community life. The highest manifestation of the personal principle in a person - the ability to live in harmony with the outside world, constantly developing and improving, requires a true and worthy self-determination based on experience, common sense, and conviction in the triumph of humanity. "Humanism as a worldview in the best way contributes to the creation of a society of human people" (11, p.135).

Defining humanism as humanity, Russian humanists by no means live in a world of illusions and realize how far their ideals are from the actual practice of social relations in our country. V.L. Ginzburg and V.A. Kuvakin believe that the way of thinking of a humanist as "a really mature, serious, naturally democratic and generally balanced person" (11, p. 9), to put it mildly, is not in harmony with the cultural, moral and psychological atmosphere of modern Russia. Among the reasons for "unpopularity" humanistic ideas they highlight such factors as: 1) the non-commercial nature of humanistic values, their focus on common sense; 2) the alienation of humanism of any eccentricity; 3) a high level of self-discipline, independence, freedom, moral, legal and civic responsibility, which presents a humanistic worldview to its adherents (ibid.).

However, despite the not very favorable social atmosphere, Russian humanists believe that our country simply has no alternative to humanism. In their opinion, neither religious fundamentalism and nationalism, nor decadent postmodernism are able to offer real ways to improve public life. Modern Russian secular humanists, writes V.A. Kuvakin, they will not be doomed to wait until a happy fate, a strong, just and kind ruler or the “Russian idea” that has descended from heaven will finally save Russia. They are convinced that "an active attitude towards oneself and the environment, an active, courageous, creative, independent and viable position can ensure a worthy position of a person in society" (11, p.2-3).

6. Conclusion

The development of the theory and practice of humanism in the 20th century presented in the review, apparently, no longer gives reason to doubt the fact of the actual existence of the humanistic tradition in modern philosophy and culture.

Another issue is to identify the philosophical status of this tradition. As is known, today humanism does not belong to the number of well-known philosophical trends (such as materialism and idealism, rationalism and empiricism, pragmatism and utilitarianism, existentialism and phenomenology, etc.), nor generally accepted sections of philosophical knowledge (such as epistemology, logic, metaphysics, political philosophy, social philosophy, ethics, aesthetics, philosophical anthropology, etc.). So what is the philosophy of humanism, is it possible in principle within the too specialized philosophy of our time? Or, perhaps, humanism seeks to return to philosophy its primordial, largely lost in recent centuries, purpose of love for wisdom and striving for a good life?

We would like to hope that we will hear the answer to this question in the 21st century. Its decision will depend both on the humanists themselves and on the readiness of the community of professional philosophers to accept the philosophy of humanism in the system of their constructions.

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Yu.Yu.Cherny

At present, the author continues to work on the topic "Modern Humanism" within the framework of the grant of the Russian Humanitarian Foundation "Philosophy in the 20th century". The author will be grateful to the reader for any feedback, criticism, suggestions and additions that can be sent to e-mail [email protected] or in writing to the address: 117997, Moscow, Nakhimovsky prosp. 51/21, INION RAN. Scientific secretary Cherny Yuri Yuryevich.

2 Considering that materialism "seeks to explain natural events by changing the position of matter," Riese actually identified it with mechanism.

3 See: The new humanist. - Buffalo (N.Y.), 1933. - Vol.6, N 3.

4 For the electronic version of the publication, see: http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/edwin_wilson/manifesto/index.shtml

19 The Declaration of Mutual Dependency was first published in Free Inquiry in 1988.

21 The most complete list of P. Kurtz's publications is in the book: (21, p.353-388).

23 The Humanist Manifesto 2000 was first published in Free Inquiry in 1999. A Russian translation is available online at: http://www.futura.ru/index.php3?idart=76

24 As of November 2003, there are already 28 issues (Note by the editor of the site) For the contents of the published issues of the journal, see

25 Among the activists of the Russian Geographical Society in St. Petersburg, acad. RAS physicist E.B. Aleksandrov, Doctor of Biology religious scholar M.M. Bogoslovsky, Doctor of Philosophy B.Ya. Pukshansky, Ph.D. publicists P.A. Trevogin and G.G. Shevelev and others. (Note by the editor of the site)

2. Sandra Tsiligeridou and a group of her friends rescued a Syrian refugee they found stranded in the sea off the Greek island of Kos. He clung to a life jacket and drifted in the sea for 13 hours.

