Humanism is a philosophy for people who think for
themselves. There is no area of thought that a Humanist is afraid to
challenge and explore.

Humanism is a philosophy focused upon human
means for comprehending reality. Humanists make no claims to possess or
have access to supposed transcendent knowledge.

Humanism is a philosophy of reason and
science in the pursuit of knowledge. Therefore, when it comes to the
question of the most valid means for acquiring knowledge of the world,
Humanists reject arbitrary faith, authority, revelation, and altered
states of consciousness.

Humanism is a philosophy of imagination.
Humanists recognize that intuitive feelings, hunches, speculation,
flashes of inspiration, emotion, altered states of consciousness, and
even religious experience, while not valid means to acquire knowledge,
remain useful sources of ideas that can lead us to new ways of looking
at the world. These ideas, after they have been assessed rationally for
their usefulness, can then be put to work, often as alternate
approaches for solving problems.

Humanism is a philosophy for the here and
now. Humanists regard human values as making sense only in the context
of human life rather than in the promise of a supposed life after
death.

Humanism is a philosophy of compassion.
Humanist ethics is solely concerned with meeting human needs and
answering human problems - for both the individual and society - and
devotes no attention to the satisfaction of the desires of supposed
supernatural entities.

Humanism is a realistic philosophy.
Humanists recognize the existence of moral dilemmas and the need for
careful consideration of immediate and future consequences in moral
decision making.

Humanism is in tune with the science of
today. Humanists therefore recognize that we live in a natural universe
of great size and age, that we evolved on this planet over a long
period of time, that there is no compelling evidence for a separable
"soul" and that human beings have certain built-in needs that
effectively form the basis for any human-oriented value system.

Humanism is in tune with today's
enlightened social thought. Humanists are committed to civil liberties,
human rights, church-state separation, the extension of participatory
democracy not only in government but in the workplace and education, an
expansion of global consciousness and exchange of products and ideas
internationally, and an open-ended approach to solving social problems,
an approach that allows for the testing of new alternatives.

Humanism is in tune with new technological
developments. Humanists are willing to take part in emerging scientific
and technological discoveries in order to exercise their moral
influence on these revolutions as they come about.

Humanism is, in sum, a philosophy of those
in love with life. Humanists take responsibility for their own lives
and relish the adventure of being part of new discoveries, seeking new
knowledge, exploring new options. Instead of finding solace in
prefabricated answers to the great questions of life, Humanists enjoy
the open-endedness of a quest and the freedom of discovery that this
entails.

From the American Humanist Association