HUMANIANITY

The Religion For Humanity

(RELIGION MEANING: WORKING TOGETHER ON INCREASINGLY BECOMING THE ETHICALLY MATURE HUMAN SPECIES WE CAN BE)
(HUMANIANITY CURRENTLY: JUST A VERY EARLY MOVEMENT IN MANY OF OUR RELIGIONS, AND OUR SPECIES IN GENERAL)

The only requirement (by definition) to consider yourself a
Humanian
is the commitment to try to live in rational consistency with the

Humanian Ultimate Ethical Principle
(HUEP)
defined here as:

WE SHOULD DO THAT WHICH WILL PROMOTE NOT ONLY THE SURVIVAL OF OUR SPECIES, BUT ALSO AS MUCH JOY, CONTENTMENT, AND APPRECIATION (JCA) AS POSSIBLE AND AS LITTLE PAIN, SUFFERING, DISABILITY, AND EARLY DEATH (PSDED) AS POSSIBLE, FOR EVERYONE, NOW AND IN THE FUTURE.

Greeting and Explanation: Please Listen!

WHAT HUMANIANITY IS AND IS NOT
(Pronounced "hue-MAN-ee-AN-i-tee")

DEFINITION OF HUMANIANITY AS USED ON THIS WEBSITE

Humanianity is the currently very early, but probably exponential, human-species-wide change from the naturally-occurring authoritarian ethics (based upon obedience to the most powerful, e.g., parent, leader, culture, deity, about which species-wide agreement has been impossible) to ethics based upon rational consistency with the above Humanian Ultimate Ethical Principle, "rational" meaning using where possible the rules of logic and the rules of evidence.

FURTHER EXPLANATION

Humanianity is Religion (but not currently a religion or denomination) in the descriptively accurate sense that it is:

human activity the primary purpose of which is to help individuals formulate, understand, and apply fundamental principles regarding the best way to live their lives, i.e., a basic ethical philosophy (set of beliefs about what the right things to do are, and why, or, stated in a different way, how to be a good and happy person, and why).

(Thus, NEITHER implied nor denied here by "Religion" are theistic beliefs, various specific "supernatural" beliefs, or beliefs maintained by faith or obedience, these being absent in some entities recognized as religions, and not necessarily maintained by all individuals currently involved in many recognized religious organizations and activities. And note that some individuals and organizations engage in religious activity as here defined but do not label their activity as "religious," in some cases because of negative attitudes toward, or concern about negative attitudes toward, "religion" as it is often thought of.)

Humanianity, as defined above, is currently only an early movement within Religion (within many specific religions, to varying extents), and within the human species in general, away from authoritarian ethics toward rational ethics, and specifically toward rational ethics based upon the above HUEP (or some ultimate ethical principle very much like it). This movement is manifesting itself especially (but not only) in an increasing effort to replace some of our natural tendencies to engage in dominance-hierarchy-related (DHR) behaviors (some of which cause tremendous amounts of PSDED) with behaviors consistent with the social contract by everyone for the benefit of everyone. (Thus, Humanian ethics is based rationally upon the above HUEP, NOT upon obediently-maintained beliefs, e.g. theistic, about which there currently can be no wide-spread, increasing agreement, despite such agreement being increasingly desperately needed by our species with regard to our ethics, the ethical principles and rules of conduct that our cultures induce in us.)

Humanianity can be conceptualized by a metaphoric image that consists of a somewhat conically-shaped mountain, the vertical dimension representing time. Around the bottom of, and at varying distances from the bottom of, the mountain are worm-like entities seemingly crawling up the mountain but actually growing at the top end and atrophying at the bottom end, each of these entities representing a specific religion (or similar cultural activity not necessarily labeled a "religion") that is becoming more "progressive" (self-analytic, self-reformative, and self-expansive) at the top end and that is giving up out-dated components at the bottom end. As this movement within these entities occurs, and the entities eventually approach the top of the mountain and therefore come closer to each other, they will tend to merge, and when all of them have done so, they will finally become Humanianity, the Religion for Humanity. Currently, however, Humanianity consists only of the movement, or growth process (toward the top of the mountain), within these entities ("religions" and other similar entities). Thus, Humanianity is not just another "worm" on the mountain, but instead is the process going on in the worms that is producing their movement up the mountain, the atrophying at the bottom end and growth at the top end.

