In Defense of Secular Humanism

Rating:
Summary: Not too bad, but not too good either
Review: In Defense of Secular Humanism is a collection of essays written by Paul Kurtz, mostly in reaction to allegations leveled against secular humanism (and humanism in general) by the Religious Right and other fundamentalist Christian organizations in the United States.

And therein lies the chief problem: it's a collection of essays that are almost totally focused on one central concern. Whereas many other essay collections by other authors tend to cover wide ranges of concerns (anything from war, to ethics, to religion, to sports), Kurtz's collection is focused almost entirely on answering allegations by his opponents.

And since his opponents had a habit of making the same allegations again, and again, and again, much of this book is Kurtz writing the same responses again, and again, and again.

To sum the problem up, there's a heck of a lot of repition in this book.

Of course, there are several good essays, and some excellent ones. Kurtz's "Principle of Tolerance Reaffirmed", "Fallacy of the Undistributed Middle", and "The Democratic Ethic" are very thought-provoking works to read. However, much of the book delves into seemingly mindless repition and even vitrolic rhetoric, which is, in my opinion, unbecomming of a person of Kurtz's intellectual capabilities.

Bear in mind that I do have some biases on this subject. This was my first introduction to humanism, and it's a very poor book for a first exposure. If you're like I was, and looking for something to introduce the ideas of Humanism to you, read "The Philosophy of Humanism," by Lamont.

Ultimately, I would hesitate to buy this book if I were you. If you're like me, and willing to spend the money to add this to your collections (and read the occasional very interesting articles within), go ahead. However, overall the book is intellectually unstimulating, and probably not worth most people's money. These essays just weren't meant to be put together.

Rating:
Summary: Rightwingers on the Warpath
Review: Paul Kurtz, professor of philosophy, publisher of Prometheus Books, and editor of Free Inquiry, wrote this volume in the early 1980s, when the Moral Majority were on a war path against the "religion" of Secular Humanism. Though many of his articles are redundant, Kurtz's book being a compilation, his rebuttal of much of the Religious Right's paranoia is as refreshing today as it was then. If the Secular Humanists were such a power block, it would stand to reason that such organizations would have far more than a few thousand members each. What the Falwells of the world are reacting to, lumped together under the S.H. bogeyman, is the influence of a broader humanism, which is attractive to many religionists who see little contradiction with their beliefs. The clock can't be turned back.

Rating:
Summary: Rightwingers on the Warpath
Review: Paul Kurtz, professor of philosophy, publisher of Prometheus Books, and editor of Free Inquiry, wrote this volume in the early 1980s, when the Moral Majority were on a war path against the "religion" of Secular Humanism. Though many of his articles are redundant, Kurtz's book being a compilation, his rebuttal of much of the Religious Right's paranoia is as refreshing today as it was then. If the Secular Humanists were such a power block, it would stand to reason that such organizations would have far more than a few thousand members each. What the Falwells of the world are reacting to, lumped together under the S.H. bogeyman, is the influence of a broader humanism, which is attractive to many religionists who see little contradiction with their beliefs. The clock can't be turned back.