About Progressive Humanism
Click here for a description of what we stand for, and a brief bio of the principal author, Carl Coon"One Planet, One People, Beyond 'Us vs. Them'"
That's the name of my second book, available on amazon.com and elsewhere. It sums up much of the thoughts on these pages and much more.. Please buy a copy. Click here for details.
Our President doesn't read many books, but it is the choice of the ones he does read that is truly frightening. (3/29/07)
Hamas might be persuaded to give up its non-recognition of Israel if Israel would commit to the two-state formula in a more binding way. (10/6/06)
Hundreds of pundits are producing exit strategies but they all miss the point: We must restrain Israel before we can resolve our dilemma in Iraq. (9/28/06)
Power corrupts. Bush has been able to seize too much, and the outlook is grim unless balance is restored. (7/29/06)
A world at peace, sustainable environment, social justice: these are goals most of us share. But not the present administration. (7/2/06)
Restoring Order in the Middle East
A modest proposal for a new Congress of Vienna, held this time in Rome, to attack all the multiple problems of the Middle East together and synergystically. (3/2/06)
The neocon world view is on its way out, hopefully sooner rather than later. What should replace it? (2/23/06)
Nepal's unstable equilibrium between the palace and army, the political parties, and the Maoists is coming apart at the seams. (2/12/06)
Hundreds of pilgrims died in a stampede during the recent Hajj. The holy writ mandating how the ritual is conducted is outdated, but the original concept was pure genius. (1/18/06)
In which two countries do we find a rightwing minority running roughshod over a confused majority, each marching in symbiotic lockstep with the other, toward catastrophe? Israel and the US? (12/05)
Taking the Christ out of Christmas
Should we be saying Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? Or whatever we please? the issue involves antisemitism and multicultural issues but is basically trivial. (12/26/05)
Madness in the Middle East, An Iranian Nuke?
We have a credible news report that the Israelis are gearing up for a preemptive military strike next March at Iranian nuclear processing facilities. I think we should tell them to knock it off, and give my reasons. (12/12/05)
You Don't Have to Buy It, It's Already Broken
Iraq exit strategy: the argument that we have a moral obligation to stay on to prevent a bloodbath is not very persuasive. (11/05)
Katrina unmasked the Bush administration; the emperor has no clothes. Now we need to debate where we go from here, not just play the blame game. The broad areas are international, domestic, and environmental. We need leaders with specific ideas for each. (9/05)
The Israeli rightwing fanatics and the Palestinian terrorists need each other. Likewise the Chriistian rightwing fanatics in our country and al-Qaeda. Moderates in each country need to figure out how to keep the extremists from imposing their agendas on the rest of us. (7/29/05)
I've done a memo to the Secretary of State citing precedents for future problems if Bolton goes to the UN. (6/25/05)
Playing Dominoes in the Middle East
Is democracy on the march in the Middle East? T he Bush administration is playing with fire and is more likely to blow the region up than to usher in a new era. (3/27/05)
Conservatives use the Schiavo case to argue that they have the high moral ground, maintaining a "bright line" between human life and death. In practice this is an expedient doctrine that applies only to their own group. (3/27/05)
Are We Overestimating the Enemy, Again?
For decades we overestimated the strength of the Soviet economy. Are we now overestimating bin Laden's strength? If so, we are paying a very high price. (12/30/04)
If we want to discourage the Iranians from having their own nukes, we ought to try to understand why they want them so badly, and the fact we are all playing chicken with each other. (10/04, rev. 11/20/04)
Faith, Cognitive Dissonace, and the Republican Party
If you're brought up trained to believe religious doctrine that collides with reality you will find it easier to reconcile current Republican doctrine that is equally at odds with the world we live in. (10/04)
The Israeli juggernaut continues to roll over surviving Palestinians in the West Bank even as Sharon maneuvers to get out of Gaza. Meanwhile we see signs of ethnocentrism, even racism, emerging on the Israeli right. (9/04)
Prospects for an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank are evaporating, as Sharon's government creates ever more "facts on the ground." A recent, firsthand report and assessment. (7/04)
I have just spent a week on the West Bank as a member of a delegation of retired US diplomats. This is my trip diary, a bit lengthy. For a shorter assessment, see "Every Child Knows." (7/04)
Trying to analyse the Middle East without referring to Sharon's policies is like trying to describe a doughnut without mentioning the hole. But we keep on trying...(2/0/4)
The recent Supreme Court decision about affirmative action is a sensible compromise that raises interesting possibilities for the longer term.(7/03)
Harry Potter and the Tail Fins
The new Harry Potter book is doing better than the latest Hollywood appeals to adolescent bad taste. At long last, a triumph of quality over packaging! (7/03)
