Tag Archives: New Enlightenment Project

Antisemitism, the Left and 1967

October 26, 2025 humanistfreedoms

This article by Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson is adapted from a chapter of the same name in Unadorned: Conversations on Antisemitism, edited by Scott Douglas Jacobsen (In-Sight Publishing / Apple Books, October 2025).

Television was still “black and white” when I entered a high school oratory contest to talk about the U.S. war in Vietnam. A young Trotskyist subsequently recruited me to join the New Democratic Youth. I immersed myself in socialist political thought.

The U.S was a colonial empire and therefore, oppressive; however, as I understood Marx, capitalism was a necessary stage before socialism and eventual communism. The newly formed state of Israel was allied with United States and was, therefore, an oppressor. I noted that the majority of socialist thinkers I had been reading – Rosa Luxembourg, Leon Trotsky, Edward Bernstein, and even Marx himself were Jews. The Jewish Left must have switched sides out of self-interest – the worst sort of traitor. The Balfour Declaration was proof that Israel was a colonial Zionist plot from the beginning of the British mandate in Palestine in 1920. Zionism was said to be a form of religious fundamentalism based on a divine mandate for Jews to occupy this particular area of the globe thus offending my newly developing humanist sensibilities.

We weren’t told that most of European Jewry had rejected Zionism. From 1919 to 1932 only 120,000 immigrated to Palestine joining the 60,000 to 80,000 Jews already present. In comparison, 280,000 to 380,000 European Jews migrated elsewhere, mainly to the Americas. After 1932, as conditions for Jews in Europe became progressively worse, western governments limited Jewish immigration to their countries. We also weren’t told that Britain had never allowed Jewish immigration to the 60% of Palestine east of the Jordan River or that in 1939 they stopped Jewish immigration to Palestine entirely. This trapped potentially hundreds of thousands who could have been saved from the holocaust. The Left has had more sympathy for non-Jewish refugees.

In an act of ethnic cleansing, 850,000 Jews were expelled from Arab lands following World War II. While the United States and France took 250,000 of them, most had no choice but to resettle in Palestine. In 1947, the United Nations offered a “two state” solution for that part of Palestine that was not already part of the new state of Jordan. The Jews accepted the plan and named their portion “Israel.” The Arabs refused the two-state solution, invaded and lost. The majority of Arabs and all of the Jews were expelled from that part of Palestine designated for the other group. Why are the descendants of the Arabs still designated as refugees but not the descendants of Jews who also lost their homes?

I learned that most Zionists were not religious fundamentalists. Zionism was a movement for the re-establishment of a Jewish nation in Palestine. I still opposed Zionism for the same humanistic reason I would oppose nationalism generally – it is restrictive of minority populations who may not fit into the ethnic and linguistic definition of “the nation.” I have since learned that the leaders who established the state of Israel were from the Jewish Enlightenment tradition and they implemented a constitution guaranteeing liberal values, secularism and democracy. Three quarters of Israel’s population are Jews and a quarter of these are atheists. More than 20% of Israel’s population are Arab Muslims with full rights of citizenship. Women, gays transsexuals and religious minorities have constitutional equality. In a nod to socialism, the two hundred and seventy kibbutzim that dot the landscape are rural communes. Why would the Left abandon the only people in the Middle East that have established a democracy with at least some semblance of socialism?

In 1967 Canada got colour television and Egypt, Jordan and Syria once again invaded Israel. They lost. Israel took the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza from Egypt, the West Bank from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. This was also the year the Arabs from these regions began referring to themselves as “Palestinians,” as distinct from other Arabs. In defence of the Left, Nasser of Egypt, Arafat of Palestine and the Baath parties of Syria and Iraq sounded like socialists but, like Josef Stalin in the Soviet Union, they needed totalitarian methods to compensate for their lack of popular support. All were eventually replaced by Islamists bent on restoring a Medieval view of mankind with a strict fundamentalist interpretation of Islam. Humanists are opposed to the imposition of religious doctrine on subject peoples. Why did the Left support these reactionaries?

The Arab Palestinians were offered their own state with East Jerusalem as its capital in 2000 and again in 2008, but their leaders again rejected this “two-state” solution. Likud led by Benjamin Netanyahu was elected in 2009 on a platform opposed to such territorial concessions while favouring settlement expansion. The Israeli Labor Party has not had a role in government since. Why does the Left malign the Israeli Left?

With the return of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt agreed to recognize Israel as a state. In 2005 Israel ended its occupation of Gaza “trading land for peace” by forcibly removing nine thousand Jews in 21 communities from the territory. The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) won elections for the Palestinian Authority in 2006 and subsequently formed the government of Gaza violently repressing opposition. Since its founding charter promised the elimination of Israel, the Israelis have maintained a blockade to prevent Hamas from acquiring heavy weapons. The Left has equated this blockade with occupation thus broadening the meaning of the term which had meant “control and administration.”

