This is a speech given by Catherine Lim upon receiving the Humanist of the Year Award 2011. Catherine is a well-known Singapore author who has published several books and political commentaries. The transcript is also published on her website and it describes her journey to become a humanist. [Read more…]
Archives for July 2011
Introduction to “Humanist of the Year: Catherine Lim”
23 July 2011 by
By Paul Tobin
The word “humanism” originated from the 15th century Italian term umanista – which meant a scholar of classical Greco-Roman literature and its underlying ethical philosophy. By the enlightenment during the 18th century, the word became linked with the concepts / ideals / life stance that we understand today as Humanism. These ideals include (1) the primacy of reason – that evidence, observations and experiment, and rational analysis have the form the grounding for our knowledge (2) a human centered ethics which is based on a spirit of compassions coupled with critical thinking and finally (3) a skepticism and rejection of the supernatural – that life can be happy and meaningful without recourse to superstitions and myths. [Read more…]
Stargazing at Pulau-Semakau
11 July 2011 by
By Dan Dan
In the evening of 9 July 2011, a ethusiatic group of humanists and their loved ones stepped on Singapore first and only offshore landfill: Pulau Semakau! The island is incredibly clean and well facilitated, and a short introduction to this modern marvel left a deep impression on us. The team from The Astronomical Society Of Singapore (TASOS website) then gave us a short briefing on astronomy and the July night sky, raising our expectations. [Read more…]
