The Courage to Become (Pt I)

"Better the illusions that exalt us than 10,000 truths."

So far my exploration of humanism has left me... underwhelmed. The premise of this blog is that we can be better than this. The inevitable question that follow is - Why aren't we? We exalt violence in the name of realism. We encourage immediate gratification and consumption as an anecdote to a plethora of psychological and societal ills. We sacrifice the future for the present in ways too numerous to count. Why aren't we any better than this?

I'm too cynical, you are saying. (Perhaps.)

Or perhaps I'm just wondering how much of our destructive behavior is driven by our beliefs about what we really are. I'm wondering what reasons humanism (and especially the newer, more secular/atheistic humanism) gives us for behaving in accordance with ideals and virtues that often require sacrifice. In short, I'm throwing all my doubts about reality of the human condition at this thing called 'humanism' and seeing what survives.

After reading the Humanist Manifestos, I couldn't help but notice that they all seemed rather reactionary. Especially Humanist Manifesto II, which was written 40 years after the first one, and after we had witnessed "the depths of brutality of which humanity is capable." While HM2 presents itself as "a vision of hope," it very explicitly tears away certain notions that, for better or worse, may enable us to sacrifice for something higher than ourselves. In doing so, it represents a significant deviation from its predecessor.

If I believe that this body is all that I am and ever will be, then its survival becomes paramount. I will see the world in terms of threats to my physical survival. And there is no reason why my survival should not take precedence over yours. HM2 states "we can discover no divine purpose or providence for the human species." They might just as well have said "we have found no purpose or providence, divine or otherwise, for the human species, save survival." And if "[w]e strive for the good life, here and now," what incentive do we have to divert any of our resources to others, save that such actions may possibly buy us the goodwill of our fellows?

While HM2 extols empathy, compassion, and "the cultivation of feeling and love" as desirable virtues, it fails to provide a reason why these things should be cultivated, especially if their cultivation would threaten one's survival. Are we now saying that I can reasonably be expected to sacrifice some portion of my life for yours, and that this is desirable and will ultimately be rewarded, though presumably only by intangible and perhaps posthumous praises? What reason have you given me for behaving thusly, save that you recognize that these traits are something you want others to express? Why are these held up as ideals, rather than strength and power? (It's possible that I watch too much science fiction.)

Reverence for the capacity for self-sacrifice flies in the face of the presumed goal of this non-theistic, non-transcendental vision of humanity - survival. Yet who among us would want to live in a world without compassion or altruistic behavior?

Perhaps we simply cling to these ideals for psychological comfort, not unlike the comfort we can derive from the belief that there is a loving God who has done all this for our ultimate benefit. And after all, what we believe the rules should be doesn't always predict how we actually behave. (Ex: There are the legal rules for driving, and then there are the rules that you follow if you are actually driving. The discrepancy is huge, yet almost everyone is aware of it and behaves accordingly.)

Do we derive courage by embracing these ideals of human behavior, and the rare instances when we witness them in action? Do we derive enough courage to display these ideals ourselves, in the face of a threat to our survival? Or do we require something more? Something that explicitly tells us that we do not need to fear the death of the body? Are we only truly emboldened to sacrifice ourselves and our resources if we are sustained by a vision of something of ourselves persisting beyond this life?

What gives us the courage to become what we hold up as the ideal human being? In the rush to do away with the abuses perpetuated by religious power structures, are humanists also unnecessarily seeking to rid the world of powerful ideas that enable us to behave in the very ways that would bring about a self-actualizing, peaceful world community?