Humanianity is an emerging, new way of cooperation that does not involve dividing up into groups that follow leaders (including deities) with commitment and loyalty to specific systems of opinion (belief), but instead involves all individuals being committed to mutual understanding of each other and to the continual sharing and comparing of beliefs in increasing depth, with the goal of finally achieving agreement to that which seems most rational and optimal (consistent with the HUEP), but always with the welcoming of new challenges to currently accepted beliefs. Such commitment to conjoint study is drastically different than what has always tended to be the ultimate response to difference of opinion (belief) with regard to relatively fundamental ethical issues, namely, refusing to continue discussion, attainment of psychological, social, and physical distance from those who disagree, developing anger and engaging in hostile behavior toward those who believe differently, and at times engaging in violence toward the "other" that can be as extreme as murder, war, and genocide.

Humanianity is not a sudden, new phenomenon, but instead a probably exponential movement that has been occurring to some extent since an indefinite time in the past. ("Exponential" means starting very slowly, perhaps undetectably, but gradually accelerating till quite striking in its growth, ultimately resulting in drastic change.) However, it is a movement that is still very early in its growth (and therefore hard to see) and should, if accomplished, lead to a far better life on this planet than we have ever known so far. (Compared to how we, as a species, may become, we are still just a toddler.) The assignment of a name to this movement is only an effort by one Humanian to clarify and thus help promote the movement, such as to contribute to bringing about its much faster growth (especially in response to an increasing sense of urgency).

Humanianity is thus not an organized religion or even an organization. There of course will probably develop Humanian organizations with functions including studying Humanian thought, advocating for Humanianity, and engaging in projects and activities consistent with the HUEP. And, in fact, any existing organization, whether designating itself religious or non-religious, can be registered at this website as being Humanian and participate in development of the Humanian Belief Manual, a worldwide tool for working on a basic ethical philosophy for one's self and our species in general. (But to be Humanian does not require joining any group.)

Humanianity is not something to replace or compete with any group or group activity. For the individual, Humanianity is a personal orientation (a commitment to try to live rationally according to the HUEP) that any member of any group can decide to have, an orientation that may indeed result in that individual attempting to help his or her group(s) improve in certain ways, such as to become more Humanian. So the movement referred to above is the development of increasing numbers of individuals within the various "religions" (and other such activities), and within our species in general, who are increasingly Humanian, as described above. And indeed, any individual can be said to be Humanian to a certain degree, that can vary from not at all to extremely so, as in "that person is very Humanian."

THEREFORE:

In order to be a Humanian, there is, by definition, no required set of beliefs other than (1) the HUEP, which is an ethical belief (i.e., about what we should or should not do), and (2) the ethical belief that we should try to make all our other ethical beliefs, and therefore our actions (whatever thoughts, feelings, and behavior that we seem to have any voluntary control over), rationally consistent with the HUEP.

So, you can be a Humanian and still be a member of any specific religious organization, identify with any specific religious tradition, or have no other religious identification at all. (Perhaps most people come from a specific religious tradition.) Therefore, you can be a Christian Humanian, a Jewish Humanian, an Islamic Humanian, a Buddhist Humanian, a Hindu Humanian, a Pagan Humanian, a Bright Humanian, a Humanistic Humanian, an atheistic Humanian, an Ethical Cultural Humanian, or just a Humanian.

And, since "Humanian" can be an adjective as well as a noun, you can therefore be a Humanian Christian, Humanian Muslim, Humanian Humanist, Humanian Atheist, etc.

