Definitely healthier to think about what we have - humanity - than what we do not. The prefix "a" in atheism means "without."I also feel as though humanism is a positive descriptor; as opposed to a “negative” one. If I think of myself as a humanist, I am constantly reminded of what I believe in and why I try so hard to make something of myself. If I think of myself as an atheist, I am constantly reminding myself that I think traditional religious belief is silly. I’d rather just not think about it in those terms. I’d rather be free to spend more time thinking about religion as an evolutionary and cultural phenomenon.
First and foremost, we need to focus on improving the health, wealth, and opportunity for all members of our species. Secondly, we need to focus on designing a more efficient and sustainable global civilization. And if we are all in some small way working towards these goals, than we are all putting humans first.
This paragraph gave me a pause. Being a humanist is obviously speciesist and as a being conscious of consciousness, that's ok, but it seems necessary to mention other species somewhere in that paragraph. The word "civilization" is also a human-focussed word. Perhaps I would add there something like this: "Secondly, we need to focus on designing a more efficient and sustainable global civilization in which other species are recognized as part of the whole, valued, and respected." -- I'm not sure of the wording... but?? anybody?
Of course I agree with this and definitely include this in part of the goal to create a better civilization for all sentient beings. As you know I hope that through technology we can end animal suffering, and especially the atrocities that occur in factory farms. Thanks for your perspective lil. I suppose I didn't include that statement because I wanted to offer a different perspective to anyone who is non-religious but struggles to find some type of spirituality or meaning, so my focus was on our species.Secondly, we need to focus on designing a more efficient and sustainable global civilization in which other species are recognized as part of the whole, valued, and respected.