To tell the story of the document that crystallized the principles and ideals of contemporary humanism is to tell the story of the origins of the humanist movement itself. Conceived from a convergence of freethought and religious liberalism at the end of the nineteenth century, born out of the global upheaval of World War I, nourished by the cultural revolutions of the 1920s, modern humanism came of age in 1933 with the publication of "A Humanist Manifesto." This statement of fifteen affirmations on cosmology, biological and cultural evolution, human nature, epistemology, ethics, religion, self-fulfillment, and the quest for freedom and social justice explicitly delineated the leading ideas and aspirations of its era. Changing times, however, brought new challenges - the rise of fascism, World War II, the spread of communism, the Cold War - with consequent calls to revise or replace the manifesto. These appeals, too, make up part of the early history of the humanist philosophy and the people who fostered its development. The genesis of a Humanist Manifesto is therefore a chronicle of American humanism through the first half of the twentieth century, told by one of the people most responsible for its historic unfoldment.
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HOW DID THE FIRST HUMANIST MANIFESTO COME TO BE WRITTEN?,
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This review is from: The Genesis of a Humanist Manifesto (Paperback)
Have you ever noticed that the first Humanist Manifesto (of 1933) was much more sympathetic to religion than the later Manifestos? Well, perhaps that's because 15 of the original 34 signers were Unitarians, and the ideal of "Religious Humanism" prevailed among the signers. American philosopher John Dewey said that he was willing to sign it precisely "BECAUSE it had a religious context."That's quite different from the later Manifestos (e.g., Manifesto II and III; Secular Humanist Declaration; A Declaration of Interdependence; IHEU Minimum Statement on Humanism; Humanist Manifesto 2000; the 2002 Amsterdam Declaration). Well, Edwin Henry Wilson was THERE---he was one of the original signers, as well as a Unitarian minister, and even the first Editor of "The Humanist" magazine. His book is filled with many insights about how the first Manifesto came into existence. (Interestingly enough, Wilson notes that Corliss Lamont and Paul Blanshard---later secular Humanist luminaries---didn't sign the first Manifesto. And few scientists and social scientists signed it.) This is not a "book for the MASSES," but for any of us with Humanist sympathies (or at least an interest in the subject), it is fascinating reading.
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