Expatriates often are fervent supporters of the old country in its local disputes. Somewhat the same principle applies to Israel and its dedicated supporters in the USA. The latter hold the key to a future Middle East peace. (6/03)
A couple of vignettes from my first trip to Afghanistan, in 1956. That is one seriously rough country! (9/01)
Globalization and Social DarwinismDuring the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the USA and many other countries got a whole lot richer, but at first the benefits went mainly to a privileged few, and much turmoil ensued. Now the whole world is going through a similar transition. Have we learned something, or must we repeat the same old mistakes? (12/00)
Random thoughts about success, natural selection, and old orchards. Even Republican architects of tax policy should note that success is only partly equatable with virtue. A lot of it, probably most of it, is where you start, and how lucky you were. (2/01)
The New Moral Majority
The Christian right's claims to be a "moral majority" went down in flames when the effort to impeach Clinton failed. What can we say about the new "moral majority"? (3/99)
People who believe in God can't be atheists, but can they be humanists? I provide a rather nuanced answer. A belief in a divine power isn't necessarily inconsistent with the humanist impulse. It's how far you carry that belief that matters. (7/00) Even if you accept the creationist belief that the Bible accurately describes how the earth and its living creatures came about, there is a problem in reconciling divine omnipotence with divine benevolence.(7/00) People who say they don't like progress are misusing the term.. We need a whole lot more of it, and soon, on global issues like the environment and avoiding nuclear war. (5/00) I've decided god(s) exist(s) after all. It was quite a revelation. Or was it? (12/99) Excerpts from a recent discussion I had on email with a creationist. (12/99) The Pope's recent visit to India causes us to ask, is there that much difference between stealing someone else's religion and stealing his property? (11/99) Our changing global society needs moral standards more than ever. Humanists are better able to provide them than a priesthood drawing on precepts from bygone eras. (4/98)
B) Ethics, Religion, and Humanism
If you look at religion as a collection of viruses rather than as a unit it is easier to think of separating out the bad parts. Here we focus on the one that makes nations ready for war. (3/4/07)
The humanist deplores all discrimination based on racial differences. But to go beyond that and insist that race doesn't exist as a biological reality is to violate humanism's preference for the scientific method. (7/05)
Let Your Conscience Be the Guide
Conscience is the hardwired instinct to cooperate with other members of the group. Conflict between groups can override this instinct. With war between the superpowers no longer feasible, a world at peace is attainable. (3/05)
A deep gulf divides those who believe in miracles from those of us who are satisfied that evolution explains how we happened. There is, of course, evolution in evolutionary theory itself. (9/03)
Many Americans think like humanists but shy away from identifying themselves as such. There is still a prevailing sense that it's somehow more respectable to be a follower of some religious faith than an avowed freethinker. What can be done about it? (5/02)
It's hard to give up the idea that humanity is proceeding towards some predetermined goal or condition, but it's worth the effort. We are what the people who preceded us made of us, and what we do now shapes the future of our descendants. (11/01)
My book, "Culture Wars and the Global Village," is based in part on this essay, originally written in 1989, which I have rescued from my files and slightly revised. It doesn't tell you all you need to know about these subjects, but it's a good start. (4/01)
Satire and the Humanist Message
You'll enjoy this scientific parody of Bishop Ussher's insistence that the world was created 6000 years ago. I also reflect on the use of satire generally, for conveying the humanist message. (2/99) There are at least two levels of belief between the true believer and the full-fledged humanist. Many people who have rejected the more outlandish folk-tales of the particular religion they have been raised in have nonetheless been caught in one of these way-stations. I argue that they should go the whole hog, and become complete humanists. (5/98) There are gaps in the fossil evidence supporting Darwin's theory of evolution. In a sense therefore we accept on faith that evolution was occurring even in those places where we lack concrete evidence. Does this equate with the creationist's faith? I argue that there are different kinds of faith, and it is useful to distinguish between them...(4/98) Faith is an important basic element of human nature. It supports group solidarity and provides meaning and purpose to individual lives. It also can lead to intergroup violence and intellectual obtuseness. We need a new faith these days, a belief not in God but in humanity as a whole. (7/97) The human brain is the product of an evolutionary process. The conscious mind is the brain at work. But how do we explain how the mind works? What is the essence of being? How does the mind create? Tough questions, but ultimately answerable. (7/99)The Biblical account of The Creation, reinterpreted. One of my earlier efforts, dating back to the late '80's.
