Secular Philosophy....waddya think?

[rgutsell]

Hallo All

I recently set my mind to creating a basic list of core statements that may define a Secular way of life.

Here they are. What do you think?

THE 10 STATEMENTS THAT MAY DEFINE SECULAR SOCIETY

1. Community should take a positive and constructive attitude to the incipient potential for destructive behaviour and anti-social feelings that we all have, and which arise from the shared social pressures of rationality, faithfulness in all relationships, and secular life.

2. We are the sole authors of our own commandments and ethics.

3. Secular ethics are the pragmatic solution to dealing with the stresses of living together, which otherwise may result in destruction and violence. They should lead to tolerance and understanding.

4. All humans regardless of race, culture, belief etc, are beset by the same frailties, anxieties, vulnerability, and needs.

5. Attention to the everyday quality or our actions and relationships, directly affects the overall quality and culture of society. The small leads to the large.

6. A holistic conception of healthy social living should be developed, and communicated throughout society, rather than the purely commercially inspired messages that dominate today.

7. We can see ourselves as spiritual, psychological and corporeal beings in a holistic way, (without recourse to belief in the supernatural) and develop institutions, architecture, places and buildings, in which education and personal development in this way, are encouraged.

8. The life we have now, is the only one we will have.

9. We are not alone in our insecurities, and human vulnerability, and the temporary nature of our lives. A healthy secular society will advance ways to share these, and publicly acknowledge them.

10. The Humanities should be developed as a source of inspiration, learning, moral support and ethical guidance.

RGutsell

[Alan Medic]

Master, speak to us about shopping.

[rgutsell]

Nah Alan Medic....shopping sucks.

[maxxi]

reads like the prospectus for a combi psych/sociology degree at Loughborough

[uncleglen]

Yes-and no money should be taken from common taxation to prop up a belief in a supernatural construct (ie for faith schools)

[Alan Medic]

uncleangelen.......I am watching you and if you don't get your act together you will burn in hell.........FOREVER

PS It's very hot and uncomfortable

[rgutsell]

You again Alan Medic? Hell does not exist either! If you are hot, you should turn the heating off.

R Gutsell

[Alan Medic]

Either, rgutsell? Either to what? You mean heaven maybe.That does exist too. It's here on planet Earth. What planet are you on?

[Burbage]

rgutsell Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Here they are. What do you think?

>

> 1. Community should take a positive and constructive

> attitude to the incipient potential...

Perhaps I'm insufficiently cynical, but please explain how and why you think the "incipient potential" for violence arises from "faithfulness in all relationships"

> 2. We are the sole authors of our own commandments

> and ethics.

Yes. But 'we' is seven billion people, all with different sets of 'commandments and ethics'.

> 3. Secular ethics are the pragmatic solution to

> dealing with the stresses of living together,

As is 'natural law' and the rules of any religion, government or two-bit flatshare that's arisen since the dawn of time.

> 4. All humans regardless of race, culture, belief

> etc, are beset by the same frailties, anxieties,

> vulnerability, and needs.

Not unless you've stolen my bunions. What we're beset by is different for everyone. For example, you suffer delusions whereas I suffer fools.

> 5. Attention to the everyday quality or our

> actions and relationships, directly affects the

> overall quality and culture of society. The small

> leads to the large.

The same applies to cake.

> 6. A holistic conception of healthy social living

> should be developed, and communicated throughout

> society, rather than the purely commercially

> inspired messages that dominate today.

Perhaps you're staying in too much, but such things have been developed. Not least by nations, religions, cults and sects. My advice would be to stop watching telly and get some counselling (there are plenty on this forum, though possibly not enough, who can provide suitable recommendations). Or you could do what everyone else seems to do at a certain time of life - build yourself a yurt and sell 'awareness' courses to the vulnerable.

> 7. We can see ourselves as spiritual,

> psychological and corporeal beings in a holistic

> way, (without recourse to belief in the

> supernatural) and develop institutions,

> architecture, places and buildings, in which

> education and personal development in this way,

> are encouraged.

Please explain what is meant by spiritual without recourse to the supernatural. Include at least one architectural drawing to illustrate your answer.

> 8. The life we have now, is the only one we will have.

You have no proof for that, and though it's a comforting thought, it's nothing more than that.

> 9. We are not alone in our insecurities, and human

> vulnerability, and the temporary nature of our

> lives. A healthy secular society will advance ways

> to share these, and publicly acknowledge them.

The existence of Facebook, hospitals and Trident suggest we're not short of ways of sharing our vulnerabilities.

> 10. The Humanities should be developed as a source

> of inspiration, learning, moral support and

> ethical guidance.

This is futile and dangerous. For unless you're going to reduce the Humanities to a branch of Gutsell-approved philosophy, you're going to be looking for ethical guidance in Wagner and moral support from Albanian. If you mean censorship, then say so and then at least we'll know what to think.

I appreciate the timing. With only the UKIP conference to trouble the papers, it seems a great time to launch a something, whatever this something is. But, with respect, it looks more like the founding document for a particularly oppressive naturist colony than the manifesto for a new republic. Either way it raises questions as to motive.

[El Pibe]

Potw

[Alan Medic]

Publicly owned treatment works?