Since Humanianity is a "movement" within Religion, or religious thought and practice as defined above, it can be said to be present to a certain degree, rather than being simply absent or present, and therefore any particular individual or religious group may be said to be "Humanian" to a certain degree. Most religious groups consist of individuals who are becoming "Humanian" to various extents, with progressive change expectable over time, such that the various religious groups (and for that matter, any particular grouping of humans) can be said to vary with regard to how "Humanian" they have become so far.

So what is Humanian religion? As an analogy, a small child has much "growing up" to do, and may manifest significant "behavior problems" that must be overcome in order to become a well-functioning, productive, and happy individual who makes his or her world a better place. Ethically, our species is still just a toddler, itself manifesting many behavior problems that cause PSDED but having significant potential to behave far better (as evidenced by the wide range of behaviors manifested by individuals within our species). Each of our religions, cooperative efforts to learn to become more mature ethically, is still quite young, needing to overcome various behavior problems that still remain (especially caused by authoritarian ethics and by certain tendencies built into our species by evolution, e.g., tribalism, fighting, etc.), and always having the potential for further improvement. That growth process is Humanianity. Of course, our species does not have a parent to guide it and serve as a model, so it has to figure out how to do it on its own. We, within our religions (and other similar activities not necessarily labeled "religious"), have to do it ourselves, using our best (linguistic, rational, and technical) skills as we observe the behavior of our species' individuals and groups, and their effects on everyone's well-being. Our religious literature of the past is part of our species' diary, and can be studied to get perspective, i.e., a clearer picture of how we have been in the past, how far we have come since then, and what we can aim for in the future. If our goals are rationally consistent with the HUEP, then we are Humanian. And to the extent that a particular religious tradition has improved in a way more rationally consistent with the HUEP, to that extent the religious tradition can be considered to have become more Humanian. And finally, when and if all of our cultural religious activities have become primarily Humanian, then Humanianity can be considered to have become The Religion for Humanity.

THE HUMANIAN LIFE
(Is this what you do?)

Please note that to be a Humanian entails a lifetime of effort:

Study
Learn
Practice
Improve
Model
Advocate

Why study? We humans do wonderful things and awful things, to ourselves, others, and the environment, causing much JCA but also much PSDED. In order to stop causing so much PSDED, and in order to increase JCA, we have to understand what it is that we do that is not optimal, and what we should do instead. Such study is working on a basic ethical philosophy, the basic effort of all Religion. And the more each of us studies, the more others are likely to join in and do so also.

Why learn? Since we are not optimal in our functioning so far, we have to bring about change in our brains, such that the behavioral output is different and better. There is always room for improvement, the goal of all Religion. And again, the more each of us learns, the more others are likely to join in and do so also.

Why practice? Any new behavioral tendency that we bring about in our brains is weak in comparison to that which comes naturally to us or that which we have been accustomed to doing, and it is through purposeful, effortful repetition ("exercise") that we strengthen the later, newer behavioral tendencies. And again, the more each of us practices, the more others are likely to join in and do so also.

Why improve? Throughout our lives we are frequently being confronted with new situations that involve complex judgements about uncertain situations, and it is therefore always possible and even likely that whatever we do, we could have done something even better, achieving an even closer approximation to perfection and thus living even more consistently with the HUEP. And the more each of us improves, the more others are likely to also.

Why model? If indeed we are behaving increasingly consistently with the HUEP, then we can help others to recognize the benefit of doing so, and help them to understand how to do so, by setting a model for them for imitation and identification, one of the most important ways in which all of us learn to do new things.

Why advocate? Others are more likely to join the effort if they become aware of the possibility of doing so, by virtue of their attention being drawn to that possibility, and the more of us that do indeed join the effort, the faster we will increase the JCA and reduce the PSDED of our species.

Each of the above efforts is in behalf of trying to make the world a better place, within our spheres of influence and within the limits of our capabilities.