The Progressive Humanist believes humanity will overcome contemporary problems sooner or later. The solutions to present problems will breed new ones; but this is the essence of progress. (4/98)
For a progressive humanist, the question answers itself...(3/97)
C)Evolution, Human Nature, and Culture
We need an explanation of how complex human societies have evolved to match the more comprehensive one we alredy have for the evolution of biological life. Here is the script for a talk I gave May 6 in Albuquerqe at an AHA conference. (5/05)
Knowledge need not be information within a single human brain. It can be a body of information shared by a cooperating group of people, which evolves as it is transmitted from one generation to the next. This obvious concept refutes those who claim there is no group selection among human populations. (5/05)
Both biologists and anthropologists have claimed that with rare exceptions, the principle of selection by groups does not operate as an evolutionary force. I believe that the biologists are right but the anthropologists are wrong. I have the temerity to take on the great Richard Dawkins in this essay. (10/04)
The family as we know it is normally monogamous and evolved several hundred thousand years ago. Ever since, it has rested on an uneasy equilibrium: will the husband stay the course and not go off philandering, and is the baby really his? Now we have DNA tests, and all bets are off. (2/02)
The creationists and many of the classical philosophers agree that there is something special about the human mind, that defies scientific analysis and can only be explained on some such basis as intervention by a higher power. I don't agree, and while I cannot prove my case, I can develop a plausible theory, anchored in facts, that indicates a) we got here on our own; b) it wasn't inevitable that we happened; on the contrary, human intelligence succeeded in evolving despite long odds against it. (1/01)
Humans have an uncanny ability to recognize other humans, starting with the distinction we draw between people we already know and strangers. It's part of our human nature, an integral part of our equipment as social animals. But do we still need that instinctive "friend or foe" response when we meet outsiders? (8/00)
What is it that distinguishes humankind from other animals on our planet? I argue that it is the progressive enlargement of the society with which the individual identifies. The big transition occurred at the dawn of the Neolithic. This approach sheds light on many questions about the nature and future of our species, including the age-old issue of the meaning of life. (3/00)
The Evolution of Natural Selection
Evolution operating on the principle of natural selection is the opposite of the second law of thermodynamics; together they constitute the yin and yang of our biosphere. But is the biosphere the only medium for this? And if the principle of natural selection applies in other contexts, can it be considered to be evolving in its own right? (2/00)
I believe war has always been inevitable in the past, but is no longer. My thinking is based on what evolutionay biology says about human nature, and on the theory of natural selection as applied (cautiously!) to the evolution of ever more complex societies. (2/00)
Group Selection
Many social scientists refuse to accept the idea that cultures evolve through competition and selection. The error in their thinking becomes clear when you re-define progress (see above) in terms of memes (see below, last item in this section). (8/99)
Another way of looking at the distinction between biological and cultural evolution. Theories based on cultural evolution should not be confused with the different approach known as "Social Darwinism" (12/97) The attacks on Darwinism are from many directions these days, and are often cloaked in scientific language. Here we examine some of these attacks and evaluate them.(3/99) Christians and many others assume there is something ugly and undesirable about the basic elements of human nature, including the killer instinct and the sex drive. The Progressive Humanist notes that these are our roots, and out of them we have forged the human qualities we value. Don't be ashamed, we say, be proud of our origins! (1/99) Fascinating parallels exist between the way biological life has evolved and the more recent and rapid evolution of human ideas, thoughts, and mental constructs. These parallels provide a variety of interesting insights, for philosophers and humanists as well as for social scientists. 11/98)How Culture Defines Reality, and Vice Versa
Which is real, a horse or a unicorn? We know, but we don't always know why we know. The same can be said for concepts, theories, religions, and other mental constructs.(12/98)A tale about a culturally challenged duck. Written over 10 years ago for a grandson, it foreshadowed my later, more serious, writings on the general subject of culture. ('86)
The Eternal Woman
With more courage, perhaps, than judgement, I have encapsulated the role of women in human evolution--past, present, and future (4/98)
Can we explain the sexual taboos and hang-ups of the Victorian era in evolutionary terms? I've tried to do so, and to propose humanistic moral guidelines for sexual encounters. (4/99) President Clinton's sex drive has gotten him into trouble--but would he ever have become President without it? Scratching at this issue opens a Pandora's box of unanswered questions about our inner natures. (4/98) Reminiscences about virgin peaks in Nepal and a virgin maiden in the Middle East (4/98)
Other Features
Click here for "The Storyteller's Corner," tales from "The Twilight of the Gods," by Richard Garnett, who for many years ran the library at the British Museum in London..
Click here for linkages to other webpages: for "Central Directories," for "Other Voices in the Wilderness," and for "The Humanist Net Web Ring."
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I welcome your comment. My e-mail address is: ccoon@mindspring.com