The Transcendental Temptation!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Prof. Paul Kurtz
By Prof. Dr. Kannabiran Ravishankar (KRS)
Professeur adjoint — Littératures comparée (tamoul),
Université de Paris, France
Happy Birthday to our beloved Prof. Paul Kurtz (Dec 21, 1925).
By the way, who is Prof. Kurtz? Why do we wish him “happy birthday” even after he has passed away? Pardon me, but this quick essay is for those global readers and passionate humanists — who are aware of humanism, but unaware of Prof. Kurtz and his impeccable contribution to the cause of Humanism.
Fondly called as the Father of Secular Humanism, Paul Kurtz was an American Humanist, and a Global Humanist too. He was a keen advocate of scientific skepticism, also known as rational skepticism in the fields of philosophy & epistemology. Moving away from the dogmas of religion, applying critical thinking, and using scientific methods in our knowledge process, is the basis of scientific skepticism that Kurtz advocated.
In this year of the corona virus (SARS-Cov-2) pandemic, let’s read a few lines from his book: The Transcendental Temptation, first published in 1986. These lines are so apt even today, in the times of the global pandemic.
“Not knowing the cause of a disease, researchers postulate a virus, with the expectation that it may eventually be identified. Cancer research was encouraged by an increased incidence of the dreaded disease, by the widespread public desire to find a cure for it, and by the expenditure of large sums of money by governmental and private agencies. Here intelligence is pragmatic and utilitarian: the goal is to solve problems, discover remedies, overcome obstacles, find applications. However, unable to comprehend the cause and prevention of the disease, religions found scapegoats in men or gods, and out of fear, they took desperate measures.”
Even though this global pandemic has caused a lot of grief to us and our communities, it has also caused a lots of lifestyle changes, and has also created ample opportunities to question and mend our own beliefs & practices that we have blindly held thus far. The new millennium saw with its own eyes — empty papal masses, empty hajj pilgrimages, empty yatras and empty religious festivals for the first time in modern history.
For the very first time, people all over the world witnessed empty temples, empty churches, empty mosques, empty synagogues and empty places of worship — which were hitherto unchallenged in our communities, or sometimes even mandated upon us to attend those gatherings. Some suspensions of religious services were voluntary, and some were driven by litigations & rules of the civic bodies. So, what happened to all those obligatory acts of worship, obligated by the ‘all-powerful’ God on ‘meek’ humans? Where did all the so-called Omnipotence & Omniscience go away suddenly?
Humans by nature are selfish, when it comes to the self-protection of their lives. All other aspects — even God(s) become secondary before the primary goal of human living. Self-interest and life-interest are the two innate properties of all forms of life — including humans. If someone is pushed under water, the natural tendency will be to escape and breathe for one’s life. All other preaching takes a back seat, behind the innate tendency of the life-forms to live. Every human wants to live. Forever?
We all know that nothing is forever. All matter changes state over time, phase and condition. Yet, this innate human tendency to live, is the one thing that has been continuously exploited, by almost all religions of the world. Life is forever — via body or soul, became the theory of many religions of the world, and in turn they became the custodians of the soul. Such human exploitation took the great teacher Buddha, to even deny the existence of the so-called Soul. In this essay, let’s not jump into those historical, philosophical, metaphysical, and often self-assuming concepts, but just dwell on the common sense of the humans — to live (and let live).
To expect humans — to always tread the rational path 100% of the time — is itself irrational. Every human being, even if he is a great philosopher, gets emotional at some point of time or state of mind. Humans are a mix of both knowledge & emotion in various doses and concentrations, and that’s what have made this human journey colorful. Institutionalized Religions exploit the emotional part, whereas Rational Movements embrace the knowledge part of the Human admixture. It’s always a struggle between the two.
So, how Kurtz can help in this simple knowledge process, yet complex emotional process?
Kurtz’s writings have the knack of exploring the nerve of humans — religious and nonreligious alike, and bring them back to their true senses, without offending their emotions. Reading Paul Kurtz, we are very much comfortable to shed off our own assumptions and socio-religious diktats. Via his rational skepticism, coupled with genuine humanism, Kurtz was able to strike a balance in the two-pronged human admixture — of emotion and rationale. Read the following passage on the role of a humanistic skeptic, and you will understand his knack.
“The skeptic is not passionately intent on converting mankind to his or her point of view, and surely is not interested in imposing it on others, though he may be deeply concerned with raising the level of education and critical inquiry in society. Still, if there are any lessons to be learned from history, it is that we should be skeptical of all points of view, including those of the skeptics. No one is infallible, and no one can claim a monopoly on truth or virtue. It would be contradictory for skepticism, to seek to translate itself into a new faith. One must view with caution, the promises of any new secular priest who might emerge promising a brave new world — if only his path to clarity and truth is followed. Perhaps the best we can hope for, is to temper the intemperate and to tame the perverse temptation that lurks within”. (The Transcendental Temptation, Part 4 — Beyond Religion)
Paul Kurtz served as a Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York. Teaching was his passion and Humanism was his path. He did not confine himself to be a theoretical philosopher, but genuinely reached out to people and kindled their spirit of inquiry in a humanistic way. Instead of being a staunch ideologue, Kurtz was a lifelong pioneer of Humanism.
