The relationship between humanism and religion has always been difficult, since the Renaissance. If we look at the Humanist Associations active today in the world, we find that the relationship has become almost a dec...The relationship between humanism and religion has always been difficult, since the Renaissance. If we look at the Humanist Associations active today in the world, we find that the relationship has become almost a declared war. Religion appears to be the greatest enemy of humanism, i.e., of the humanity. Authentic humanism seems to be exclusively secular and atheistic： you can do good only if there is no God. In this contribution I look at some programmatic documents of Humanist Associations to understand the reasons for this contrast, in the background of secularization. The result is that some criticisms of religion -- its potential for violence and obscurantism -- are historically and theoretically justifiable but partial. Indeed, they show a poor and narrow vision of religion that leads to a narrow view of the human experience. A more complex vision of man requires a more complex vision of religion. A complex vision of man includes the most ＂irrational＂ and enigmatic aspects of our being, as love, death, pain, desire, imagination and even freedom and creativity. On this basis we can appropriately understand the historical and existential role of religion. Otherwise, if God is the one painted by humanists, God would not be good, let alone a good humanist.展开更多
Moral education as practiced in schools today roughly falls into two kinds, either taught as an independent subject or practiced as a form of school-wide social learning. Dewey＇s criticism of rigid moral training in ...Moral education as practiced in schools today roughly falls into two kinds, either taught as an independent subject or practiced as a form of school-wide social learning. Dewey＇s criticism of rigid moral training in traditional schools gives credence to the latter trend. For instance, in 2000 Taiwan＇s Ministry of Education decided to eliminate moral education as a required subject from the national school curriculum and suggested that all schools and teachers should infuse morality into the school culture as a whole. More than a decade has passed, and many people question whether schools have been infused with morality. Some even suggest that not teaching morality in schools has led to an eroding of moral standards in society at large. In light of this controversy, in this paper, I take a close look at Dewey＇s conception of the nature of morality, and in particular, his distinction between reflective and customary morality. Drawing on Dewey＇s own moral struggles in life to illustrate his major contentions, I explore what Dewey means by moral reflection, dramatic rehearsal, and growth. Finally, I argue for the importance of committed moral values as the foundation for realizing Dewey＇s ideal of reflective intelligence. Overall, I aim to unpack the underlying assumptions in Dewey＇s ideas in order to renew his lessons for moral education today.展开更多
文摘The relationship between humanism and religion has always been difficult, since the Renaissance. If we look at the Humanist Associations active today in the world, we find that the relationship has become almost a declared war. Religion appears to be the greatest enemy of humanism, i.e., of the humanity. Authentic humanism seems to be exclusively secular and atheistic： you can do good only if there is no God. In this contribution I look at some programmatic documents of Humanist Associations to understand the reasons for this contrast, in the background of secularization. The result is that some criticisms of religion -- its potential for violence and obscurantism -- are historically and theoretically justifiable but partial. Indeed, they show a poor and narrow vision of religion that leads to a narrow view of the human experience. A more complex vision of man requires a more complex vision of religion. A complex vision of man includes the most ＂irrational＂ and enigmatic aspects of our being, as love, death, pain, desire, imagination and even freedom and creativity. On this basis we can appropriately understand the historical and existential role of religion. Otherwise, if God is the one painted by humanists, God would not be good, let alone a good humanist.
文摘Moral education as practiced in schools today roughly falls into two kinds, either taught as an independent subject or practiced as a form of school-wide social learning. Dewey＇s criticism of rigid moral training in traditional schools gives credence to the latter trend. For instance, in 2000 Taiwan＇s Ministry of Education decided to eliminate moral education as a required subject from the national school curriculum and suggested that all schools and teachers should infuse morality into the school culture as a whole. More than a decade has passed, and many people question whether schools have been infused with morality. Some even suggest that not teaching morality in schools has led to an eroding of moral standards in society at large. In light of this controversy, in this paper, I take a close look at Dewey＇s conception of the nature of morality, and in particular, his distinction between reflective and customary morality. Drawing on Dewey＇s own moral struggles in life to illustrate his major contentions, I explore what Dewey means by moral reflection, dramatic rehearsal, and growth. Finally, I argue for the importance of committed moral values as the foundation for realizing Dewey＇s ideal of reflective intelligence. Overall, I aim to unpack the underlying assumptions in Dewey＇s ideas in order to renew his lessons for moral education today.
