IN CELEBRATION OF HUMANISM II

 

Several years ago, I penned a commentary designed to escape the troubling news of the day. The article imagined that similar to the numerous awards shows that honor actors, directors and other creative types, there should be a comparable “Hall of Fame” to honor humanists. These individuals typically exemplify the scientific method and human values. Sadly, with the Trump administration, the celebration of humanism becomes a protest, not an escape.

Our divided society pays too little attention to the uplifting contributions of humanists seeking to celebrate human worth. Throughout recorded history, humanists have explored the goodness of humanity and sought rational ways to solve human problems. Without the foundation provided by dedicated humanists, giving us enlightenment and hope, there would be no place for the talented individuals we honor in our yearly awards shows. What follows are the new nominees for my imagined Humanist Hall of Fame. 

All three of my nominees are deceased. They represent three different time periods – the Renaissance, Victorian England, and today.  Each, in their own way, utilized reason and evidence to understand the world and to value human dignity. Each urged us to take responsibility for our own actions.

Cornelius Agrippa

The life of Cornelius Agrippa,1486-1535, took place during the Renaissance, as Europe was experiencing a rebirth following the Middle Ages. He was born in Cologne, Germany but spent time in numerous European countries. He studied both medicine and law with no evidence of him receiving a degree in either.

Agrippa was known for his deep learning and advocacy of classical and ancient wisdom, often clashing with traditional religious leaders. While still living in Cologne, he took on the defense of a women accused of witchcraft and was soon forced by the Inquisition to leave his native city.

During his fifty years, Agrippa’s diverse career included being a secret agent, soldier, physician, orator, and law professor. On one occasion he became the personal physician to the Queen Mother at the court of King Francis I. After the queen dismissed him, he was soon banned for practicing medicine without a license. Later, he became historian to the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.

Agrippa’s opinions were controversial, and he was often criticized by those in power. By seeking truth in classical sources outlawed by the church, he opened the gate for later philosophical thinking and scientific discovery.

Robert Louis Stevenson

The author, Robert Louis Stevenson is given credit for providing humanist influence in Victorian England. In his writing, Stevenson emphasized human experience and often critiqued Victorian hypocrisy. He rebelled against strict religious dogma and valued human ethics.

Stevenson’s work, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, explored human duality. His literary and personal life reflected ideas of openness, tolerance, and profound care for others. One biographer/critic, Jeremy Treglown observed, “He always wanted to escape from the certitudes and complacencies, religious, moral, and social of his Edinburgh upbringing.”

It is not well known that during his life, Stevenson was considered one of the most accomplished essayists of his generation. In one essay that reminded me of the early life of Pittsburgh playwright, August Wilson, Stevenson wrote, “If a lad does not learn in the streets, it is because he has no faculty of learning.”

In another essay, Stevenson explains his progressive views on women, at odds with strict Victorian culture that placed them on a pedestal. “When you marry, you take into your life a creature of equal frailties, whose human heart beats no more tunefully than yours.” In other essays he admired strong women and attacked male superiority.

At the end of his life, Stevenson lived on the Polynesian island of Samoa. This gave him the opportunity to follow his earlier declaration that his mission as a writer was “to protect the oppressed and to defend the truth.” In his non-fiction book, A Footnote to History, Stevenson castigated the colonial powers for exploiting local native people and destroying their way of life.

Robert Dworkin

As an attorney, Robert Dworkin was my favorite philosopher of law. He placed human dignity at the center of his moral system. Dworkin was skilled in breaking down complex issues like race, abortion, euthanasia, and equality.

Dworkin studied law and philosophy at Harvard University and law at Oxford. His distinguished career was unfortunately ended by his death from leukemia in 2013. A dedicated progressive, Dworkin had the experience of teaching a joint course at Yale with conservative legal scholar, Robert Bork.

Dworkin believed that law should be viewed not as a series of isolated statutes and cases, but as a "single coherent scheme of principle." His basic moral principle was that respect for human dignity entails two requirements: 1) “self-respect.” taking the objective importance of your own life seriously, and 2) “authenticity,” accepting a personal responsibility for identifying what counts as success in your own life.

My favorite book by Dworkin is the ambitious Justice for Hedgehogs. It argues for a unified theory of value; connecting truth, morality, and justice.

Unfortunately, in Trump’s world, humanists are held in low regard and worse, often assailed. This has been the plight of humanists throughout history. Authoritarian and religious leaders have repeatedly sought to limit their influence. The humanist goals of reason, civic virtue, and truth seeking are the bane of despots. My Humanist Hall of Fame nominees, and others, give us examples to follow when the world turns dark.