Humanism: Physiological Needs

Humanist psychology, in line with humanist philosophy, chooses to examine people holistically, as a person who is more than the sum of their behaviors and experiences, and capable of great things, with an inward drive towards actualization.  It rejects previous deterministic models of human psychology by examining a person's subjective reality and perspective, and accounting for that person's free will.  It assumes a multitiered model of the prerequisites for humanity to be able to achieve that psychological imperative.  When the needs of each level have been met, the human may progress to the next stage of psychological achievement.  Each progressive stage cannot be reached, or at least not maintained, without a solid foundation of the lower order requirements.  If a person's basic needs are not being met, then they cannot fulfill their potential.  Today we will be talking about the most basic needs of humanity, the physiological.

A representation of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, By J. Finkelstein - I created this work using Inkscape., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1315147

Physiological

As with any structure, if the base is weak, or incomplete, the structure will collapse.  Humanities most basic physiological needs form the foundation of the pyramid.  People cannot possibly live actualized lives, or have a sense of belonging and esteem if they do not have food to eat or a place to live.  It is essential for the functioning of an ethical society to provide for its people the basic physiological necessities of life.  Therefore, I view these as natural rights belonging to all people, not as granted by god, but by virtue of their humanity and the intrinsic.  Therefore the state is required to protect these human rights.

• Breathing: Duh
• Food and Water:  Everyone deserves food, without question.  As a natural right, I view this as one of the unalienable rights referred to in the Declaration of Independence.  Nothing takes away a person's right to food and water.   If a person cannot provide for their own feeding, then they must be fed.  I would oppose as a human rights violation any attempt to abridge the food stamp program that did not supplant it with a superior system.  This includes drug testing.  The use of, even addiction to, drugs cannot deprive a person of the right to eat.  Everyone deserves food, not matter the circumstances.
• Sex: Simply put, all humans of sexual maturity experience sexuality, and must be required to express that sexuality unpunished.  This includes all expressions of sexuality between mature and consenting individuals; man and woman, man and man, woman and woman, masturbation, abstinence, and any other.  It must be stressed that the right to abstain from sex is as integral to physiological needs as the right to sex itself.  Abstinence in this case can mean from sex as a whole, or from any undesired act thereof at any given instance.  Consent to sex on one instance does not imply consent to sex on another instance.  Consent can be given and withdrawn at will. 
• Sleep: Simple put, while no one can or should be legally required to sleep, most particularly not at any specified time, every human is entitled by right of humanity to sleep 8 hours a day should they desire it.  From a practical standpoint, this places an upper limit on the length of any legal work day. 
• Homeostasis: Scientifically, this refers to a sort of biological equilibrium amounting to freedom from excess heat and cold, and other factors.  From a practical standpoint, this refers to two things: clothes and shelter.  All people are entitled to a home address, and clothes to wear.  Chronic homelessness is unacceptable.  An argument could also be made that the right to homeostasis includes healthcare as a means of achieving that homeostasis.  This is, in fact, the position of the World Health Organization.
• Excretion: We all piss and shit.  Deal with it.  It's a right.  People who make you pay to use the toilet are jerks.

Implications

If we accept the premise that the aforementioned physiological needs of humanity are basic human rights, and the premise that it is the duty and purpose of government to defend human rights (such would be in keeping with the Enlightenment ideals in which the United States of America was formed), then it must naturally be concluded that the above needs of humanity must be met, and that it is the duty and purpose of government to ensure that they are met.  

I would also posit that if we are to hold to the ideals of the Founding Fathers, that the "unalienable rights" to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" guarantees us the right to pursue our greatest happiness--the elevation of ourselves to the pinnacle of our being; our true selves and our fullest potential.  It would be, in a sense, to evolve.

Humanism: What a Piece of Work is a Man!

I go by Renaissance Man on here in part because I believe in the principles of humanism, which first became popular during the Italian Renaissance, which proceeded to sweep throughout Europe and changed the entire way we conceive of ourselves and our place in the world.  I believe in the idea that human beings have inherent value, which doesn’t require God or the church to validate via some special code of action dictated from on high.  People have value because of what we are. 

“'What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an Angel! In apprehension how like a god!”