Secularization of the erstwhile Religious Humanism largely happened due to the tireless efforts of Prof. Kurtz. He took it beyond America and truly globalized Secular Humanism. He also contributed to the writing of the Humanist Manifesto II.
Kurtz’s ingenuity was his genuine concern for the well-being of other humans, not the well-being of ideology or institution. Very few advocates develop such a humanistic trait, and it is this genuineness, that makes the hearts change. You will see the sparkle of genuineness coupled with humanism in all his writings. That’s what makes him inspiring — to both sides of the aisle.
Paul Kurtz took Secular Humanism beyond the US frontiers and made it truly global. Not only European & Western, he embraced the Eastern hemisphere too with his humanistic heart. Kurtz lectured on Confucianism and Taoism — which do not rely on the belief in the supernatural. Prof. Kurtz travelled to India seven times and the final visit was in 2008, which turned out to be very successful and gratifying in his last days.
Kurtz delivered the commencement address at the Periyar Maniammai university in South India and was awarded an Honorary Degree. To put the happiness in his own words,
“I was overwhelmed by the reception that I received, and by the dedication of the people in the movement, founded by the social reformer Periyar about 70 years ago. They are committed to social justice, especially the need to develop self-respect, their criticism of the caste system & religion, including Hinduism and all Gods. Dr. Veeramani commented that the agenda of the Center for Inquiry (CFI) and the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) movement are compatible, and I concur wholeheartedly”.
Verily, Humanism — East meets West and Paul Kurtz, its global torch bearer.
Kurtz authored over 50 books and published many articles. Many of his books have been translated from English into local languages. He served as an editor of many magazines like the Free Inquiry and The Humanist. All through his life, he was a passionate humanist and a rational skeptic, and founded many institutes like the CSI (Committee for Skeptical Inquiry) and ISHV (Institute for Science and Human Values) now renamed as the Kurtz Institute for Science and Human Values. He was the editor-in-chief of ISHV’s journal, The Human Prospect (THP), to which we have committed ourselves to carry on the torch of Paul Kurtz.
Prof. Kurtz as a true scholar, coined the term Eupraxsophy to refer to the aggregate of all philosophies (like Secular Humanism, Confucianism, Taoism etc.) that do not rely on the belief in supernatural. It is a nonreligious worldview — advocating an ethical and exuberant life, based on rational and skeptic methods such as logic and science, instead of faith and religion.
Recognizing Paul Kurtz’s contribution to scientific skepticism and to the refutation of pseudoscience, NASA named the main-belt asteroid as 6629 Kurtz in his honor. The asteroid discovered in 1982 by E. Bowell at the Anderson Mesa Station of the Lowell Observatory, was eventually named in the honor of Paul Kurtz.
Yet another contribution by Kurtz, is his critique of the paranormal. Paranormal activities are those phenomena and so-called miracles that are spread in the religious context and culture. Religion always acclaims the paranormal as divine, holy, beyond normal human activity and beyond scientific explanation. Prof. Kurtz refutes such paranormal attribution and clarifies on its propaganda. In his own words,
“An explanation for the persistence of the paranormal, I submit, is due to the transcendental temptation. In my book by that name, I present the thesis that paranormal and religious phenomena have similar functions in human experience; they are expressions of a tendency to accept magical thinking. This temptation has such profound roots within human experience and culture that it constantly reasserts itself”.
The Transcendental Temptation is one of the most influential work authored by Paul Kurtz. Even if you are a religious person, you will fall in love with the genuineness of Kurtz, as you are reading the book. His style & logic of delivery is anchored, not in ideology, but in humaneness of the thought. The book is gaining global popularity and I am even getting calls from publishers in South India, to translate the book in Tamil language. As a passionate reader, I myself would recommend to a beginner to start with the ‘Transcendental Temptation’.
Prof. Paul Kurtz will be remembered as the 21st century’s philosopher of rationalism, skepticism and beyond that, Humanism. Let’s conclude this short introductory essay with his own thoughts and genuine reflection towards the society.
“The universe is what it is, and there is no evidence of a supernatural realm made especially for us. That illusion is finally shattered by the skeptical eye: these ancient gods are mere fragments of our imagination. Yet there is still deep promise within the human adventure, if we would only unleash our response to the challenges, and open up new potentialities for the good life. Thus, whatever we do, we must never forget to look up and stargaze, and this can but only arouse a new sense of awe about nature, and a kind of profound reverence for the life that is born of it. The best response we can give is not supplication but buoyancy: to enjoy every moment we can, to exult and extol the natural world; and to live as fully as we can, realizing our highest talents for creativity and fulfillment.
As we have seen, the transcendental temptation lurks deep within the human breast. It is ever-present, tempting humans by the lure of transcendental realities, subverting the power of their critical intelligence, enabling them to accept unproven and unfounded myth systems. Can we live without myths? Can we overcome the defect, as it were, in our natures? Whether we will succeed in this venture? No one can say. But if we are to do so, we will need to enlist our highest talents and skills and to cultivate the two great humanistic virtues: reason and courage”.
Happy Birthday, Prof. Kurtz!
