LOSOPHY 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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v
CONTENTS
Introduction to the Eighth Edition vii
Foreword to the Eighth Edition xi
Preface to the Seventh Edition xii
Introduction to the Sixth Edition xiii
Foreword to the Fifth Edition xxx
Preface to the Fifth Edition xxxiv
I. The Meaning of Humanism 3
1. The Importance of Philosophy 3
2. Humanism Defined 12
3. Different Kinds of Humanists 21
II. The Humanist Tradition 33
1. Philosophic Forerunners 33
2. Religious Roots of Humanism 53
3. The Cultural Background 65
III. This Life Is All and Enough 88
1. The Unity of Body and Personality 88
2. Some Other Considerations 103
3. The Destiny of Humankind 117
IV. Humanism s Theory of the Universe 126
1. Science and Its Implications 126
2. The Rejection of Dualism and Idealism 143
3. The Universe of Nature 158
4. Contingency, Determinism, and Freedom 169
5. The Ultimates of Existence 185
6. The Appreciation of Nature 193
vi CONTENTS
V. Reliance on Reason and Science 208
1. Five Ways of Seeking Knowledge 208
2. Modern Scientific Method 214
3. Science and the Meaning of Truth 234
VI. The Affirmation of Life 248
1. The Ethics of Humanism 248
2. The Social Good and Individual Happiness 271
3. Humanism and Democracy 285
4. A Humanist Civilization 298
Appendix 311
HUMANIST MANIFESTO I, 1933 311
HUMANIST MANIFESTO II, 1973 316
Reference Notes 329
Selected Bibliography 341
Index