On October 7, 2023 Hamas led Gazans invaded Israel and murdered 1,200 mostly civilians, including 378 who were attending a music festival. They did not spare infants or elderly. They took 251 hostages in preparation for the inevitable counter-attack. The Left accused Israel of “genocide.”

“Genocide” is a term that was coined to describe attempts to remove a people from the gene pool. Six million Jews were placed into concentration camps and systematically murdered during World War II. The population of European Jews decreased accordingly. There has been no corresponding decrease in Muslim Arab populations, for example, the population of Gaza was 356,000 in 1967 growing to 2.1 million on 2023. In a reverse of this growth, the number of Syrian Christians dropped from 2.1 million in 2011 to 300,000 by 2022. Where is the outcry? At one time there were 14,000 Lebanese Jews but fewer than 20 remain alive today, yet no one has accused the Muslims of genocide. Hamas has reported that 300 Gazans have died of hunger since October 7, 2023 but during the same time period 100,000 to 150,000 people have died from hunger in Yemen and 50,000 to 100,000 have died in South Sudan. Where are the demonstrations on Western university campuses opposing Yemeni and Sudanese “genocide?”

Israeli forces have been targeting Hamas operatives who dress in civilian clothes and operate in civilian areas. In Ukraine the Russian forces actually do engage in indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas. Why has the Left not organized mass demonstrations against Russian “genocide?”
We need to consider that Israel stands accused of genocide for defending itself from an enemy that refused to release its hostages unconditionally and who refuses to surrender. The term “genocide” was created to represent the intentional extermination of a racial, ethnic or religious group from the gene pool. To expand the definition of genocide to mean “war crimes” or even the effects of war on civilian populations, we negate the meaning and purpose of the original concept. Expanding the definition in this way equates the holocaust with other phenomenon –thus erasing the significance of the concept – a clever form of holocaust denial.

The Left claims to be anti-Zionist, not antisemitic, but they appear to have a special set of rules for the only majority Jewish state in the world; and, their “Pro-Palestinian” campaign has resulted in attacks on synagogues and Jewish run businesses. Students have expressed fear of identifying as Jews in Canadian universities. Jews only represent 1% of the Canadian population, but in 2023 there were 900 police reported attacks on Jews representing 70% of all religiously motivated hate crimes in the country. In the modern context “anti-Zionism” has become an engine of Jew hatred. At least some of the Left can trace their antisemitism to a misreading of Marx who said: “What is the worldly religion of the Jew? Huckstering. What is his worldly God? Money. […] In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism” (Marx, 1844/2008) .

These words were used by Stalin and his successors in the Soviet Union to justify widespread purges that killed or imprisoned thousands of Jews while equating Zionism with imperialism and fascism. The American Communist Party justified Arab pogroms against Jews in Palestine and North Africa while conflating Jewish financiers with plutocratic exploitation. Soviet bloc propaganda, allied with authoritarian Arab states, funded vicious campaigns demonizing Israel as a colonial outpost, and influencing the New Left of the 1960s and 1970s to adopt tropes of Jewish power and victim-blaming. Marx would not have been pleased. In the context of his writing, he was telling Jewish capitalists to give up on capitalism. His words were part of a movement that saw Jews embrace socialist and union activity in an attempt to integrate with workers the world over. But Marx’s more literal followers turned class politics into identity politics.

It began with Marcuse and the New Left in the 1960s (Coughlin & Higgins, 2019) . In an act of revisionism, it declared students and academics, as opposed to workers, to be the revolutionary class. By the 1980s it had replaced workers in another way – designated identity groups were now seen as the primary victims of oppression. In the 1980s and 1990s this not-so new Left adopted postmodern relativism with at least one important difference – while postmodernism held that all knowledge is socially constructed by people with power, the new Left held that its own ideology could not be critically examined. Pinker noted this new belief system had the trappings of a quasi-religion (Pinker, 2003) . This new religious movement that has become increasingly strident and intolerant is commonly referred to as “Wokism” (Robertson, 2021; Robertson & Tasca, 2022; Samuels, 2022) .

Any religion or ideology based on identity groups and politics will inevitably favor some groups over others thus promoting racism. The tropes used to demonize Jews from the left frequently channel those used by 20 th Century fascists. Since Enlightenment science and reason are seen as “Eurocentric” with Jews defined as ultra-white, the resultant demonization is often impervious to logic. Humanists need to consider how ideological belief that is religiously held can damage free speech, reason and, ultimately, compassion.

The media often see the Wokists as “the Left,” but there is a branch of the traditional Left who believed Enlightenment tools of science and reason could be used to address social problems and build a better society. Guided by humanist compassion, Democratic Socialists like Bernstein sought to curb the excesses of capitalism while preserving individual liberty and human rights. They rejected the authoritarianism of both the far-left and the far-right championing free speech and open discussion to overcome the bias and programing that would otherwise determine our worldview. Over the years, my views have evolved accordingly. I still do not pretend I have it exactly right and I remain open to refining my understanding through continued reflection and dialogue.