Source 3The Munich police officer who took the opportunity to have a boy try on his hat.

5. Antonis Deligiorgis decided to dive into the water and single-handedly pulled 20 Syrian refugees out of the water after seeing how their boat hit the rocks and shattered into chips off the coast of the island of Rhodes, Greece.

6. 50,000 donations raised for this Syrian from a Palestinian refugee camp after he was photographed selling pens to support his family.

Abdul Halim al-Qader hopes to use the money to move his family to Europe. "All I want is to raise my children," Kader said, "to send them to school, to help them get an education."

7. These Hungarians put food on the highway. And they provided water to refugees walking to Austria.

8. More than 25,000 people in Vienna took to the streets to show they were ready to welcome the refugees.

9. And the 10,000 Australians who rallied in cities across the country demanding government attention to the issue of refugees.

10. Artists from all over the world have begun creating beautiful and heartbreaking works of art in honor of Aylan and Galip Kurdi, the Syrian toddlers whose deaths at sea last week horrified the world.

One example of such creativity is the graffiti wall in Sorocaba, Brazil.

11. The moment Laith Majid, a Syrian father, was photographed in tears of joy as he arrived with his son and daughter on the Greek island of Kos.

This photo shows Majid and his family after being taken in three weeks later at a refugee camp in Berlin.

12. German and Austrian activists violated Hungarian law to collect a car convoy to bring refugees to Austria.

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UFIMSKY STATE OIL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

Department of "Political Science"

ABSTRACT

Course: "Political Science"

On the topic: "Ideas of humanism in the modern world"

Completed:

student of group BGR-13-03

Sagitdinov R.R.

Checked:

Associate Professor Mozgovaya N.M.

• Introduction
• 1. General characteristics modern humanistic worldview
• 2. Three stages of humanism
• 3. Ideas of modern humanism
• Conclusion
• List of used literature

Introduction

Humanism is the only thing that probably remains from peoples and civilizations that have gone into oblivion. Tolstoy L. N

In this essay, I will try to reveal the topic of modern humanism, its ideas, problems.

Humanism is a collective worldview and cultural and historical tradition that originated in the ancient Greek civilization, developed in subsequent centuries and preserved in modern culture as its universal basis. The ideas of humanism are accepted and practiced by many people, thereby turning humanism into a program of social transformation, into a moral force, into a broad and international cultural movement. Humanism offers its own understanding of how one can become a morally healthy and worthy citizen. Humanism pays special attention to questions of method, to those tools, using which a person could best learn to know himself, to self-determine and improve himself, to make a reasonable choice.

I chose this particular topic, as it aroused the greatest interest in me, I consider it relevant for our generation. Alas, in modern society, in the modern world, the ideals of humanism remain only in words, but in reality, as we see, everything is different. Today, instead of the ideas of humanism, they impose completely different, more material values ​​on us, in the understanding of love, law, and honor. Most people are content with this principle: "everything is permitted, everything is available." Honor as the inner moral dignity of a person is replaced by the concepts of glory and greed. Modern man, in order to achieve any personal goals, uses methods in his practice: lies and deceit. The youth of today must not be allowed to become a lost generation.

1. General characteristics of the humanistic worldview

The term "humanism" comes from the Latin "humanitas" (humanity), which was used as early as the 1st century BC. BC. the famous Roman orator Cicero (106-43 BC). For him, humanitas is the upbringing and education of a person, contributing to his exaltation. The principle of humanism presupposed an attitude to a person as a supreme value, respect for the dignity of each individual, his right to life, free development, the realization of his abilities and the pursuit of happiness.

Humanism presupposes the recognition of all fundamental human rights, affirms the good of the individual as the highest criterion for evaluating any social activities. Humanism is a certain amount of universal human values, ordinary (simple) moral, legal and other norms of behavior. Their catalog is familiar to almost every one of us. It includes such specific manifestations of humanity as benevolence, sympathy, compassion, responsiveness, reverence, sociability, participation, a sense of justice, responsibility, gratitude, tolerance, decency, cooperativeness, solidarity, etc.

In my opinion, the fundamental features of the humanistic worldview are the following:

1. Humanism is a worldview, in the center of which is the idea of ​​a person as the highest value and a priority reality in relation to itself among all other material and spiritual values. In other words, for a humanist, a person is an initial reality, priority and irrelevant in relation to himself and relative among all the others.

