THE PHILOSOPHY OF HUMANISM - Corliss Lamont

THE PHILOSOPHY OF HUMANISM

Books by Corliss Lamont

The Philosophy of Humanism, Eighth Edition, 1997

(posthumous)

Lover¡¯s Credo: Poems of Love, 1994

The Illusion of Immortality, Fifth Edition, 1990

Freedom of Choice Affirmed, Third Edition, 1990

Freedom Is as Freedom Does: Civil Liberties in America,

Fourth Edition, 1990

Yes To Life: Memoirs of Corliss Lamont, 1990

Remembering John Masefield, 1990

A Lifetime of Dissent, 1988

A Humanist Funeral Service, 1977

Voice in the Wilderness: Collected Essays of Fifty Years,

1974

A Humanist Wedding Service, 1970

Soviet Civilization, Second Edition, 1955

The Independent Mind, 1951

The Peoples of the Soviet Union, 1946

You Might Like Socialism, 1939

Russia Day by Day Co-author (with Margaret I. Lamont),

1933

(Continued on last page of book)

THE

PHILOSOPHY

OF HUMANISM

CORLISS LAMONT

EIGHTH EDITION, REVISED

HALF-MOON FOUNDATION, INC.

The Half-Moon Foundation was formed to promote enduring international peace, support for the United Nations, the conservation of

our country¡¯s natural environment, and to safeguard and extend civil

liberties as guaranteed under the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

AMHERST, NEW YORK 14226

To My Mother

FLORENCE CORLISS LAMONT

discerning companion

in philosophy

Published 1997 by

Humanist Press

A division of the American Humanist Association

7 Harwood Drive, P.O. Box 1188

Amherst, NY 14226-7188

Eighth Edition

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 96-77244

ISBN 0-931779-07-3

Copyright ? 1949, 1957, 1965, 1982, 1990, 1992 by Corliss Lamont.

Copyright ? 1997 by Half-Moon Foundation, Inc.

Copy Editor, Rick Szykowny ~ Page Layout, F. J. O¡¯Neill

The following special copyright information applies to this electronic text

version of The Philosophy of Humanism, Eighth Edition:

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CONTENTS

Introduction to the Eighth Edition

Foreword to the Eighth Edition

Preface to the Seventh Edition

Introduction to the Sixth Edition

Foreword to the Fifth Edition

Preface to the Fifth Edition

vii

xi

xii

xiii

xxx

xxxiv

I. The Meaning of Humanism

1. The Importance of Philosophy

2. Humanism Defined

3. Different Kinds of Humanists

3

3

12

21

II. The Humanist Tradition

1. Philosophic Forerunners

2. Religious Roots of Humanism

3. The Cultural Background

33

33

53

65

III. This Life Is All and Enough

1. The Unity of Body and Personality

2. Some Other Considerations

3. The Destiny of Humankind

88

88

103

117

IV. Humanism¡¯s Theory of the Universe

1. Science and Its Implications

2. The Rejection of Dualism and Idealism

3. The Universe of Nature

4. Contingency, Determinism, and Freedom

5. The Ultimates of Existence

6. The Appreciation of Nature

126

126

143

158

169

185

193

v

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