Cold hearted orb that rules the night
Distorts the colours from our sight
Red is grey and yellow white
But we decide which is right
And which is illusion.
-The Moody Blues, 1967

References

Coughlin, S., & Higgins, R. (2019). Re-remembering the Mis-Remembered Left: The Left’s strategy and tactics to transform America. Unconstrained Analytics.

Marx, K. (1844/2008). On the Jewish Question. Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher.

Pinker, S. (2003). A biological understanding of human nature. In J. Brockman (Ed.), The new humanists: Science at the edge (pp. 33-51). Barnes & Noble.

Robertson, L. H. (2021). Year of the virus: Understanding the contagion effects of wokism. In-sight, 26(B). Retrieved March 1, from https://in-sightjournal.com/2021/02/22/wokism/

Robertson, L. H., & Tasca, E. (2022). Waking from Wokism: Innoculating Ourselves against a Mind Virus. Free Inquiry, June/July, 21-25.

Samuels, D. (2022). How Turbo-Wokism broke America: Oligarchs and activists are playing for the same team. UnHerd.
https://unherd.com/?p=446548tl_inbound=1&tl_groups%5B0%5D=18743&tl_period_type=3&mc_cid=d6deab138c&mc_eid=bb998e3506

Up For Discussion

If you’re interested in analyzing and discussing this issue, there are actions you can take. First, here at Humanist Heritage Canada (Humanist Freedoms), we are open to receiving your well-written articles.

Second, we encourage you to visit the New Enlightenment Project’s (NEP) Facebook page and discussion group.

Citations, References And Other Reading

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Breaking Down Silos: Fostering Reason and Respect in a Divided World

August 11, 2025 humanistfreedoms

Submitted by NEP’s Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson

A recent discussion among New Enlightenment Project board members highlighted a growing breakdown in meaningful communication across societal “silos.” Groups divided by differing beliefs on divisive issues—such as Palestine, immigration, equal rights for men, gender ideology, or systemic racism—are increasingly polarized with the result that they are left shouting at each other rather than talking to each other. Left, right and people in-between have been undermined with lies, defamation, negative gossip, innuendo, social ostracization, and asymmetric application of institutional ethics guidelines. This divisiveness has also fragmented the humanist movement, spawning competing organizations vying for a limited constituency. As a result, some humanist groups avoid discussing controversial issues to prevent further division, but this limits our ability to advance knowledge at individual and societal levels.

The Enlightenment-inspired advocate will stick to the argument and not the presumed character of the other. Even when we disagree—perhaps especially when trust is lacking—we must show respect for others, honoring the humanist principle of valuing every individual’s dignity and worth. This requires epistemic humility: acknowledging that our knowledge is limited and subject to change with new evidence. So why does society struggle to embrace respectful, reason-based discourse?

From a psychological perspective, three factors may explain why those engaging in reasoned debate are often maligned or censored. First, individuals with a dualistic worldview—dividing the world into good versus evil—may justify harmful actions against those labeled as “evil.” They may believe that silencing such individuals prevents others from straying from the “right” path. This mindset isn’t limited to religious ideologies; any belief system that paints non-adherents as oppressive, racist, or hateful can foster this trap.

Second, people may actively censor or malign others due to an underdeveloped or fragile sense of self. To such people, presenting ideas that run counter to their beliefs might feel like violence directed towards them. More extremely, some people run from the responsibility of having a volitional self and instead merge who they are with a religion or ideology. Any attack on the religion or ideology is then felt as violence directed against them and they “defend” themselves accordingly. Since reasoning only invites a reply which is then experienced as another attack, they seek to suppress free speech.

Third, some individuals view power as the only reality, leaving them desperate to control others. Feeling vulnerable when not in charge, they may resort to manipulation or bullying. When aligned with a movement seeking power—often framed as a moral crusade—they gain a sense of legitimacy, justifying their efforts to silence reasoned discourse.

These conditions—moral dualism, fragile identity, and a fixation on power—are treatable through psychotherapy. However, individuals with these traits often seek counseling only when their efforts to silence or control others fail, expecting the world to change rather than themselves. Promoting societies that consciously value objective reason, diverse thought, and free speech at every level may encourage such individuals to reflect and grow. This cultural shift could foster the change we need. Indeed, this is the mandate of the New Enlightenment Project: A Canadian Humanist Initiative (NEP).

The NEP was created by refugees from the culture wars within Canadian humanism who saw the need for a platform where all subjects of concern could be discussed freely and where civilized debate could be held without fear. So, we took this discussion from the board and invited member comment. Here are some of the comments that now appear on our website:

Gleb: “Intolerance of emotional intolerance should be the cornerstone of NEP.”

Myron: “But they are not interested in facts, just in perpetuating their dogmas and the lies they depend on.”

Bob: “We always assume that ours the only way to think, and that the other side is just wrong-headed.”

Mathew: “My mother survived Warsaw Uprising as a child, and witnessed how her father almost lost his life as he was chased in front of German tanks as a human shield. But she always encouraged me to “hear out the other side.” She had every reason to believe that some people, and some ideologies, are beyond redemption, and yet was ready to hear out even them.”