"Making the world a better place" is defined here as bringing about more JCA and less PSDED. For each of us, our "sphere of influence" is defined here as all of those individuals (including ourselves) upon whom what we do has some effect. The outer boundary of one's sphere of influence is indistinct and unknown. The more influence one has on an individual, the closer that individual can be said to be to the center of one's sphere of influence. The self is therefore the center of that sphere. What we do to and for ourselves (often referred to as "life-style") is important in determining our capabilities for making the world a better place for others. Also, other things being equal, higher priority should be given to acting in behalf of those closer to the center of one's sphere of influence (because of the degree of potential impact, positive or negative). But of course there would be other considerations also, such as the likely amount of benefit that might be produced, and the number of individuals that might be affected. And there probably never can be complete certainty about any such decisions. All any of us can do is try our best to do what we believe will make the world a better place, thus increasing the probability of being successful.

SUMMARY

In order to live consistently with the HUEP, the Humanian will seek to develop and live by a basic ethical philosophy that consists of ethical principles and ethical rules of conduct that are derived rationally from the HUEP and from existential beliefs (about what exists, has existed, or will exist, and how it works) considered most likely to be accurate, including relevant fundamental facts (see FACTS & VALUES page), and that promote behavior toward self, others, and environment that is more optimal (by causing more JCA and/or less PSDED) than what tends to occur naturally (or to occur currently because of culturally-promoted behaviors that are not optimal). And in order to optimize this extremely important process, he or she will specifically share and compare his or her concepts with those of others to obtain critical evaluation of those concepts, with resulting ever-increasing improvement of those concepts, and he or she will thereby contribute to the process by which our species increasingly works together toward agreement to a basic ethical philosophy for our species, ultimately to achieve a far better life on this planet than has ever occurred so far. That process is the emergence of Humanianity, the third major exponential change for our species (the first having been the development of our essentially unlimited symbolic language capability and the second having been the development of rationality, i.e., the rules of logic and rules of evidence giving us our science and technology, enabling ever-increasing, highly accurate beliefs about existence, and therefore about what are likely to be the effects of our contemplated actions).

Please note again that what is written above is not a required set of beliefs to be a Humanian. Instead, it is a set of beliefs that would seem to follow (in the mind of the Humanian creating this website) from the HUEP and from our lifetimes of observation. (The same is also true for all of what is in the other pages of this HOME section, accessible in the links at the top of the page.) You are free to propose otherwise, namely, that the above-recommended efforts will most likely not be behaving consistently with the HUEP and/or are not consistent with observation. But it will be important for you to demonstrate why you believe as you do, and to engage in dialogue with others who believe differently, in order to reduce the possibility of misunderstanding and consequent mistake. Such dialogue is specifically available in our FORUM (link below), but is possible in any setting in which there is the interest and willingness, such as in person-to-person interchange, in study groups, on social media, and on the Internet in general.

And for examples of person-to-person conversations, see HUMANIANITY CONVERSATIONS.

SUGGESTED HUMANIAN PRAYER
(To increase strength of ethical motivation by practice/exercise, this can be, e.g., recited silently each morning and/or as a group ritual where appropriate.)

In all that I do, I, (name), wish to do, and intend to try to do, when possible within my sphere of influence, that which will promote not only the survival of our species but also as much joy, contentment, and appreciation as possible and as little pain, suffering, disability, and early death as possible, for everyone, now and in the future--so help me, (God and)* everyone, please, to do this.

*For those of us who are theistic.

HOW TO PROCEED AT THIS WEBSITE
(A basic orientation)

The links along the top of this page are to all the pages of this HOME section, which provides a comprehensive orientation to the concept of Humanianity and to this whole website:

The GENERAL INTRO page is the one you are looking at now.

The SPECIFIC INTRO page attempts to provide the most technically precise and concise orientation to these concepts and this website.

The CHALLENGE page may present the most personally difficult but important effort involved in participating in Humanianity, that is, the most fundamental challenge to anyone aspiring to become increasingly Humanian.

The FACTS & VALUES page is simply a partial listing of very basic ideas seemingly relevant to the Humanianity concept.

The TOOLS page gives a description of the specific tools offered on this website.

The ONE HUMANIAN page gives one person's personal orientation to this project.

