Humanism

Humanism is a pivotal philosophical dimension underlying concepts such as Transhumanism and futurism. In broad terms, it is a movement that originated generally in the Italian Renaissance.

Categorising periods of time is difficult due to the continuum and bleed over, but humanism marks a reorientation, a shift, or a replacement of certain principles and foundations in the way people view subject matters.

The essential argument defining humanism is the replacement of Christ with man as the anthropic principle. This movement introduced a new envisioning of man, moving away from his relationship with Christ, which had previously been central to both Western and Eastern Empires. The fundamental humanist impulse suggests that man is now the measure of the universe, displacing Christ.

Philosophical Typology

Humanism may be categorised into three distinct types: theocentric, anthropocentric, and Messianic humanism. The differences between these frameworks lie primarily in the grounding and focus used to explain the human being and the world.

Theocentric Humanism

Theocentric humanism represents a political tradition extending from Plato and Aristotle through stoicism and Christianity.

Within this tradition, God is considered the measure of all things. The Divine ground of being is accepted as the source of order for men and societies, and the highest good (summum bonum) is the ultimate principle, rather than world dominion. The man of antiquity functioned within this theocentric framework.

Anthropocentric Humanism

Anthropocentric humanism, or secular humanism, represents a rejection of the theocentric tradition, leading to the abolition of God. It is defined by the Protogorean dictum that man is the measure of all things.

This shift results in man accounting for himself and becoming the standard, leading to an emphasis on totalitarianism, political power, and world dominion. This movement views man’s needs and aspirations as primary for political inquiry. Typical proponents include Hobbes, Machiavelli, and Locke.

Although they seldom explicitly object to theocentric writers, their orientation is fundamentally changed. This orientation stresses individual liberty, autonomy, and human rights. This radical emphasis on absolute autonomy and freedom is rooted in secular humanism. Law, under this paradigm, shifts from promoting the virtue of the citizen to promoting freedom for individuals to do whatever they desire.

Messianic Humanism

Messianic humanism is a strand of political thought devoted to transforming the quality of man’s existence and making a fundamentally new beginning. It seeks to transcend the limitations and inequalities of the human historical situation.

This framework is associated with utopianism, as seen in the materialist frameworks of Marx and Comte. This type of humanism carries a revolutionary spirit and involves the dissolution of boundaries.

Messianic humanists seek to overthrow any idea of limitation on human action. This leads inevitably to the totalitarian governments of the 20th century, including the National Socialists and the fascists.

Messianic humanism is strongly tied to the concept of progress. The belief that man is going to finish creation and advance to Utopia is rooted in the Messianic, secular humanist starting point.

Pre- and Post-Enlightenment Context

Humanism originated in the Italian Renaissance. Before the Enlightenment, humanism was intrinsically tied to systems of magic and spirituality, including Hermeticism, Kabbalah, Alchemy, theurgy, and Neoplatonism.

Rosicrucianism, for instance, occupies the space between the Italian Renaissance and the Enlightenment. These magical systems served as a methodology for man's divinising process. Through them, man explored his capabilities to control, dominate, and advance his power over nature.

The Enlightenment period marked a significant transition; the magic and spirituality were eliminated from the humanist movement. Humanism became one of pure rationality, Science, and secularism.

The focus was placed upon the scientific method. By doing away with the Transcendent reality of God and focusing solely on the imminent, the political sphere was determined to be the solution to human problems, achievable through central planning and political reorganisation. The idea of progress itself is inherently tied to this humanistic concept, suggesting continual advancement.

This rejection of the Transcendent resulted in the development of deism, which is essentially humanism attempting to maintain a God figure who is outside the world and has no agency within it, thereby granting man the divine right to dictate how the world operates.

The intense religious conflicts in European history, such as the Thirty Years War (1618 to 1648), during which 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died, were blamed on religion.

This conflict provided the impetus for the Enlightenment to kick religion aside and focus entirely on rationality and the scientific method. However, the Enlightenment projects, including scientific and epistemological efforts, which were supposed to do away with war, failed, culminating in the highly destructive World War I and World War II in the 20th century.