To maintain progress as a civilization we need to understand other points of view and we need to be willing to modify our own points of view, dependent on the evidence. Enlightenment Humanism is progressive in that we are capable of making incremental progress using the skills of science, reason and free speech. We are concerned that these skills are not being sufficiently taught in our society. We publish articles, maintain a blog, have a Facebook discussion page, and we conduct interviews on a YouTube channel. We worry that, in effect, we are creating our own silo and we wish to reach out to others that perhaps have different perspectives. We are exploring co-hosting “The Other” conference to provide opportunities for people who hold opposing viewpoints to discuss them in a fair and respectful forum.

A function of this conference is, to echo Steven Pinker, the open acknowledgment and utilization of Enlightenment values such as freedom of thought and speech, human reason, scientific inquiry, and continued improvement of the human condition, while steel-manning those who would question or oppose them. The conference would be more about listening and discussing rather than judging and drawing political lines in the sand. By considering what and why the ‘other’ side holds counter viewpoints to our own is to appreciate and understand how biases influence our views within particular contexts. But how do we bring together people with such diverse opinions together?

One way would be to have groups that represent the spectrum of humanist thought co-sponsor such a conference with agreed upon rules for building an argument, acknowledging biases, reiterating or “steel-manning” other points of view, and acknowledging good points and areas of common agreement prior to critical assessment. Such a conference would be a success by demonstrating to each other and to the greater public at large that it is possible to gather in a public forum and discuss very sensitive issues in a respectful and helpful manner.

We learned last month that the World Humanist Conference for 2026 had been moved from Washington to Ottawa, Canada due to fractured and politicized discourse in the United States. We would hope that Robert Hamilton, the president of Humanist Ottawa, which is independently affiliated with Humanists International, will have a visible role in this event. We would also propose that the other humanist groups in Canada that are not formally affiliated with each other be invited to co-host an event that will demonstrate the skills we have suggested for the “Other” conference.

In the meantime, you can visit the NEP website at THE NEW ENLIGHTENMENT PROJECT – A Canadian Humanist Initiative. Check out our blog, visit our Facebook page, participate in the discussions. You can view our podcast interviews at https://www.youtube.com/@nep-humanismca6881

Up For Discussion

Second, we encourage you to visit the New Enlightenment Project’s (NEP) Facebook page and discussion group.

Citations, References And Other Reading

Featured Photo Courtesy of : New Enlightenment Project
https://humanists.international/event/ga2026/

The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.

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New Enlightenment Project 2025 Report

April 26, 2025 humanistfreedoms

Following is the annual President’s message from the New Enlightenment Project (NEP), a Canadian humanist initiative. NEP was founded in 2021 to provide a platform where all subjects of concern to Humanists could be discussed freely and where civilized debate could be held without fear. Since that beginning, NEP appears to have enjoyed continuous growth in scope and activity.

Greetings, fellow humanists,

As President of The New Enlightenment Project (NEP), it is my privilege to present this report to you, reflecting on a year of meaningful progress in our mission to promote reason, science, and compassion as guiding principles in the pursuit of knowledge. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of you who have continued to embrace and champion Enlightenment ideals alongside us. Our national non-profit corporation, with board members from Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, has made significant strides this past year, and I am excited to share our accomplishments with you.

Publications and Outreach
This past year, we’ve amplified our voice through various publications and partnerships. Humanist Heritage Canada graciously supported our efforts by publishing my 2024 President’s Report online, a gesture we hope will continue in the future. Meanwhile, Humanistically Speaking Magazine, published in the United Kingdom, featured an article I coauthored with [Edan] Tasca of the Centre for Inquiry Canada, entitled Woke Ironies: Achieving the Opposite of Its Stated Goals. In it, we offer a critical analysis of Wokism, which can be viewed as a religion or as a mind virus, often at odds with Enlightenment humanism. We argue that for Wokism to align with its progressive aspirations, it must abandon regressive tendencies, shed racist assumptions, protect all vulnerable individuals regardless of perceived oppression, and foster a compassionate society by forgiving mistakes. This article, available at Woke ironies: achieving the opposite of its stated goals, has sparked discussion and was translated into French for republication in Le Québec Humaniste.

In July 2024, Humanistically Speaking Magazine published another piece I wrote, How pseudoscientific ideas about food and medicine have helped to devalue science, reason, and all things Western. This article, too, was translated into French and appeared in the December issue of Le Québec Sceptique. Additionally, I recently co-authored What Is a Man? with my son and that article is in the Winter 2024 issue of Humanist Perspectives: What is a man? Exploring the concept of gender — Humanist Perspectives Magazine.

