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Words are defined by their use, not by what you want them to mean; use changes over time, and words have multiple meanings. The historical meaning is still th
by gnaritas 11y ago
Words are defined by their use, not by what you want them to mean; use changes over time, and words have multiple meanings. The historical meaning is still there, it's simply not the only one anymore.
> Historical Humanism has been replaced by a modern definition that has no connection to the past.
Yes, it has, so accept that and move on. The word has taken on a new meaning, to a new group of people who are now the primary reason the word is used and thus rightfully what the word means to most people today.
- walterbell 11y agoFuture people may yet lay claim to an evolved application of the word, in additional contexts (e.g. interstellar).
- baldfat 11y agoJust go with Atheist or Agnostic why does it need another word?
- cygx 11y ago'Modern' Humanism is a belief system, whereas atheism is a particular stance on the singular issue of existence of gods.
- gnaritas 11y agoBecause they aren't even close to the same thing. It's not another word, it's an entirely different word describing an entirely different thing, a set of beliefs, something that atheism is not.
- baldfat 11y agoThat is not what the American Humanist Society states. That is ALSO my point. http://americanhumanist.org/Humanism http://americanhumanist.org/Humanism
- gnaritas 11y agoIncorrect. Just because humanists are atheists, doesn't mean atheists are humanists. You've failed to understand the difference. Humanism is a belief system some atheists follow, all atheists are not humanists. Being an atheist doesn't make one a humanist, surely you can understand that distinction? Knowing someone is an atheist doesn't tell you what they believe, it tells you what they don't believe; knowing they're a humanist tells you exactly what they do believe. Humanists are a sub-category of atheists.