This famous line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet sums up the humanist understanding of humanity.  Comparing us to angels and gods highlights the limitless capacity of human potential.   The ideal of the Renaissance Man was one who pushed themselves to be all that they could.  They explored every aspect of their abilities, refusing to limit themselves to one job, or one narrow focus for their life, and to become complete, whole, to strive for greatness.  In a sense, it was a push for personal evolution.  Not the evolution of species Darwin spoke of, taking place across millennia, but a microcosm; an individual transformation and elevation across a lifetime.  In a time of complacency, mediocrity, and a culture of lies, misinformation, and anti-intellectual tendencies, it is an outlook I believe to be sorely needed.

Hamlet’s speech is underscored with a certain irony that belies the lofty language and high praise he utters.  The Danish Prince speaks the ideal, but it is not what he sees.  Indeed, we all fall short, and one need only look around to know that most people are not “infinite in faculty.” But we could be.  Each one of us has it within us to be better than we are.  That is our essential nature.  I think it MUST define us as a people if we are going to survive.  I do not see this as a sappy inspirational message, of the sort commonly shared on facebook and pinterest, but instead a moral (I might go so far as to say logical) imperative, and a part of our social contract as human beings belonging to a society.  We affect others merely by existing, and we change the world each time we draw breath.  Society only functions if we agree to treat each other by ethical standards, and functions at its best as a whole when we are at our own personal best.

It is therefore our social duty to self-actualize, and to allow each other to do the same. 

Humanist Manifesto III

Following is the Humanist Manifesto III

It is revised from the first humanist manifesto, penned in 1933.  I do not own this.  Humanist Manifesto is a trademark of the American Humanist Association-© 2003 American Humanist Association

Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without supernaturalism, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity.
The lifestance of Humanism—guided by reason, inspired by compassion, and informed by experience—encourages us to live life well and fully. It evolved through the ages and continues to develop through the efforts of thoughtful people who recognize that values and ideals, however carefully wrought, are subject to change as our knowledge and understandings advance.
This document is part of an ongoing effort to manifest in clear and positive terms the conceptual boundaries of Humanism, not what we must believe but a consensus of what we do believe. It is in this sense that we affirm the following:

• Knowledge of the world is derived by observation, experimentation, and rational analysis. Humanists find that science is the best method for determining this knowledge as well as for solving problems and developing beneficial technologies. We also recognize the value of new departures in thought, the arts, and inner experience—each subject to analysis by critical intelligence.
• Humans are an integral part of nature, the result of unguided evolutionary change. Humanists recognize nature as self-existing. We accept our life as all and enough, distinguishing things as they are from things as we might wish or imagine them to be. We welcome the challenges of the future, and are drawn to and undaunted by the yet to be known.
• Ethical values are derived from human need and interest as tested by experience. Humanists ground values in human welfare shaped by human circumstances, interests, and concerns and extended to the global ecosystem and beyond. We are committed to treating each person as having inherent worth and dignity, and to making informed choices in a context of freedom consonant with responsibility.
• Life's fulfillment emerges from individual participation in the service of humane ideals. We aim for our fullest possible development and animate our lives with a deep sense of purpose, finding wonder and awe in the joys and beauties of human existence, its challenges and tragedies, and even in the inevitability and finality of death. Humanists rely on the rich heritage of human culture and the lifestance of Humanism to provide comfort in times of want and encouragement in times of plenty.
• Humans are social by nature and find meaning in relationships. Humanists long for and strive toward a world of mutual care and concern, free of cruelty and its consequences, where differences are resolved cooperatively without resorting to violence. The joining of individuality with interdependence enriches our lives, encourages us to enrich the lives of others, and inspires hope of attaining peace, justice, and opportunity for all.
• Working to benefit society maximizes individual happiness. Progressive cultures have worked to free humanity from the brutalities of mere survival and to reduce suffering, improve society, and develop global community. We seek to minimize the inequities of circumstance and ability, and we support a just distribution of nature's resources and the fruits of human effort so that as many as possible can enjoy a good life.

Humanists are concerned for the well being of all, are committed to diversity, and respect those of differing yet humane views. We work to uphold the equal enjoyment of human rights and civil liberties in an open, secular society and maintain it is a civic duty to participate in the democratic process and a planetary duty to protect nature's integrity, diversity, and beauty in a secure, sustainable manner.
Thus engaged in the flow of life, we aspire to this vision with the informed conviction that humanity has the ability to progress toward its highest ideals. The responsibility for our lives and the kind of world in which we live is ours and ours alone.