I have also written and submitted for publication, From Lawyers to School Children: Deconstructing the Mass Grave Narrative. Starting with B.C. lawyer Jim Heller’s decision last month to suit his professional association for libel, this article examines how a proto-religion has emerged based on a “noble savage myth” that demands facts be twisted or ignored to support a pre-assumed narrative. I also interview Jim about his experiences with cults and the B.C. Law Society for our podcast series:

Events and Interviews
Our outreach efforts have extended beyond the writing of articles. In June 2024, Frances Widdowson interviewed me for her website, The Woke Academy, about the book Grave Error. That same month, I presented to Humanist Canada – Vancouver on the topic of self and identity. In October, I interviewed Nasser Yousefi, head of Toronto’s Peace School. This interview looks into the educational philosophy informing the school and can be found on the NEP website here:
Schools must adapt or become obsolete says head of Toronto’s new “Peace School” – THE NEW ENLIGHTENMENT PROJECT. Fellow board member, Scott Jacobsen, has conducted a series of interviews with the founders of the Toronto Peace School and has published them separately.

Board Contributions
Our board has been instrumental in driving NEP’s mission forward:

Robert Hamilton, Vice-President, wrote the script for our membership invitation. He has also delivered a mini-webinar on Enlightenment humanism, followed by a discussion with Scott Jacobsen. The video is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOaUJkoZStQ.

Michel Pion, Treasurer and podcast technician, is designing our new website, set to launch in May 2025.

Ullrich Fischer, Secretary, manages our Facebook page (New Enlightenment Project Discussion Group) and is leading our pursuit of charitable status.

Scott Jacobsen, Director of Advocacy, has been contributed with print interviews such as this one with Lawrence Krauss Dr. Lawrence Krauss Talks About Nothing and Humanism – THE NEW ENLIGHTENMENT PROJECT, and a video interview with Steven Pinker (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI4gSMHEDXM&t=21s). Scott also penned a letter to the federal government advocating for reduced disproportionate religious funding.

George Hewson continues crafting concise, accessible tracts on Humanism and Economics; Humanism and Religion; Humanism and Science; Humanism and The Enlightenment; Humanism and Democracy; Humanism and First Peoples; Humanism and Wokism; and Sexuality and Gender.

Michel Virard, our elder statesman, tirelessly translates and republishes our materials into French.

Frances Widdowson, our newest board member, joined us shortly after a public meeting I attended on behalf of NEP was disrupted by Woke agitators. The unedited video of that event is available at Bing Videos.

Discussion Paper on Palestine
In February 2025, our board released a discussion paper on the Palestine conflict, offering a humanistic and historical perspective. It examines the roles of colonization, nationalism, and religion in perpetuating the crisis and has sparked valuable discourse, accessible at https://nephumanism.ca/2025/02/28/discussion-paper-on-palestine/. The discussion paper is a “living document” in that it will change with new information and perspectives.

Looking Ahead
Ours is a working board of dedicated individuals each committed toward working together in humanism. As we approach the midpoint of 2025, NEP remains committed to advancing Enlightenment humanism across Canada and beyond. With a new website on the horizon, ongoing advocacy efforts, and a growing body of published work, we are poised to deepen our impact. I thank our board, members and supporters for their unwavering dedication to this cause. Together, we will continue to illuminate the path forward with reason, science, and compassion.

Going forward in humanism,

Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson, President
The New Enlightenment Project: A Canadian Humanist Initiative

Up For Discussion

Second, we encourage you to visit the New Enlightenment Project’s (NEP) Facebook page and discussion group.

Citations, References And Other Reading

The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.

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New Enlightenment Project 2024 Report

May 5, 2024 humanistfreedoms

Consistent with our mission and vision statement adopted at our June 2023 annual general meeting, The New Enlightenment Project has continued to promote reason, science, and compassion in guiding the pursuit of knowledge, the practice of governance, and the pursuit of individual goals. Our mission and vision was encapsulated in the following poster presented to the Humanists International conference in Copenhagen in July of this last year:

The questionnaire referenced in the above poster can still be found at this link: WHERE IS HUMANISM TODAY? My thanks to past board member Bart Bloom for preparing the poster and questionnaire.

The New Enlightenment Project is not a member of Humanists International. I attended the Copenhagen conference as a delegate representing Canadian Humanist Publications. Our Vice-President, Robert Hamilton represented Humanists Ottawa while Pierre St. Amant
represented Association humaniste du Quebec. Pierre’s report on the congress was posted on our website here: Humanists International 2023: An Exciting Congress – THE NEW ENLIGHTENMENT PROJECT (nep-humanism.ca)

Later in the year, I presented on “Using the Medicine Wheel in Counselling” at the Men and Domestic Violence conference in Toronto in October, and I managed to work the New Enlightenment Project into the conversation as the medicine concept can be used to exemplify scientific concepts. Also on the theme of indigeneity and humanism, NEP published an excellent article by Elder David Cook (Maheegun) Spiritual Stereotypes – An Indigenous Atheist’s Experience – THE NEW ENLIGHTENMENT PROJECT (nep-humanism.ca). This article was also picked up by In-sight Publishing. Scott Douglas Jacobsen of In-Sight and NEP board member) interviewed me and Madissa Thomas of the US. Organization, African Freethinkers: Interview With Dr. Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson & Mandisa Thomas | In-Sight Publishing. Recently I appeared on Chris DiCarlo’s podcast All Thinks Considered discussing aboriginality, humanism and Wokism: https://allthinksconsidered.com/2024/04/08/episode-8-lloyd-haweye-roberston/

I made two presentations to the Vancouver Chapter of Humanist Canada this past year – the first in November and one earlier this month (April, 2024). The first presentation examined the threat Woke Identitarianism to humanism and the second is a review and discussion based on my new book Psychology in the Snow: Mental Wellness in the North:

https://insightpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/psychology-in-the-snow.pdf.