2. Humanists, therefore, affirm the equality of man as a material and spiritual being in relation to another person, nature, society and all other realities and beings known or not yet known to him.

3. Humanists admit the possibility of genesis, evolutionary generation, creation or creation of personality, but they reject reduction, i.e. reduction of the essence of man to the inhuman and impersonal: nature, society, otherworldly, non-existence (nothing), the unknown, etc. The essence of a person is an essence acquired, created and realized by him in himself and in the world in which he is born, lives and acts.

4. Humanism, therefore, is a proper human, secular and worldly outlook, expressing the dignity of the individual, his outwardly relative, but inwardly absolute, steadily progressing independence, self-sufficiency and equality in the face of all other realities, known and unknown beings of the reality surrounding him.

5. Humanism is a modern form of realistic psychology and human life orientation, which includes rationality, criticality, skepticism, stoicism, tragedy, tolerance, restraint, prudence, optimism, love of life, freedom, courage, hope, fantasy and productive imagination.

6. Humanism is characterized by confidence in the unlimited possibilities of self-improvement of a person, in the inexhaustibility of his emotional, cognitive, adaptive, transformative and creative abilities.

7. Humanism is a worldview without boundaries, since it implies openness, dynamism and development, the possibility of radical internal transformations in the face of changes and new perspectives of man and his world.

8. Humanists recognize the reality of the inhumane in man and strive to limit its scope and influence as much as possible. They are convinced of the possibility of ever more successful and reliable curbing negative qualities human being in the course of the progressive development of world civilization.

9. Humanism is regarded as a fundamentally secondary phenomenon in relation to humanists - groups or sections of the population that actually exist in any society. In this sense, humanism is nothing more than the self-consciousness of real people who understand and strive to take control of the tendency towards totalitarianism and domination that is naturally inherent in any idea, including the humanistic one.

10. As a socio-spiritual phenomenon, humanism is the desire of people to achieve the most mature self-consciousness, the content of which is generally accepted humanistic principles, and to practice them for the benefit of the whole society. Humanism is the awareness of the present humanity, i.e. corresponding qualities, needs, values, principles and norms of consciousness, psychology and way of life of real strata of any modern society.

11. Humanism is more than an ethical doctrine, since it seeks to understand all areas and forms of manifestation of human humanity in their specificity and unity. This means that the task of humanism is to integrate and cultivate moral, legal, civil, political, social, national and transnational, philosophical, aesthetic, scientific, life-sense, ecological and all other human values ​​at the level of worldview and way of life.

12. Humanism is not and should not be any form of religion. Humanists are alien to the recognition of the reality of the supernatural and transcendent, worship before them and submission to them as superhuman priorities. Humanists reject the spirit of dogmatism, fanaticism, mysticism and anti-rationalism.

humanistic worldview creative individuality

2. Three stages of humanism

Humanism as a concept arose in the "axial time" (according to K. Jaspers) and appeared in three expanded forms. One of them was the moral and ritual humanism of Confucius. Confucius had to turn to the human person, i.e. to use the means that are necessary for the development of a humanistic doctrine.

The main argument of Confucius: in human communication - not only at the level of the family, but also the state - the most important thing is morality. The main word for Confucius is reciprocity. This starting point raised Confucius above religion and philosophy, for which faith and reason remained the basic concepts.

The basis of Confucius's humanism is respect for parents and respect for elder brothers. The family was the ideal state structure for Confucius. Rulers should treat their subjects like good fathers, and they should honor them. The higher ones should be noble men and show the lower an example of philanthropy, acting in accordance with the "golden rule of ethics."

Morality, according to Confucius, is incompatible with violence against a person. To the question: "How do you look at the killing of people who are deprived of principles in the name of approaching these principles?" Kung Tzu answered: “Why, while ruling the state, kill people? If you strive for goodness, then the people will be kind.”

To the question: “Is it right to return good for evil?” The teacher replied, “How can you respond kindly? Evil is met with justice." Although this does not reach the Christian “love your enemies”, it does not indicate that violence should be used in response to evil. Non-violent resistance to evil will be just.

A little later in Greece, Socrates formulated a philosophical program to prevent violence by finding universal human truth in the process of dialogue. It was, so to speak, a philosophical contribution to humanism. As a supporter of non-violence, Socrates put forward the thesis according to which "it is better to endure injustice than to inflict it", later adopted by the Stoics.

