Foundation

Fundamental Ideas and Life-Stances

Definition

Flourishing is a secular life-stance association grounded in ethical realism and naturalism, free from superstition and ideas of higher beings or supernatural powers. Emphasis is placed on life-values derived from humanistic philosophical traditions, common human values, and a virtue-ethical approach to the association’s work.

The association places emphasis on philosophical and ethical educational policy and scholarly activity. Its pillars are to rest on professionalism and a strong academic foundation. Philosophical depth shall inform the structure, organization, and work of the association. Among other things, it shall build on the concept of philosophy as a way of life and on the cultivation of the moral self in a continuous search for growth and enrichment of life toward flourishing.

The ideological foundation of the association is connected to international humanist movements or life-stances such as the Amsterdam Declaration of Secular Humanists. However, the principal ideology of the association shall be built on an independent foundation and on the direct responsibility of its members for it. The same applies to the ethical guidelines established by the members.

Purpose and Objectives

• To build a community of individuals with a shared humanistic life-view, values, and principal aims. Intrinsic values that are good in themselves shall have priority (see further below on moral values). To cultivate and promote the good (morality), the true (scientific knowledge), and the right (justice and fairness) within and beyond the association. Likewise, the beautiful (the arts) may support this journey and enhance fullness of life.

• To promote character education and development—flourishing in life (cf. the concept of eudaimonia)—of individuals in order to strengthen their character formation and social competence. The cultivation of moral awareness (moral judgment) through learned value assessment and reflective experience, and the strengthening of reason in decision-making through logical thinking, are central here. Educational activity in the philosophical disciplines most closely related to this aim, namely virtue ethics and critical thinking. The academic field of positive psychology has also been connected to this orientation.

• To promote a philosophical way of life—to strengthen moral consciousness, moral sensitivity, knowledge of ethics, communicative competence, humanistic knowledge, solidarity, and friendship.

• To consider and express views on ethical matters in society that fall within the association’s field or on general moral issues concerning the well-being of all. Prominent among these are issues of equality between religious and life-stance associations and the humanistic (secular) organization of public governance and state institutions. Generally, it is not the role of the association to comment on partisan political disputes; however, various issues possess a socio-ethical character that may fall within its scope.

• To support causes in bioethics and healthcare ethics that uphold individuals’ autonomy to choose their course in matters concerning their lives and health—that is, to support people’s freedom to determine their own lives and, where applicable, the manner of their death.

• To cultivate and support the promotion of mental health, general health, public health, and physical well-being, particularly in connection with the ethics of the self, sports, and physical training.

• To cultivate and support the protection of biodiversity and nature—the “health” of the Earth. To support animal welfare.

• To uphold the demand for equal human dignity. To support equality and the right of individuals to possess personal distinctiveness and to enjoy equal standing irrespective of it.

• To protect knowledge. To support a scientific understanding of the origin and nature of knowledge and to oppose falsehood, pseudoscience, and health fraud. Knowledge as the rationally justified truth (the real) about things is precious to human beings, for without a clear understanding of the world they cannot find their footing in life. The careful handling of information or knowledge is a moral responsibility of every cognitively competent person, since truth is the foundation of all responsible human interaction and the basis for decision-making attuned to circumstances. The formation of knowledge requires healthy skepticism and scientific caution and diligence.

• To cultivate and express the beautiful (arts and poetry) and the intellectual in human life insofar as appropriate to the association’s domain. The arts provide countless avenues and forms of non-abstract expression and are a source of diverse influences on mindset and emotion. They are an important part of well-being or happiness, for the beauty or stimulation of art is nourishing and it is natural for human beings to take delight in it. The arts are also an effective means of addressing morality, tension, and the cognitive nature of the human being.

