Putting Inquiry to Work in the Service of a More Humanistic Society

I am writing to you today to share the excitement about an audacious, forward thinking new endeavor: The Institute for Science and Human Values, or “IHSV,” and its unique activities.

Following the principles I have worked to articulate and defend for forty years,

ISHV has been created to advance the tenets of a broad-based Humanist canon of ethics as enumerated in our recently released “Neo-Humanist Statement of Secular Principles and Values.” This document, endorsed by more than 100 leading scientists and public intellectuals (see enclosure), presents a charter for an innovative way forward in the study and application of modern human values at a global level. I have devoted my entire adult life to building a more humanistic society, never seeking any financial compensation for these activities. My goal has always been to elaborate and promulgate the values of secular humanism, including the Common Human Moral Decencies noted in my 1988 book, Forbidden Fruit, such as:

• Keeping promises

• Truthfulness

• Sincerity

• Honesty

• Fidelity

• Dependability

• Good Will

• Non-Malfeasance

• Sexual consent

• Beneficence

• Gratitude

• Accountability

• Justice

• Tolerance

• Cooperation

This latest Neo-Humanist Statement is a message that cherishes each individual as an individual, vigorously defends human rights as most of the modern world and the U.N. sees them, and states objectives for bringing people together in a planetary civilization in which the greatest number may live on our planet in world peace, total dignity, maximum happiness, and complete freedom. Our global focus supports the application of scientific and humanistic inquiry to the pressing issues of the modern world and provides a thoughtful alternative to the conflicted values of the past, such as:

1. initiating wars based on the specious concept of “pre-emptive strike;”

2. the initiation of reckless spending sprees by nations that cannot afford them;

3. the church-driven encouragement to generate more and larger families in the third world;

4. progressive deforestation to find more environmentally unsafe coal; and

5. assassinations and tortures long prohibited by international law.

To facilitate this planetary outlook, a distinctive feature of the Institute for Science and Human Values will be our desire to engage men and women, both non-religious and religious, in a global forum dedicated to the pursuit of shared ethical values. The search for authentic, universally applicable values and an informed moral conscience would lie at the heart of this dialogue, bearing directly on where most of us lead our daily lives.

The characteristic feature of our contemporary age is its “Radical Pluralism.” Women and men today are confronted with a bewildering assortment of ideological choices as a multitude of worldviews compete for our attention and allegiance. Recent polls clearly show an increasing trend toward secularity in American life. Seventeen percent of Americans now claim “none” as their religion. The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life’s U.S. Religious Landscape Survey reports that 16.1 percent of Americans are religiously “unaffiliated.” So while religious attitudes and beliefs are not as strongly held as they once were, we need to ask and answer thus: “Which ethical principles and values should replace them in the future?”

Moral laissez faire is insufficient. With the rapidity of change and the reality of an uncertain future many find themselves feeling rudderless, cast adrift in a turbulent ethical sea. Millions of Americans now find themselves searching for an alternative, authentic value system to live by. We are presented with an unprecedented opportunity; the time is ripe for the advancement of the ethical tenets of humanism. We have a potent and meaningful message that needs to be heard loud and clear!

Considering the enormous challenges we face at this critical time in human history, cooperation is essential to our very survival. We need to articulate a core set of values that cuts across national and ideological lines. This means bringing together people of all persuasions to address momentous questions concerning our common humanity. Only together can we generate the effective action needed to tackle the awesome challenges we face.

This point has been recently emphasized by eminent scientist E.O. Wilson who, in his book The Creation, urges that we set aside our differences, “in order to deal with the real world that we share.” He states that “the defense of living Nature is a universal value. It doesn’t rise from, nor does it promote, any religious or ideological dogma. Rather, it serves without discrimination the interests of all humanity.” The Institute for Science and Human Values is responding directly to Wilson’s powerful and eloquent plea, especially relevant today.

I am enormously proud of the great strides made thus far by skeptics and other humanist organizations. Yet, far too often, the freethought movement has over-emphasized atheism or agnosticism—admittedly

a valuable first step of secular humanism—at the expense of clearly articulating an affirmative and constructive humanist ethical system capable of inspiring the hearts and minds of ordinary men and women. It is now vital that we take the all-important next step forward, beyond disbelief. The central issue for us should be what we are FOR, not simply what we are AGAINST.

In the words of the wise old epigram: “It is far better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” The goal of the Institute for Science and Human Values is to generate light, not heat. We support as part of our

• Finding meaning and purpose in a post-religious world: teaching ethics “without benefit of clergy”

• Alleviating economic inequalities: land reform and crime control are indispensable in this

• Addressing climate change and the stewardship of the planet. Programs to “sell’ this attitudinal shift must be strengthened to the maximum

• Securing human rights around the world, using the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as an undeniable guide

• Rethinking ethics in the light of gender equality and the wide range of human sexual orientations, bringing hate and hate killings to an end forever

• Personal morality and secular ethics based on reason

• The status of human values in a scientifically oriented, technologically advanced society

 Chairman and Founder,

 Institute for Science and Human Values