Finally, the third form of humanism in antiquity, which had not only a universal, but also, in modern terms, ecological character, was the ancient Indian principle of ahimsa - non-harm to all living things, which became fundamental to Hinduism and Buddhism. This example clearly shows that humanism does not contradict religion.

Ultimately, Christianity conquered the ancient world not by violence, but by fortitude and sacrifice. The commandments of Christ are examples of humanity, which are quite capable of being extended to nature. So, the fifth gospel commandment, which L.N. Tolstoy considers to refer to all foreign peoples, may well be expanded to "love nature." But, having won and created a powerful church, Christianity turned from the martyrdom of the righteous to the torment of the Inquisition. Under the guise of Christians, people came to power for whom the main thing was power, and not Christian ideals, and they somehow discredited faith in Christianity, contributing to turning the eyes of subjects to antiquity. The Renaissance came with a new understanding of humanism.

New European humanism is the joy of the flowering of creative individuality, which from the very beginning was overshadowed by the desire to conquer everything around. This undermined the creative-individualistic Western humanism and led to a gradual loss of confidence in it. In the humanism of modern times, a substitution took place, and he went into individualism, and then into consumerism with socialist and fascist reactions to it. The triumph of aggressive-consumer values ​​and violence creates walls between people - visible and invisible, which must be destroyed. But they can be destroyed not by violence, but by the rejection of the very foundation, the foundation on which the walls stand, i.e. from violence itself. Only non-violence can save humanism, but not ritual and not individualism. Both historical forms of humanism were imperfect because they did not have the core of humanity - non-violence. In the humanism of Confucius, the ritual was higher than pity for animals, in the humanism of the New Age, creativity was oriented towards dominance over nature.

For humanism, individuality is important, because without personal awareness, action has no meaning. The humanism of Confucius enclosed itself in a ritual, and it became necessary to appeal to a person who decides for himself what she needs. But in its focus on itself, the new European humanism rejected the surrounding being.

Liberation from fettering rituals is beneficial, but without prejudice to morality, from which, in its aggressive consumer permissiveness, the humanism of the New Age was moving further and further away. Western humanism is the antithesis of Confucianism, but along with the subordination of the individual to social order, he splashed out humanity. There was a substitution of humanism under the influence of the development of Western material civilization, which replaced the humanistic desire to "be" with an aggressive consumer desire to "have".

M. Heidegger is right that European humanism has exhausted itself in individualism and aggressiveness. But humanism is not only a Western brainchild. Other ways of development of civilization are possible. They are laid and preached by L.N. Tolstoy, M. Gandhi, A. Schweitzer, E. Fromm. Heidegger realized that modern humanism was unacceptable, but what he proposed instead, and what Schweitzer formulated as "reverence for life" is also humanism in the sense of humanity, rooted in ancient humanity.

3. Ideas of modern humanism

In the twentieth century, a fundamentally new situation began to take shape in the world. The trend of globalization is asserting itself with increasing force, and this leaves its mark on all philosophical concepts. Criticism of the Western technogenic-consumer civilization forced to reconsider, among others, the concept of humanism.

Heidegger revealed the insufficiency of the humanism of the Renaissance in our time. Criticizing Western humanism, Heidegger, in essence, led to the need for a synthesis of ancient humanism with modern European. This synthesis will not be a simple combination of both, but a qualitatively new formation, corresponding to our time. The synthesis of Western and Eastern humanism must combine the adherence to moral maxims with the creation of the new.

Heidegger argued: ““Humanism” means now, if we decide to keep this word, only one thing: the essence of man is essential for the truth of being, but in such a way that everything is reduced just not just to man as such.” ON THE. Berdyaev spoke about punishment for the humanistic self-affirmation of a person. It lies in the fact that a person opposed himself to everything around him, while he had to unite with it. Berdyaev wrote that humanistic Europe is coming to an end. But in order for a new humanistic world to flourish. The humanism of the Renaissance cherished individualism, the new humanism must be a breakthrough through individuality to being.