The YOU page offers you an orientation to what you can do to benefit and participate.

The YOUR ORGANIZATION(S) page presents further ideas regarding what you can do, involving Humanian organizations.

The links along the bottom of this page are to the various sections of the website:

The BELIEF MANUAL section (link below), is the most important and unique section of this website, where you can participate in this important activity by building your own Belief Manual, sharing and comparing it with those of others worldwide, and thereby benefit personally and model for others.

The FORUM section provides the place for discussion and debate, not only with regard to any of the proposed beliefs in the Belief Manual, but also with regard to all aspects of the Humanianity concept and its development.

The CONVERSATIONS section (HUMANIANITY CONVERSATIONS) should be of additional interest and help, consisting of YouTube recorded Skype and Zoom conversations about all sorts of issues related to Humanianity (sometimes only rather distantly!).

The PHILOSOPHY and PODCASTS sections will give some historical perspective regarding the development of the Humanianity concept, with one person's more detailed and specific proposals.

The ANNOUNCEMENTS section will simply provide occasional alerts to significant developments within this project, including improvements of the website itself as time goes on.

FINAL ADVOCACY
(Please help!)

Humanianity is the emergence of an improvement in our species' ethics, which if it does successfully occur to a much greater extent will lead to a far better way of life on this planet than we have ever known so far. This website is just one more effort to promote that continuing emergence, perhaps (hopefully) making its ultimate success a little more likely and its rate of emergence a little more rapid.

But this website is also a set of tools to help any individual work more effectively on the development of an ever-improving basic ethical philosophy, that can be highly beneficial for that individual and those close to him or her.

So participation by that individual can be for two purposes, (1) to benefit himself or herself and those close to him or her and (2) to provide a sense of satisfaction and enthusiasm in knowing that he or she is participating in something very, very important for the future of our species.

With regard to this second purpose, if you wish to have any part in our effort to promote not only the survival of our species but also more joy, contentment, and appreciation and far, far less human-caused pain, suffering, disability, and early death, for everyone, now and in the future, then the first question is whether such is possible. It may or may not be possible, and if possible, the odds may be great or small. If it is possible, but the odds are low, you will have to decide whether, even if it fails, you wish to be one of those who tried, and, if it does come about, you wish to be one of those who helped to bring it about.

We do know that for it to succeed, more and more people will have to make the decision to join the effort, and for them to do so, they will tend to have to see that others are deciding to do so, this being a process sometimes referred to as a "movement." So your participation, in any way, helps promote that movement.

You must try to decide wisely how to spend the minutes of your life. You know that many efforts of this sort have been flawed and unsuccessful, so you should continuously evaluate critically any and all ideas that you come across. But in addition, if something doesn't seem right, it would be best to make an effort to subject such concern to the critiquing of others, recognizing that it is easy for us to be mistaken, and that the best way to correct misunderstanding is to subject one's ideas to evaluation by others who believe differently, with the specific effort to understand why such difference in opinion exists, so as to identify anything that one may have overlooked or been prone to avoid recognizing. And this website is designed as a set of tools to assist in that effort.

It is important to recognize that, if you do indeed see the worthwhileness of this project, the most important thing you can do is build your own Belief Manual (and share and compare it with others), in that the more people who participate, the more convinced others will be that there may be value in doing the same, and that the second most important thing you can do is advocate to others that they explore and discuss these concepts, perhaps especially in any groups assembled for the purpose of discussing ethical issues, such as religious groups.

And if the Humanianity project is successful, and if by virtue of your participation this third exponential change for our species occurs just a few minutes earlier than it would have, then your participation will most likely have saved quite a few lives and prevented quite a bit of tragedy over the course of the future of our species. Whether or not that does occur, working on your own basic ethical philosophy, utilizing the tools provided by this website, should be of significant value to you and those relatively close to you.

Let us work together toward finally becoming empathetically identified, not only with our group(s), but with our species globally, with a strong and effective ethical concern for the benefit of everyone, now and yet to come, while working on being the best we can be to ourselves and each other, right now.