This book integrates my theory of the self with Enlightenment Humanism. Thank you to Ullrich Fischer who arranged these sessions with Humanist Canada’s Vancouver branch.

With the technical assistance of Michel Pion who also doubles as our treasurer, we continued to produce our own podcast interview series. I began this year’s program by interviewing Carey Linde about his sixty years as a social activist. He was the first lawyer to live and practise on an Indian reserve in Canada, the first to argue the principle of equal shared parenting in custody disputes and the first to represent parents whose children had sexually transitioned without their permission or knowledge. The interview can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAG-RM3kAX4&t=20s,

Later in the year I interviewed Scott Jacobsen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQTvqg_WiRA&t=1099s). As a humanist and journalist Scott has interviewed former prime ministers, academics, refugees and U.N. officials while battling sectarianism and superstition in his home province of British Columbia. Both Carey and Scott agreed to join our board this year.

Michel Virard, who is retiring as Board Secretary has contributed to our growing list of publications by translating from the original French and posting the following on our website: Laïcity in the State, a delicate balance – THE NEW ENLIGHTENMENT PROJECT (nephumanism.ca); The taboo of fiscal secularism – THE NEW ENLIGHTENMENT PROJECT
(nep-humanism.ca); Rights and privileges, the reign of confusion – THE NEW ENLIGHTENMENT PROJECT (nep-humanism.ca); and, The misadventures of slavery in New France – THE NEW ENLIGHTENMENT PROJECT (nep-humanism.ca).

In September the British humanist magazine, Humanistically Speaking, published my article on the death of Richard Bilkzsto: How Woke puritanism can lead to fatal consequences: Reflections on the death of Richard Bilkszto (humanisticallyspeaking.org). This article examined, from a humanist perspective, how a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) infused workplace and social media campaign led the suicide of an innocent victim. In January of this year we published a detailed analysis of the DEI phenomena by Paul Nathanson: DEI must DIE – THE NEW ENLIGHTENMENT PROJECT (nep-humanism.ca)

Our mission statement includes, “We seek to animate and activate the humanist community through discussions about prevailing challenges of our times including, but not limited to, the challenge to individuality by pervasive collectivism.” In keeping with this mission, George Hewson has led a public consultation on sexuality and gender that can be found here: Sexuality and Gender Discussion – THE NEW ENLIGHTENMENT PROJECT (nephumanism.ca). The results will be published on our website and communicated to other humanist organizations. We see this as the first of many public consultations on topics relevant to humanism.

Your board recently met with Leslie Rosenblood of the Centre for Inquiry Canada to discuss research into the privileging of religious funding in Canada (with cost of more than $6 billion to the Canadian taxpayer). Relatedly, I have been liaising with (and have agreed to serve on the board of) Outrage Canada, a new organization mandated with the task of exposing legal privileges preventing the full examination of and protection from sexual and physical abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.

We have been discussing many controversial issues in our FB page led by Ullrich Fischer. Members and other interested individuals are encouraged to join the discussion: New Enlightenment Project Discussion Group | Facebook

Call me old-fashioned, but I believe one of the best ways of engaging in Enlightenment discussions is face-to-face. Along with representatives from Critical Thinking Solutions; Convergence Analysis, Secular Connexion Séculière (SCS), Society of Ontario Freethinkers (SOFREE), Centre for Inquiry Canada (CFIC), Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship, In-Sight Publishing, and Canadian Humanist Publications (CHP), we are exploring hosting a conference to provide opportunities for people who hold opposing viewpoints to discuss them in a fair and respectful forum. This would involve the open acknowledgment and utilization of Enlightenment values such as freedom of thought and speech, human reason, scientific inquiry, and continued improvement of the human condition, while steel manning those who would question or oppose them.

We have accomplished much in the short ten months since our previous AGM in June of 2023, and we have the promise of accomplishing much, much more. Thank you to our team of board members which currently includes Robert Hamilton (Vice-President), Michel Pion (Treasurer), Michel Virard (Secretary), George Hewson, Scott Jacobsen, Carey Linde and myself.

Kind regards,
Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson
April, 2024

Citations, References And Other Reading

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The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.

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New Enlightenment Project: A Digital Humanist Community

February 25, 2023 humanistfreedoms

As a part of the Humanist Heritage Canada’s updated organization plan for 2023, we are featuring articles about the wide variety of contemporary Canadian organizations that self-proclaim a humanist philosophy.