Ideas arose about a new humanism, integral humanism, universal humanism, ecological humanism, transhumanism. In our opinion, all these proposals go in the same direction, which can be called global humanism as a qualitatively new form of humanism of the 21st century. Global humanism is not the creation of any one civilization. It belongs to all mankind as a system that is becoming one. In relation to the two previous stages of humanism, which play the role of thesis and antithesis, it, in accordance with Hegelian dialectics, plays the role of synthesis. Global humanism to a certain extent returns to the first stage with its non-violence and environmental friendliness (the principle of ahimsa) and the primacy of morality and humanity (Confucius and the philosophical tradition of Ancient Greece), and at the same time absorbs the best that Western thought has introduced - the desire for creative self-realization person. This is embodied in modern forms of humanism, which will be discussed in succession below.

The first one is ecological humanism. , the main idea of ​​which is the rejection of violence against nature and man. Modern civilization does not teach the ability to live in peace with people and nature. We need a radical rejection of the aggressive-consumer orientation with its desire to take from nature everything that a person wants, which led to an ecological crisis. The new civilization, the impulse to which comes from the current ecological situation, is a loving-creative civilization.

The traditional understanding of humanism, according to Heidegger, is metaphysical. But being can give itself, and a person can treat it with reverence, which brings together the approach of M. Heidegger and A. Schweitzer. A. Schweitzer appeared when it was time to change the human attitude to nature. Nature enters the sphere of morality as a consequence of the increased scientific and technological power of man.

Humanism comes from "homo", in which not only "man", but also "earth" ("humus" as the most fertile layer of the earth). And man is "homo" from the earth, and not only "men" from the mind and "anthropos" from the striving upwards. In these three words are three conceptions of man. In "men" and "anthropos" there is nothing of the earth and of humanity. Humanism, thus, by the origin of the word is understood as earthly, ecological.

Ecological humanism fulfills the Heideggerian task of familiarizing with being. Entry into being is carried out through the practice of human nature-transforming activity. However, a person is not determined by the technological path he follows. He can move along an ecological path that will bring him more quickly into being. The paths he chooses determine whether he will come into existence or not.

The new ecological thought must be combined with traditional humanism, which is based on non-violence. This is what gives ecological humanism, representing the humanism of Confucius, Socrates, Christ and the Renaissance, extended to nature, the sprouts of which are in the philosophy of Tolstoy, Gandhi and others. Ethics must enter culture, nature must enter ethics, and through ethics culture in ecological humanism is connected with nature.

Environmental humanism lies at the intersection of Eastern and Western traditions. The West can give a lot in scientific and technical terms to solve the environmental problem, India - the spirit of ahimsa, Russia - the traditional patience and gift of self-sacrifice. Such ecological convergence is certainly beneficial. The synthetic power of ecological humanism is also expressed in the synthesis of the branches of culture that took part in its creation. It is art, religion, philosophy, politics, morality, science.

The ethics of ecological humanism is the ethics of ahimsa, extended to the whole world; "the golden rule of ecology", formulated by L.N. Tolstoy: "treat as you want to be treated not only by people, but also by animals." Ecological humanism requires a change in attitude towards nature (protection of animals, protection of the environment from pollution, etc.), towards people (preservation of cultural and individual diversity), towards the Universe. It connects the attitude towards man and the attitude towards animals, overcoming the paradox that people can fight for the rights of animals and not pay attention to violence against people. The rights of animals and people in it are equally sacred.

Ecological humanism is based on the principle of harmony between man and nature and the recognition of the equivalence of all living things. “An attempt to establish generally significant value differences between living beings goes back to the desire to judge them depending on whether they seem to us to be closer to a person or further away, which, of course, is a subjective criterion. For who among us knows what significance another living being has in itself and in the world as a whole. In practical terms, ecological humanism includes appropriate behavior and even nutrition, i.e. non-violence and vegetarianism, which stem from the principle of ahimsa and the commandment to protect the cow in Hinduism.

If we want to overcome the ecological crisis, we need to learn non-violent interaction with nature, first of all, to give up the desire to conquer it. Life is impossible without violence, but not wanting it and striving to reduce it is in our power. To those who say that nothing depends on our own behavior, it can be objected that we must act on the assumption that our personal action still has meaning and significance.

To free himself from the power of nature, man resorted to violence. Now he is free (by and large he only thinks so), and nature is defeated and further violence is dangerous. People begin to understand that violence against nature turns against them. And humanity in relation to nature will be another argument in justifying the need to refrain from violence in interpersonal relationships.