Consequences and Moral Frameworks

Secular humanism is intrinsically linked to moral frameworks that reject the Christian Paradigm. It utilises terms such as justice, equality, inclusion, diversity, and equity, but these terms are secular humanist and do not align with true virtue or righteousness.

Utilitarianism became the ethical and moral framework for humanism once the Enlightenment was reached. This framework prioritises the greatest good for the greatest number. The rhetoric of contemporary politics still operates on a utilitarian framework. This morality is tied to the constant humanistic aspiration for an Earthly Utopia.

The pursuit of this Utopia led to the development of scientism, promoted by Saint Simone and Comte. Saint Simone proposed establishing a Council of Newton, run by technocratic and scientific experts, who would use social engineering and social physics in a benevolent practice to progress mankind toward Utopia and peace.

The followers of Saint Simone preached a message of full physical and psychic liberation, anticipating contemporary radical thought by attacking repressive society and repressive sexual morality. They advocated for sexual promiscuity as a means to fulfil man’s psychic needs and free him. They even sought a female Messiah, who would complete the emancipation of mankind by fully emancipating her own sex.

Humanism borrows heavily from the Christian Paradigm and can be seen as the Good Samaritan version of Christianity. Positive aspects include the attempt to promote human flourishing and seek justice. Furthermore, humanism can be seen as maintaining man’s perception as the peculiar steward of the created world, an element borrowed from Christianity.

Late Modernity and the Gnostic Impulse

The failure of the humanist projects led to the post-modern turn, which saw the ending process of humanism coming to a dead end. Post-modernity is characterised by a relativistic epistemology and a disenchantment with the optimism of the Enlightenment. In this context, rationality is not used for the pursuit of truth but as an instrument to establish power over others.

Humanism's ultimate rejection of the Transcendent results in the destruction of objective reality, including universal truth, universal morality, and the concept of Essences in things. This rejection means that there is no longer a foundational basis for justifying knowledge, morality, or universal questioning.

The concept of post-humanism emerges from this crisis, bifurcating into two strands. The philosophical/cultural strand rejects the anthropocentric focus, while the technological/scientific strand maintains man's centrality but dissolves the boundaries between man, technology, and biology. This latter strand views itself as continuous with the humanistic tradition.

Dataism is a fundamental philosophical presupposition of this techno-scientific post-humanism. Dataism posits that only data truly exists, viewing humans as biological algorithms. It is the belief that acquiring increased data will lead to mankind becoming Homo Deus (God Man), embodying a Gnostic impulse. This path aims for an immortal, disembodied state achieved through scientific and rational processes.

The secularisation of society led to the belief that religion would disappear. However, the concept of post-secularism describes the dissolution of the distinction between the secular and the religious. This results in a re-enchantment of the world where religious discourse is used to discuss secular means of finding meaning. The dissolution of boundaries and the privileging of unity leads toward a one-world government.

Humanism is fundamentally a neo-Gnostic impulse that is anti-life, anti-aesthetic, anti-beauty, and anti-morality. The core problem stems from the Gnostic dissatisfaction with the order of being, where salvation is sought through fixing the system and transforming existence, rather than through divine grace.

The ultimate expression of this movement is self-destructive and narcissistic, leading to total lawlessness and the destruction of the created order. Scientism and technocracy are equivalent to sorcery, as they manipulate reality by dissolving boundaries and categories. The use of rationality in the service of instrumental goals, rather than truth, is considered sophistry.

Humanism, in its ultimate form, is a Malthusian death cult. The great irony is that ideologies of secular humanism—such as diversity, equity, and inclusion—do the opposite of what they claim, leading instead to totalitarianism, absolute unity, and subjugation.

The humanistic project of achieving salvation through planned political reorganisation illustrates the belief that politics can conquer death.

However, this impulse toward radical improvement often transforms into social engineering and manipulation, which further erodes individual dignity and freedom.

The inherent flaw in humanism is that it attempts to build a system where the "crime" of deicide is concealed, preventing the questioning of the system's first principles.