This week, we are pleased to present an update from the New Enlightenment Project (NEP). We introduced this organization of Canadian Humanists, who felt the need for a “platform where all subjects of concern to Humanists could be discussed freely and where civilized debate could be held without fear” in a discussion article in October of 2021 – shortly after the organization was founded.

NEP currently operates a website and Facebook discussion page. The latter requires users to join. Our own “membership” was pending at the time this article was posted – so we can’t comment on the quality nor quantity of discussions to be enjoyed.

Enlightenment Humanism Projected to Advance in 2023-24

Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson, President
New Enlightenment Project

In an October 2021 interview I told Humanist Freedoms that our newly created organization aimed to 1) provide education on the enduring qualities of reason and compassion which define humanism; 2) affirm that the application of humanist values flow from a stance firmly rooted in reason and compassion; and, 3) improve our knowledge base through open discussion and free debate. The New Enlightenment Project accomplished much in 2022 and we project major future advances for Enlightenment Humanism.

As part of our podcast interview series, Steven Pinker touched on the challenge of defending humanism from people who claim to be secular but nonetheless attack Enlightenment principles such as our support for science, reason and freedom of speech. Another podcast interview discussed how these people, often called the “Woke,” cancelled two articles by B.C. lawyer Shahdin Farsai on the subject of “correct pronouns,” and then attempted to cancel her law practice. An article co-authored by the president of NEP and the news editor of the Centre for Inquiry Canada opined:

Our goal above all else should be to value evidence-based critical thinking. In keeping with Article 4 of the Amsterdam Declaration on humanism, we strive for open, undogmatic dialogue that seeks to combine personal liberty with social responsibility. (Robertson & Tasca, 2022 p. 25)

In 2022 Humanists International ratified an updated “New Amsterdam Declaration” affirming the ethical and rational principle by which humanists can lead fulfilling and meaningful lives within the modern world context. We see the Declaration as a guide and we are reviewing it for the purpose of adopting our own declaration this coming year.

In the 2021 interview with Humanist Freedoms I said that one of our priorities was “to come to terms with indigeneity in a postcolonial world.” The challenge is to present an alternative to the new religious movement of Native Spirituality that positions science and reason as “one way of knowing” among many. For those who hold this view their beliefs trump evidence, but such dogmatism is not inherent in aboriginal cultures (Robertson, 2021) . Secular humanism is relevant to aboriginal peoples in several ways: 1) A humanist perspective emphasizes individual agency leading to people taking control of their own lives, communities, and cultural heritage; 2) Humanism values diversity and respect for different cultures, beliefs, and lifestyles; and 3) Evidence-based decision-making as embraced by humanism can be seen as important for aboriginal communities in making decisions about their future and addressing social, economic, and environmental challenges.

Diversity of thought is common in both humanism and cultures aboriginal to North America and, indeed, is a strength leading to new solutions. In the spirit of promoting such diversity we interviewed Frances Widdowson, co-author of the book Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry. We then completed two interviews with Cree/Metis elder and author Keith Goulet , In the first we explored the history and application of the Doctrine of Discovery as espoused by the 15th Century Roman Catholic Church, In the second interview we explored the traditional Cree family or clan system and the link between language and worldview. In both interviews we explored humanism within the aboriginal context.

The Doctrine of Discovery, which declared that the Americas were uninhabited for the purpose of colonization, had profound and lasting effects. Going forward, we are planning a joint campaign with the Italian humanists, Unione degli Atei e degli Agnostici Razionalisti, to encourage the pontiff to rescind or repudiate the doctrine. We also note that land acknowledgements, meant to acknowledge Canada’s original inhabitants, have become performative and are often historically inaccurate. In the upcoming year we will explore the function and purpose of these land acknowledgements.

In our 2021 interview I noted that globally we have to deal with religiously infused authoritarian regimes, particularly in the Muslim world, who harass, jail and even execute atheists. We have united with humanists internationally in defending those suffering from such oppression and defending those apostates who are often cancelled from universities and publishers for their bravery. We are concerned that Islam is shielded from criticism by our prime minister who accuses critics of “Islamophobia,” and that no other religion is defended in this way. We agree with the Association humaniste du Quebec that the term “Islamophobia” should be replaced with the phrase “combating violence against Muslims” with recognition that criticizing a doctrine or practice is not the same thing as violence. We abhor actual violence against all groups including women and children in Islamic families and communities and that will be part of our campaign in 2023.

In summation, our mandate is to unite humanists who are still committed to Enlightenment ideals. We shall gather with Enlightenment humanists across Canada and abroad in pursing this mandate into 2024.

References

Robertson, L. H. (2021). The Medicine Wheel Revisited: Reflections on Indigenization in
Counseling and Education. SAGE Open, 11(2), 1-11.
https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211015202
Robertson, L. H., & Tasca, E. (2022). Waking from Wokism: Inoculating Ourselves against a
Mind Virus. Free Inquiry, June/July, 21-25.

