Are we "Liberals"? Are we "Humanists"? Or are little bit of both?

[devilgrrl]

I was giving this some thought recently and thought I'd throw it out there because I see a lot of both here. :shrug:

liberal |ˈlib(ə)rəl| adjective 1 open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values : they have more liberal views toward marriage and divorce than some people. • favorable to or respectful of individual rights and freedoms : liberal citizenship laws. • (in a political context) favoring maximum individual liberty in political and social reform : a liberal democratic state. • ( Liberal) of or characteristic of Liberals or a Liberal Party. • ( Liberal) (in the UK) of or relating to the Liberal Democrat Party : the Liberal leader. • Theology regarding many traditional beliefs as dispensable, invalidated by modern thought, or liable to change. 2 < attrib. > (of education) concerned mainly with broadening a person's general knowledge and experience, rather than with technical or professional training. 3 (esp. of an interpretation of a law) broadly construed or understood; not strictly literal or exact : they could have given the 1968 Act a more liberal interpretation. 4 given, used, or occurring in generous amounts : liberal amounts of wine had been consumed. • (of a person) giving generously : Sam was too liberal with the wine.

humanism |ˈ(h)yoōməˌnizəm| noun an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems. • (often Humanism) a Renaissance cultural movement that turned away from medieval scholasticism and revived interest in ancient Greek and Roman thought. • (among some contemporary writers) a system of thought criticized as being centered on the notion of the rational, autonomous self and ignoring the unintegrated and conditioned nature of the individual.

[BlooInBloo]

1. One *wishes* we were humanists. Unfortunately DU is as infected with god as anywhere else.

[Guaranteed]

7. That wasn't the response I was expecting.

I don't think that an idea of "God" makes humanism impossible. However, it does become very difficult to be a true humanist when one becomes so angry that wishing death on others feels justified.

[BlooInBloo]

8. In theory they're consistent, in practice they're antithetical....

... In particular, there's no real *point* to religion if one is a humanist.

[David__77]

2. I'm a non-liberal humanist.

As an economist, I understand "economic liberalism" in the sense of "free markets" and "private ownership" exclusively. Since I favor cooperative forms of economic activity and national sovereignty in economic affairs, I am not an economic liberal. That's enough reason to me to dump the term. I'm definitely a humanist - people's concrete interests must be put in the forefront of all public policy.

[Sapere aude]

3. You got it all wrong, you need to ask a freeper what a liberal is. They define us.

[hfojvt]

4. unfortunately DU is infected with humanists

they are so helpful at winning elections too.

[More Than A Feeling]

5. What the hell are you talking about? h/t

[BlooInBloo]

6. I had conjectured it was an illiterate snark-attempt at my post.