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The Courage to Become: The Virtues of Humanism
Does life have meaning if one rejects belief in God? This book responds affirmatively to that question. Paul Kurtz, America's leading secular humanist, provides a powerful defense of the humanist alternative, rejecting both religious spirituality and nihilism. In this inspirational book, Kurtz outlines the basic virtues of the secular humanist outlook. These virtues include courage , not simply to be or to survive, but to overcome and become ; that is, to fulfill our highest aspirations and ideals in the face of obstacles. The two other virtues Kurtz identifies are cognition (reason and science in establishing truth) and moral caring (compassion and benevolence in our relationships with others.) Kurtz offers an optimistic appraisal of the human prospect and outlines a philosophy both for the individual and the global community.
- GenresPhilosophy
152 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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About the author
Paul Kurtz
69 books60 followersDr. Paul W. Kurtz was a prominent American skeptic and secular humanist. Before his retirement, he was Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, having previously also taught at Vassar, Trinity, and Union colleges, and the New School for Social Research.
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April 5, 2016
An expansion of Kurtz's secular ethics.
This book is an elaboration and extension of humanistic ideas found in earlier works of Paul Kurtz (most specifically, "Forbidden Fruit: The Ethics of Secularism" and "Living without Religion: Eupraxsophy"), however, this book stands on its own and doesn't require familiarity with the earlier works.
This small book provides a brief but concise introduction to three positive humanistic virtues (courage, cognition, and caring), by comparing and contrasting them with a theistic perspective, and from the perspective of a sceptical nihilist. The book provides the atheist and theist alike with a means to explore what can constitute a life of meaning. Because of this comparative approach, there is an expected amount of criticism of the other two opposing views. What is most welcome, though, is that the criticism is civil in tone, and the humanist perspective is presented in a positive way.
Thus, this book is useful at several levels. First it provides the reader with a good introduction to several humanist virtues that can assist in developing an affirmative life of meaning. This is done through a thorough, but civil comparison with two opposing views. And finally, it does so in a positive and constructive way.
If, after reading this, you seek a more sustained analysis of these types of ideas by Kurtz, consider looking at Kurtz's books
Forbidden Fruit and
Living Without Religion.
This book is an elaboration and extension of humanistic ideas found in earlier works of Paul Kurtz (most specifically, "Forbidden Fruit: The Ethics of Secularism" and "Living without Religion: Eupraxsophy"), however, this book stands on its own and doesn't require familiarity with the earlier works.
This small book provides a brief but concise introduction to three positive humanistic virtues (courage, cognition, and caring), by comparing and contrasting them with a theistic perspective, and from the perspective of a sceptical nihilist. The book provides the atheist and theist alike with a means to explore what can constitute a life of meaning. Because of this comparative approach, there is an expected amount of criticism of the other two opposing views. What is most welcome, though, is that the criticism is civil in tone, and the humanist perspective is presented in a positive way.
Thus, this book is useful at several levels. First it provides the reader with a good introduction to several humanist virtues that can assist in developing an affirmative life of meaning. This is done through a thorough, but civil comparison with two opposing views. And finally, it does so in a positive and constructive way.
If, after reading this, you seek a more sustained analysis of these types of ideas by Kurtz, consider looking at Kurtz's books
Forbidden Fruit and
Living Without Religion.
Displaying 1 of 1 review