SIR – I completely agree with Jed King (November 13), John Phillpott’s article supposedly on humanism (November 3) was either provocatively facetious or very illinformed.
Mr Phillpott can’t get over the fact that humanists, being sceptical of supernatural claims, don’t believe in resurrection to heaven (or any other afterlife beliefs). He says humanists are “certain”
of the oblivion to come.
But it is a failure of imagination to taint humanist scepticism with the brush of dogma.
You don’t need to disbelieve absolutely in order to reject an absolute belief.
Perhaps Mr Phillpott is simply confused because he can’t break out of the religious idea that holding any kind of ‘worldview’ must mean adhering to a creed. Yet humanism is simply a set of related attitudes which very many people have, even if they don’t use the term humanist.
You might compare being humanist to being socialist or being green.
It’s about realising that actually, when we’re trying to work out what is the right choice to make, or why we should value the person standing in front of us, the answer is literally right there in front of us.
Human value doesn’t depend on divine intervention.
Whether you think there’s an afterlife or not, there’s only one life you know you have and it’s this one. Humanism begins in understanding this.
BOB CHURCHILL,
Worcester.
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