Moral Values, Moral Goods, and Social Orientation

Humanistic ethical realism affirms common intrinsic values: human dignity; freedom; beneficence; non-maleficence; and justice are central within the ethical orientation, together with valuable derivative intrinsic goods of human relationships (trust, friendship, love, peace, etc.), the health of the self (self-respect, development), and flourishing. The fundamental values of morality lie in life—its preservation, health, and quality. The human being is a social being and does not live alone. From the value of life in community with other living beings arise the aforementioned fundamental values that promote the good life, that which makes life worth living.

Good Personal Relations and Humanity

The work and projects of the association shall be grounded in good personal relationships so that all persons and initiatives receive their proper process and constructive preparation. Learning is key, and it shall occur through experiential exercises in which individuals place themselves in situations—training and developing judgment—character education.

• Kindness, consideration, fairness, honesty, and solidarity in good causes are important virtues that express moral disposition and endeavour.

• Humanity and helpfulness—contributing to or organizing charitable work.

• Perseverance and courage in good causes—to follow a good conviction requires endurance and firmness in not allowing one’s will to pursue the good path to be weakened.

• Scholarship, professionalism, and research in community with people committed to critical thinking and love of learning.

• Humour—maintaining enjoyment and lightness in association activities (while yielding to more important matters when necessary).

Substantive and Democratic Organization

Constitutionally, the association is in its main features built on deliberative democracy. Its organization combines deliberative and voting-based democracy, where the former is primary and the latter a subsidiary remedy for which specific rules may be established. The board of the association makes decisions through deliberation and sound procedures within the authority granted by the association’s laws and foundational principles. See further in the association’s statutes.

The association is open to membership by individuals who consider that their life-stances align with its ideological foundation, role, and principal policies.

The Amsterdam Declaration 2022.

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Adopted by the founding members at the founding meeting of Flourishing on 23 March 2025, at the National House (Safnahúsið), Reykjavík.

The Amsterdam Declaration 2022

(See at https://humanists.international/what-is-humanism/the-amsterdam-declaration/)

Icelandic translation

Húmanískar skoðanir og gildi eru jafn gömul og siðmenning manna og eiga sér sögu í flestum samfélögum manna  víða um heimsbyggðina.

Nútímalegur húmanismi er viss hápunktur þessarar löngu hefðar rökræðu um merkingu og eðli siðferðis, sem hefur veitt mörgum vönduðum hugsuðum og listamönnum heimsins innblástur og ofist inn í þróun vísinda. Sem alþjóðleg hreyfing húmanista leitumst við eftir því að gera öllu mannfólki ljós þau grunnatriði húmanískrar lífsskoðunar sem eru hér fara:

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1. Húmanistar leggja sig fram við að vera siðrænir

Við álítum að siðferði sé okkur eðlislægt, byggt á þeim eiginleikum allra lífvera að geta þjáðst og blómstrað, og áhuga á velferð okkar sem hlýst af hjálpsemi í stað skaðsemi. Slíkt siðferði verður að veruleika gegnum skynsemi og samkennd og þarfnast ekki annarrar uppsprettu en þeirrar sem býr í mannkyninu sjálfu.

Við göngumst við gildiverðmæti og reisn hverrar manneskju og rétti hennar til að njóta alls þess frelsis og möguleika til vaxtar sem samrýmst getur rétti annarra. Til að svo megi verða styðjum við frið, lýðræði, réttarríki og algild lögbundin mannréttindi.

Við höfnum öllum tegundum kynþáttahyggju og fordómum, og öllu því óréttlæti sem af þeim stafa. Þvert á móti viljum við að efla og styðja farsæld og samleið mannkyns í allri sinni fjölbreytni og sérkennum einstaklinganna.

Við teljum að frelsi einstaklinga verði að fara saman með félagslegri ábyrgð þeirra. Frjáls manneskja hefur skyldur við aðrar, og við teljum okkur skuldbundin því að bera umhyggju gagnvart öllu mannkyni, kynslóðum framtíðar, og í víðara samhengi, gagnvart öllum skyni gæddum verum.

