Table 1

Basic ideas of humanists

Explore and challenge all areas of thought
Make no claims to possess or have access to transcendent knowledge
Reject arbitrary faith, authority, revelation and altered states of consciousness
Recognize that intuitive feelings, hunches, flashes of inspiration, and emotion may lead to new ways of looking at the world
Regard human values as making sense only in the context of human life
Be concerned with meeting human needs and answering human problems
Recognize the existence of moral dilemmas
Accepts contemporary scientific concepts
Accepts today's enlightened social thought
Accepts new technological developments
Is a philosophy for those in love with life

Kissoon Critical Care 2005 9:371   doi:10.1186/cc3510