Humanism: A Beginner's Guide (updated edition)

Beginner's Guide (Oneworld Publications)

by Peter Cave

Life does not become empty and meaningless in a godless universe. This is the contention at the heart of humanism, the philosophy concerned with making sense of the world through reason, experience and shared human values. In this thought-provoking introduction, Peter Cave explores the humanist approach to religious belief, ethics and politics, and addresses key criticisms. Revised and updated to confront today’s great crises – the climate emergency and global pandemics – and the future of humanism in the face of rapid technological advancement, this is for anyone wishing to better understand what it means to be human in the twenty-first century.

Genres: Philosophy

262 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 7, 2022

About the author

Peter Cave lectures in philosophy for The Open University and New York University (London). He frequently contributes to philosophy magazines and journals, lectures around the world, and has scripted and presented philosophy programmes for the BBC. He is the author of eight books on philosophy, including Humanism: A Beginner’s Guide and the bestselling Can a Robot be Human?: 33 Perplexing Philosophy Puzzles.

Reviews

[Casey Kiracofe · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to Humanism. This book led me down a rabbit hole into similar concepts of philosophy— including Epistemology and Skepticism— while also building my understanding on ethics and morality.

Peter Cave’s style of writing threw me off around the mid point of the book, but the beginning and end few chapters really had me hooked. Stand out parts include the, “Respecting Rebekah”, “Transhumanism”, and “Exceptionalism” segments.

The Beginners Guide to Humanism will shake your perception on whether ethics and morality are possible (or even improved) in a secular belief system.