The original Olympic Games were shut down in 393 CE by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I as part of his efforts to promote Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. The opening of the 2024 Olympics in Paris is a powerful reminder of our recovery of the humanistic spirit of Ancient Greece. The Olympics and Paralympics embody many humanist values including striving for excellence, performing at our physical best, overcoming setbacks, sportsmanship, fair play, and international friendship. We hope you will enjoy the Games.
Our main theme this month, however, strikes a different note. For some decades there has been a growing awareness that the environmental bill for our stunning material and technological success as a species is becoming due. Some go so far as to say that ‘the planet would be better off without us’. To me, this sentiment is anti-humanist. It reminds me of the type of Christianity which preaches that humanity is depraved and incapable of saving itself. In contrast to this, surely our best humanistic path is to steer a middle course between hubris and despair. We are a remarkable ape which has been designed by the error-prone and unguided processes of natural selection. We should be honest about our inbuilt shortcomings but generous about our achievements and successes.
In his column this month, Mike Flood examines potential existential risks and their implications for the future of humanity, and Cathy Silman questions whether humanism is compatible with the ‘selfish gene’. Aaron asks ‘Are we doomed?’ musing that, were he passing by in a spaceship, he might not set down on planet Earth to live among humans. Maggie Hall takes a hard-hitting approach to our consumption habits, but she also explains how ordinary people can drive change in their communities. Anthony Lewis responds to this month’s misanthropic theme by arguing that, rather than humanity being ‘our own worst enemy’, we are in fact our only hope. Human ingenuity has driven our progress so far and it is our best hope for the future.
We’re delighted to publish articles from international friends this month: Chris Highland from North Carolina, Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson from Canada, Mxolisi Masuku from Zimbabwe, and our regular columnist Karl Singarvelan Raha based in the Middle East. If you’re reading this magazine outside the UK we’d love to hear from you.
We hope you will share our articles on social media. You’re also free to republish them in your own humanist newsletters and elsewhere, as long as you credit the author and provide a link to Humanistically Speaking. For more details, refer to our Creative Commons licence by following the links at the bottom of this and every other page.
At our Annual General Meeting in July, we took the decision to reduce our output from ten issues per year to six. We remain absolutely committed to producing a great magazine which gives an independent voice to humanists and freethinkers around the world, but as volunteers leading busy lives we have to pace ourselves! So we'll be back in October and December. If you’d like to contribute an article or news report, do get in touch.
Thank you for your encouragement, friendship and support.
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