“It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.” Joseph Joubert
Dine, Discuss, and Debate in a friendly environment!
At our last meeting there seemed to be good acceptance that what I called Secular Liberal Humanism determines the moral framework of most countries in the West. We also agreed that this is not recognised and celebrated for the force it is. Part of the problem is that it has no recognised name. I was tasked with suggesting some names.
When does preaching become teaching – and vis-versa?
‘Preaching’ is variously defined as
– ‘the delivery of a sermon or religious address to an assembled group of people, typically in church.’ – Oxford Languages (Google’s English dictionary)
– ‘the giving of moral advice in a pompously self-righteous way.’ – Oxford Languages
– ‘to give unwanted advice, especially about moral matters, in a boring way’ – Cambridge Dictionary
– to exhort in an officious or tiresome manner’ Merriam-Webster
While definitions help with understanding many things, many important things that defy definition are all too obvious when we encounter them.
At our last meeting there seemed to be good acceptance that what I called Secular Liberal Humanism determines the moral framework of most countries in the West. We also agreed that this is not recognised and celebrated for the force it is. Part of the problem is that it has no recognised name. I was tasked with suggesting some names.
When does preaching become teaching – and vis-versa?
‘Preaching’ is variously defined as
– ‘the delivery of a sermon or religious address to an assembled group of people, typically in church.’ – Oxford Languages (Google’s English dictionary)
– ‘the giving of moral advice in a pompously self-righteous way.’ – Oxford Languages
– ‘to give unwanted advice, especially about moral matters, in a boring way’ – Cambridge Dictionary
– to exhort in an officious or tiresome manner’ Merriam-Webster
While definitions help with understanding many things, many important things that defy definition are all too obvious when we encounter them.
This new “universal” morality became based on the liberal ideas of freedom and equality that emerged in Britain and the USA in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, alongside natural humanistic ideals of behaviour. It has no recognised name, for want of a better phrase I call it secular liberal humanism. It has transformed our lives.
Human beings have a strong moral sense, a belief in what behaviour is right and what is wrong. We may not always agree on exactly what is right, but that there is right and wrong is an almost universal human sensibility. Throughout human history there has been continual debate about the nature of this moral sense: where it comes from and how it works.
Since the birth of civilisation there have always been extremes of wealth and poverty. Many societies from the Roman Empire to Victorian Britain have had a small very rich elite who rule over the masses. The Roman Empire had very high levels of slavery. The working class in Victorian Britain was exploited and impoverished. And yet they were both societies that survived and thrived.
“It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.” Joseph Joubert
Dine, Discuss, and Debate in a friendly environment!
Join us for a regular lunchtime meetup. We’ll be informally discussing ideas about human progress, social issues, and human fallibility. If you’re open minded, enjoy a good debate, and interested to learn from the ideas of others, come along to dine and discuss in a local pub. We believe that everyone has something valuable to contribute to the conversation and we would love for you to be a part of it.
This new “universal” morality became based on the liberal ideas of freedom and equality that emerged in Britain and the USA in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, alongside natural humanistic ideals of behaviour. It has no recognised name, for want of a better phrase I call it secular liberal humanism. It has transformed our lives.
Human beings have a strong moral sense, a belief in what behaviour is right and what is wrong. We may not always agree on exactly what is right, but that there is right and wrong is an almost universal human sensibility. Throughout human history there has been continual debate about the nature of this moral sense: where it comes from and how it works.
Since the birth of civilisation there have always been extremes of wealth and poverty. Many societies from the Roman Empire to Victorian Britain have had a small very rich elite who rule over the masses. The Roman Empire had very high levels of slavery. The working class in Victorian Britain was exploited and impoverished. And yet they were both societies that survived and thrived.
“It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.” Joseph Joubert
Dine, Discuss, and Debate in a friendly environment!
Join us for a regular lunchtime meetup. We’ll be informally discussing ideas about human progress, social issues, and human fallibility. If you’re open minded, enjoy a good debate, and interested to learn from the ideas of others, come along to dine and discuss in a local pub. We believe that everyone has something valuable to contribute to the conversation and we would love for you to be a part of it.