Við viðurkennum að mannkynið er hluti af náttúrunni og föllumst á ábyrgð okkar gagnvart þeim áhrifum sem við höfum á hana.

2. Húmanistar leggja sig fram við að beita skynseminni

Við erum sannfærð um að hægt sé að leysa vandamál veraldar með mannlegri skynsemi og virkum aðgerðum. Við tölum fyrir vísindalegri nálgun og óhlutdrægri rannsókn vandamálanna, en erum um leið vakandi yfir því að þó vísindin færi okkur aðferðirnar, verði mannleg gildi að vísa veginn. Við viljum nota vísindi og tækni fyrir velferð mannkynsins, en ekki af harðneskju eða til eyðileggingar.

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3. Húmanistar leitast eftir lífsfyllingu

Okkur eru kærar allar uppsprettur ánægju og lífsfyllingar svo lengi sem þær skaða ekki aðra. Við teljum mögulegt að efla þroska okkar með ævilangri ræktarsemi við siðferðilega ábyrgan og skapandi lífsmáta.

Við höfum því í hávegum listræna sköpun og ímyndun, og viðurkennum afl bókmennta, tónlistar, sjónlista og sviðslista, til umbreytinga. Okkur er annt um fegurð náttúrunnar og metum mátt hennar til að vekja með okkur undrun, andakt og rósemi. Við metum mikils þá tengingu manna í millum og  ávinning í þroska sem heilsurækt skapar fyrir einstaklinga og samfélag. Við höldum í heiðri leitinni að þekkingu og þeirri auðmýkt, visku og raunsæi sem hún gefur.

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4. Húmanisminn – manngildisstefnan – getur svarað leit fólks eftir merkingu í lífinu

Í leit manneskja að uppsprettum merkingar og tilgangs er húmanisminn valkostur við kreddubundin trúarbrögð, andlýðræðislega þjóðernishyggju, einangrandi sértrúarhópa og sjálfhverfa tómhyggju.

Þótt við teljum að staðföst tryggð okkar við markmið velferðar fyrir mannkynið sé tímalaus, er okkur ljóst að skoðanir okkar byggjast ekki á uppgötvunum sem standast að eilífu. Húmanistar vita að enginn er óbrigðull eða alvitur og að þekking á heiminum og manneskjum verður einungis fengin gegnum sífellt ferli rannsóknar, lærdóms og endurmats.

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Af þessum ástæðum viljum við hvorki forðast rýni fólks í skoðanir okkar, né sækjast eftir því að þröngva þeim upp á mannkynið. Þvert á móti, þá óskum við eftir fjötralausri tjáningu skoðana og samræðu. Við viljum vinna með fólki af ýmsum grunni, sem getur sammælst um gildi okkar, í þeim tilgangi að bæta heiminn.

Við erum sannfærð um að mannkynið hafi tök á því að ráða fram úr þeim vanda sem við stöndum andspænis. Með samhygð, ímyndunarafli og aðferðum vísindalegra rannsókna, er mannkyni kleift að stuðla að friði og farsæld mannlífsins.

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Við hvetjum alla, sem sammælast þessari sannfæringu, að koma til liðs við okkur í þá heillandi vegferð sem henni fylgir.[4]

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[1] Realism is sometimes translated as hluthyggja in philosophical contexts, but raunhyggja conveys the meaning better—at least in the context of moral realism (siðferðileg raunhyggja). The term positivism has also been translated as raunhyggja and is often used in the context of logical positivism. Positivism is also translated as vissustefna (“doctrine of certainty”).

[2] This refers in particular to the teleological idea of flourishing in life, achieving flourishing in the philosophical sense. The concept originates with Aristotle and is called eudaimonia in Ancient Greek.

[3] See Humanist International home page:  https://humanists.international/ (former name: International Humanist and Ethical Union, founded in 1952 in Amsterdam, Netherlands).

[4] Translator: Svanur Sigurbjörnsson, April 2025.