Explain the significance of Humanism - Essay Example

24 May, Significance of humanism: This paper discusses both the spiritual and materialistic significance of humanism. On the spiritual grounds, humans have been created by God to see if there are worth sending to heaven or hell in the world hereafter. On the materialistic grounds, human beings form an integral part of the eco system, and have been created to make changes in the world like they have done from the conception of world to date. The significance of humanism is conventionally associated with religiosity.

Where there is the concept of god, there is humanism. It is the sensibility that makes humans superior to all other creatures. “Many people assume that for life to have meaning, there has to be a "giver" of such meaning - such a "giver" is normally referred to as "god."” (Tobin). One of the biggest realities of this world is that everything in this world is mortal. Mortality applies not only to living beings, but also things that never got life, like money. If an individual acquires a lot of money, he/she can not claim that he/she will always be rich, as rich people do not always remain rich.

At one point of time, one can have treasures of money and yet a time may come, and has come for many, when the treasures have all gone. Same holds true for life. Every human being in this world has to die. There has not been a single person since the evolution of universe that did not die. Humans have to die because they are mortal. In addition to this fact, most of the religions say that all human beings are equal irrespective of their differences of caste or color. For example, Islam preaches that the only thing that makes a human being superior to another is taqwa.

Taqwa “is usually translated as: "fear of Allah, piety, righteousness, or being conscious of Allah, aware of His attributes, His Might and power” (Tarhuni). Thus all human beings are equal and mortal and have to be answerable for their deeds in this world in the world that follows it. This part of the discussion focuses totally on the spiritual side of the story, there is also a worldly side to it. The significance of humanism is evident in the pattern of nature. God made birds and animals so that humans may benefit from them.

In fact, some birds and creatures have been created to teach the humans important lessons. Ants move in a disciplined manner. They move one behind another in the form of a line, so do geese fly. Honey bees have a full network that organizes the work of collection of honey, which is in turn, meant for the use by humans. Hence, everything in this world that surrounds the humans is linked with them in one way or another. On the other hand, humans also impact everything around them. Humans have made this place a totally different place from what it originally was millions of years ago.

All of the actions that humans have been involved in since the conception of world have had severe impacts on the animals, birds and all living creatures. Some living things have been eaten up and are and will continue to be eaten up by humans. They include such animals as cows, goats and sheep etc. Other animals have been used by humans for work related purposes. They include but are not limited to camels, ponies and donkeys. And there have been yet other animals that have not been eaten up or used by humans in any way, but they have suffered as a result of the activities of humans, which have caused the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to rise and cause global warming.

The following figure shows the profile of increase in CO2 caused by humans: Rate of annual increase in CO2 form 1750 to 2000 (Deem). Many polar bears have as a result of the increase in global warming caused by humans. In light of the discussion made in this paper, it is obvious that all human beings have been sent to this world with a purpose, i.e. to see how good they perform in the test of nature. Analysis of the various processes of nature and the way the various systems of this world have been organized suggests that this world is a place of test for humans.

Humans will be rewarded or punished according to their deeds in this world in the world hereafter. Works Cited: Deem, Rich. “Global Warming: Will Human-Induced Climate Change Destroy the World?” 2010. Web. 24 May 2011. . Tarhuni, Omar. “The Concept of Taqwa, and some of its aspects [part 1].” N.d. Web. 24 May 2011. . Tobin, Paul. “Humanism and the Meaning of Life.” 10 Nov. 2010. Web. 24 May 2011. .