Principles 

Humanism definitions       

    Broadly speaking, Humanism assumes that people must make their own destiny using the individual faculties of reason and compassion and the social compact of democracy. There are many overlapping definitions of Humanism, but Humanists understand the world through empirical study, and Humanists derive ethical obligations from the inherent dignity and worth of humans as living beings. Providential or supernatural explanations of either natural phenomena or specific ethical obligations are not a part of Humanism.

    Some other definitions:

• Humanism is a way of living, thinking, and acting that allows every individual to actualize his or her highest aspirations and successfully achieve a happy and fulfilling life. Humanists take responsibility for their own morals and their own lives, and for the lives of their communities and the world in which we live. Humanists emphasize reason and scientific inquiry, individual freedom and responsibility, human values and compassion, and the need for tolerance and cooperation. Humanists reject supernatural, authoritarian, and anti-democratic beliefs and doctrines. • The American Humanist Association

• Humanism is a rational philosophy informed by science, inspired by art, and motivated by compassion. Affirming the dignity of each human being, it supports the maximization of individual liberty and opportunity consonant with social and planetary responsibility. It advocates the extension of participatory democracy and the expansion of the open society, standing for human rights and social justice. Free of supernaturalism, it recognizes human beings as a part of nature and holds that values -- be they religious, ethical, social, or political -- have their source in human experience and culture. Humanism thus derives the goals of life from human need and interest rather than from theological or ideological abstractions, and asserts that humanity must take responsibility for its own destiny. • The American Humanist Association

• Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethics based on human and other natural values in a spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality. • The International Humanist and Ethical Union

• Humanism is a philosophy, world view, or life stance based on naturalism -- the conviction that the universe or nature is all that exists or is real. Humanism serves, for many humanists, some of the emotional and social functions of a religion, but without belief in deities, transcendental beings, miracles, immortality, and the supernatural. Humanists seek to understand the universe by using science and its methods of critical inquiry—logical reasoning, empirical evidence, and skeptical evaluation of conjectures and conclusions—to obtain reliable knowledge. Humanists affirm that humans have the freedom to give meaning, value, and purpose to their lives by their own independent thought, free inquiry, and responsible, creative activity. Humanists stand for the building of a more humane, just, compassionate, and democratic society using a pragmatic ethics based on human reason, experience, and reliable knowledge—an ethics that judges the consequences of human actions by the well-being of all life on Earth. • The Virtual Community of Humanists

• Humanism is a philosophy of life inspired by humanity and guided by reason. Humanists think that science and reason provide the best basis for understanding the world around us; and believe that moral values are properly founded on human empathy and scientific understanding. Humanists do not see any convincing evidence for gods, the supernatural, or life after death. They believe we must live this life on the basis that it is the only life we lead, and that therefore we must make the most of it for ourselves, each other, and our world.

• Humanism recognizes that if there is any supernatural world which lies beyond the range of human experience, it possesses no practical use for man, because what he cannot know he cannot use - John H Dietrich, "What is Humanism" in the New Humanist March/April 1933

• Humanist philosophies have arisen separately in many different cultures over many thousands of years. Today, this nonreligious approach to life is shared by a significant part of society. Whether or not they use the term "humanism", tens of millions of Americans and hundreds of millions of people around the world agree with the humanist philosophy of living a happy and productive life based on reason and compassion. - The Institute for Humanist Studies

Several other essays on Humanist principles are reproduced elsewhere in this section of the web site with permission of the American Humanist Association. In addition, see the Humanist Philosophy section of the American Humanist Association web site.