Humanism A cosmology that derives its beliefs and values from human experience without reference to the divine. Focus on Human Reason, not Divine Revelation. Rise of Science shows man’s own power – own mastery over nature. Greatness and final goals become worldly.

Francis Bacon Statesman and scientist (was Chancellor of England) Believed intellectuals had to stop accepting the authorities of the past or else most knowledge will never be discovered. “Father of Empiricism” – all knowledge is from sensory input. One of the early advocates of the Scientific Method. “Knowledge is Power” – power over nature for a better quality of life for men. Believed in God: “"a little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism; but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion."

George Berkeley Irish Bishop Immaterialist: we can only know sensations and ideas of things – not abstractions of them. Thus ideas exist only when we are thinking of them. “Esse Est Percipi” – To be is to be perceived. A diligent God must therefore exist or my bed might cease to be when I fall asleep. Proof of God found in ideas that are not dependent on myself. Cannot be sure if anyone exists besides myself and God.

David Hume Scottish Atheist Held all knowledge is based on perception and we have no way of knowing if our perceptions connect with reality. We have no way of proving the existence of anything, including our selves. Cause / Effect relationships are in our head.

René Descartes Sought to recover the certitude of knowing that was lost. Compelled by certitude of mathematics – pure, ordered, inquiry that could expand knowledge greatly. Begin at the beginning: “Can Anything be known?” Yes! “Cogito Ergo Sum!” “I think, therefore I am.” Beginning with the knowledge of the existence of self, Descartes carefully builds a case for the existence of God. Then once we know of a good God – it follows the rest of the world is able to be perceived.

Thomas Jefferson Figure of the “Enlightenment” which was a philosophical movement characterized by a belief in the power of human reason without reference to God. Dieist: he believed in a God solely based on reason. This God created the universe, but assumes no control over daily life or natural phenomena. To match this belief Jefferson re-wrote the New Testament.

Immanuel Kant Taught that we could not base ethics on human nature, because we have no way of knowing what human nature is. The only thing we know that can be truly good is a Good Will. Categorical Imperative: holds that we should image our proposed action as a universal maxim for that king of choice to determine if it is truly goood. Kind of like the Golden Rule. While a Catholic would say we believe in God and thus should be moral, Kant says be moral and thus know “the good,” thus know God.

Georg Hegel Believed God is a “World Spirit”. The universe then, guided by the World Spirit, is in a state of becoming. The process is often violent, where the passions of individuals seek private good actually pushes the development of the Universe. History can be seen as the “Slaughter Bench” where the happiness, virtue, and wisdom of countless people are sacrificed for the spiral the thesis, antithesis, and synthesis required to attain the next more rational state for the World Spirit.

John Stuart Mill Great supporter of Utilitarianism, which determines the moral worth of something by its consequential outcome. Greatest-Happiness Principle: moral actions bring the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people. Not all happiness's are equal. Intellectual / Moral goods bring a higher level of happiness then physical goods. “Better to be a dissatisfied Socrates than a satisfied Pig.”

Friedrich Nietzshe Assumed the meaninglessness of the world and then asked, “What kind of life could then show itself as worth living?” Answer: “I must become the artist of my life creating with such aesthetic value that my life will stand out from the crowd.” Rejected Christian morality as “sheepish” Advocated the morality of the “Superman.” Embraced men like Caesar and Napoleon. His sister, a fascist, contributed to the Nazi corruption of his views.