Humanist Anthology

by Margaret Knight (Editor)

When this important volume was first compiled in 1961, Margaret Knight brought together a full range of humanist thought to depict the Stoic and Epicurean traditions in the ancient world, the writers of the Renaissance and Enlightenment, as well as significant thinkers in the 19th-and 20th-century rationalist traditions. Acclaimed writer and skeptic James Herrick has updated this impressive roster by adding novelists Mark Twain and E.M. Forester as well as scientists J. Bronowski, Richard Dawkins, and David Attenborough. Herrick also includes contributions by A.J. Ayer, Antony Flew, Sidney Hook, and Paul Kurtz. Incisive items from Shelley, Voltaire, T.S. Eliot, and T.H. Huxley, and many others are also provided.

Among the subjects addressed morality without God, atheism and agnosticism, facing death, the nature of the physical world, ideas of human progress, and the criticism of claims of religion. Humanist Anthology provides ample ammunition for those engaged in arguments with religionists as well as sustenance for those who wish to reconsider their own attitudes about life.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

220 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1995

Reviews

[Michael Holm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This anthology is a collection of short excerpts (1-2 pages) from the writings of people who may be regarded as humanists (secular) although historically many were very careful not to attract the ire of the authorities by declaring their unbelief openly. She included selections from Confucius, Epicurus, Mencius, Cicero, Lucretius, Seneca, Plutarch, Marcus Aurelius, Montaigne, Giodano Bruno, Spinoza. Margaret Knight published the initial anthology in 1961 and James (Jim) Herrick revised the book in 1995, adding many new excerpts from more recent persons such as : Mark Twain, George Eliot, E. M. Forster, J. Bronowski, Richard Dawkins, David Attenborough, A. J. Ayer, Anthony Flew, Sidney Hook, Paul Kurtz, M. N. Roy and Gora. There are many other writers included but I can't tell which were added later.

I bought this book looking for moral counsel and meditations from humanism. I am a bit disappointed because most of the excerpts are arguments against religion, Christianity in particular. Interestingly, practically all of the arguments are on moral grounds: look at all the horrible persecutions, tortures, and burnings that happened under the approval of the Christian church. Some are based upon the incompatibility of evil in the world created by a beneficent God. So Christian religion is probably not a very reliable source for moral guidance because of its practices in history. Only a few of the selections, primarily those from the ancients, are truly helpful with living life as a humanist.

This book may be a help to new humanists looking for bolstering their rejection of Christianity. There certainly is a lot of well-known names included to give secular humanism credibility. But it gradually began to feel like a box of ammo for atheists arguing against Christianity. An anthology of essays and selections by humanist authors that help to guide one through life's challenges is bound to have a growing market. If you know of such books, please let me know. This book is a start but I feel that much more
could have been included, excluding arguments against theistic religions.

[Dan Wilkinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

An uneven collection spanning the vast but vague philosophy of humanism. Most excerpts are too short to offer any meaningful engagement with the issues, resulting in a book that's merely a feel-good reader for the pseudo-intellectual who wants to truthfully claim to have read Freud, Feuerbach, Hume and Huxley without necessarily understanding the ideas they discuss.