Humanist psychologist Erich Fromm’s philosophy of human potential and flourishing, including his fundamental view that human fulfillment is not an achievement but a process, greatly influenced our Leader Joe Chuman starting at a young age. In this column, he discusses Fromm’s relevance today, both personally and politically.
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humanism
“Should We Trust The Experts?” talk by Massimo Pigliucci
“For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert” – Arthur C. Clarke
For any subject, unless we are an expert ourselves (or an expert in expertise itself!), we have to figure out whom to believe, which experts we can trust, which should be ignored. This is not an easy and we are reminded of that in headlines almost every day about climate change, vaccinations, evolution, etc.
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What Is Democracy and How Can We Reclaim It?
In his talk “What is Democracy and How Can We Reclaim It?”, Prof. Michael Thompson of William Paterson University took his audience back to a special time and place in history–Athens in 508 BC. He described the formation of the first democracy recorded in history, and democracy’s essential attributes.
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Ethics For a Lifetime
Joe Chuman, Leader of the Bergen Society, gave a personal and heartfelt Platform address this morning on the topic, “Ethics For a Lifetime”. This was not, as one might think from the title, a reflection on his own life, rather it was a plea to us all that when we judge others, we do […]
Greg Zucker on “The Populist Attack on Democracy and Science”
Greg Zucker gave a thoughtful and provocative Platform address on Sunday (Sep 29) entitled, “The Populist Attack on Democracy and Science”. Greg is managing editor of Logos , a quarterly journal of modern culture, politics and society, is an editor of eight books and is a Ph.D. candidate in political science at Rutgers University. Although […]
As a Humanist, Should I Seek to Escape This World?
By Dr. Joseph Chuman It takes some effort to turn away from the craziness of the current moment and focus on other things. Yet this is what I intend to do for my first platform of the new season. I usually devote my September talk to some reflection on Ethical Culture and Humanism and what […]