Why is it necessary to be humane from an environmental point of view? The preservation of the existing diversity preserves the world, and not only the material world, which is the more stable the more diverse it is, but also the human soul, as modern psychology in the person of E. Fromm confirms. Add to this the argument of karma, which in Christianity is interpreted as a punishment for sins. By renouncing violence, we save nature and our souls.

The rationale for non-violence in relation to nature is similar to that given by Tolstoy in relation to people. We do not know the universal truth, therefore, until it is found, we must not use violence against people. With regard to nature, we can say: we do not know the absolute truth, therefore, until it is discovered, we should not use violence against nature.

But the situation in the ecological field has its own specifics. Man must regulate the forces of nature, as N.F. Fedorov, but with love, not with violence, as he is doing now. The concept of love for nature, which is opposed to the desire to dominate it, remains important, despite the use of scientific terminology "regulation", "optimization", etc.

The material progress of a consumer civilization cannot but lead to a crisis, because material needs, in principle, can grow indefinitely, contradicting the possibilities of the biosphere to satisfy them. Ecological humanism makes it possible to weaken the antagonism of this contradiction. As a modern form of humanism, it combines the struggle for social justice and anti-war actions, the "green movement" and the movement for animal rights, viganism and charity.

All the great conductors of ecological humanism have been eminently striving not only to think, but also to act. In ecological humanism, we come to the realization of being not only theoretically, but also practically - in our behavior. Humanism breaks through the framework of spiritual culture and enters the expanse of being.

The second form of global humanism can be called non-violent humanism. The trouble with Western civilization, according to A. Schweitzer, is that it tried to be satisfied with a culture divorced from ethics. But the ultimate goal should be the spiritual and moral perfection of the individual. New European culture believed that spirituality would come with the growth of material well-being, but this did not happen.

Reviving the ancient principle of ahimsa, Schweitzer wrote: "For a truly moral person, all life is sacred, even that which, from our human point of view, seems inferior." Following Tolstoy and Gandhi, who spoke about the law of love, Schweitzer writes about the will to love, which seeks to eliminate the self-divided will to live.

Ecological and social crises require practical humanism, but they also force humanity to rise to a new theoretical level. The path to a truly global consciousness and world culture lies not through the suppression of some cultures by others, but through the unification of people and nations on the basis of universal moral wisdom. The unification of people into tribes and nations probably once followed the same path. The Christian Tolstoy and the Indian Gandhi were united by the invariants of ethics, which turned out to be more important than national and religious differences. And so the world should unite nonviolently to solve global problems.

The socially-oriented version of modern humanism is represented by the concept of new humanism A force that focuses on overcoming social inequalities through non-violent action. As for transhumanism, another form of modern humanism, while refusing to focus on the conquest of man and nature, at the same time it fully preserves and develops the creative nature of humanism. Transhumanism is aimed at increasing the duration of human life, fighting diseases (including by replacing the organs of the human body with artificial organs and natural ones using stem cells), and, ultimately, at the practical achievement of immortality by man. Here, transhumanism merges with the ideas expressed in the 19th century by the Russian philosopher N.F. Fedorov and continued representatives of Russian cosmism K.E. Tsiolkovsky and others.

Conclusion

Humanism as a worldview remains a fairly significant and attractive social idea of ​​the 20th - early 21st centuries for certain social strata of society. This is natural, since both theoretically and practically he is involved in the feasible solution of a huge range of problems of our time. Therefore, it is addressed not only to the present, but also to the future. According to the authors of the book "Building the World Community: Humanism of the 21st Century", the most relevant general cultural and social problems for humanism will be the following problems: 1) the development of science, technology and ethics; 2) ethics of global cooperation; 3) ecology and population; 4) global war and global peace; 5) human rights; 6) ethics of the future; 7) sexuality and gender; 8) religions of the future; 9) upbringing of children and moral education; 10) biomedical ethics; 11) future humanist movement

List of used literature

1. Berdyaev N.A. Philosophy of creativity, culture and art. In 2 vols. M.: Art, 1994. Vol. 1.

2. Ancient Chinese philosophy. In 2 vols. T. 1. M .: Thought, 1973.

3. Nietzsche F., Freud Z., Fromm E., Camus A., Sartre J.P. Twilight of the Gods. - M.: Publishing house of political literature, 1989.

4. The problem of man in Western philosophy. - M.: Progress, 1988.

5. Schweitzer A. Reverence for life. - M.: Progress, 1992.

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