Citations, References And Other Reading

Featured Photo Courtesy of : New Enlightenment Project

The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.

Americas, Canada

Discussion: Launch of “The New Enlightenment Project”

October 7, 2021 humanistfreedoms

In our search for interesting, challenging and critical perspectives on contemporary humanism, we occasionally find organizations and activities that we think humanistfreedoms.com readers may enjoy. The “New Enlightenment Project” caught our eye (particularly the blog section of the organization’s website which features a growing library of articles and discussion) and we asked this new organization’s President, Dr. Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson to tell us more. (Note that bold features are ours and may not coincide with any emphasis that Dr. Robertson might prefer.)

1) What is the New Enlightenment Project and why did you (the organizers) create it?

The New Enlightenment Project was established with three objectives. First, we aim to provide education on the enduring qualities of reason and compassion which define humanism. Second, we affirm that the application of humanist values that flow from a stance firmly rooted in reason and compassion will necessarily change over time. One forum for accomplishing this, for example, is provided by Humanists International and their initiative to amend the Amsterdam Declaration of 2002. This process of updating is part of the “new” in the “New Enlightenment.” Third, since there is no deity that can give us the final word, we must depend on each other honing our knowledge through open discussion and free debate. We provide that forum.

2) How will NEP be different from other humanist-branded organizations? What will NEP do that others aren’t already doing?

The NEP is inclusive. We recognize that there is a wide range of opinion within humanism and that humanists often have differences in focus. But we also believe that we need a venue where humanists can have difficult conversations about controversial topics. Humanist Canada had such an open discussion group which they shut down last year. They then engaged in discussions with the Centre for Inquiry – Canada about creating a joint open discussion forum, but they have been unable to create such a forum. In the meantime, NEP has created two such forums, one on our website and one on Facebook, and these forums are open to everyone. To our knowledge, we are the only humanist organization in Canada providing this opportunity, and we invite all humanist organizations to embrace this initiative.

3) What does NEP see as the top priorities for humanism and humanists now and in the coming years? Within Canada? Globally?

There are many contemporary issues of concern. One of our top priorities is to come to terms with indigeneity in a postcolonial world. There are those who consider themselves to be allies of the descendants of the colonized who call science and reason “Western” and who promote “other ways of knowing.” When you think about it, this position is quite racist. It is saying that science and reason belong to Europeans and their decedents. Further, it is patronizing to suggest that faith based “other ways of knowing” is somehow equivalent to the enlightenment afforded by empirically verified research. Humanists need to come to terms with how these fundamental values can relate to traditional indigenous cultures. To help accomplish this the NEP participates in an Aboriginal Circle aimed at combining aborigineity and humanism.

There are other injustices that are worth fighting against. For example, with the recent Taliban takeover of Afghanistan we are witnessing the re-imposition of Medieval practices that include beheadings and the use of amputation to enforce religiously based authoritarian laws. We are part of a coalition of humanist groups raising public awareness and lobbying for government recognition and support of humanists, atheists and apostates as refugees. While this hearkens back to the original Enlightenment that concerned itself with replacing feudal structures, we must contend with modern economic forces that can also bring injustice.

I think humanists also need to also celebrate the achievements our movement has helped produce. Secularism is on the rise. We have achieved fantastic gains in combating racism and sexism. We need to continue to fight injustice while being wary of beliefs that are anti-scientific and discourage open inquiry. Compassion, which is an essential part of humanism, must be extended to all.

4) What does NEP see as the greatest threats to humanism and humanists now and in the coming years? Within Canada? Globally?

Humanism is under attack. It was always thus. We recognize the primacy of human reason in generating knowledge about knowledge about reality. Religionists have maintained that human reason is faulty and we need guidance from a deity. Totalitarians like Martin Heidegger have argued that science and reason are faulty and we need guidance from a great leader or Fuehrer as to ultimate “truths.”

In Canada we have become quite effective in fending off the attacks of religious fundamentalists. Globally, however, we have to deal with religiously infused authoritarian regimes, particularly in the Muslim world, who harass, jail and even execute atheists. Our defence of these humanists and apostates is hampered by the attitude of some North Americans who should be our secular allies but who provide deference to Muslim authoritarianism under the notion that these authoritarians represent victims of oppression.

In Canada, humanists are facing attacks from these people who identify themselves as secularists as well as from religious fundamentalists. In an article that was published earlier by Humanist Freedoms I identified these secularists as the Woke. These Woke operate from the premise that objective knowledge is impossible and that even science and reason are “white, male ways of knowing.” We have been slow to recognize and respond to their challenge. The NEP aims to take up their challenge.

5) HumanistFreedoms.com attempts to present a portrait of contemporary humanism and humanists in its articles; how does New Enlightenment Project, an organization whose name seems to be focused on the past, relate to contemporary issues and reflect a contemporary humanism?

The Age of Reason never really ended and is responsible for the scientific explosion we still see today, but there are attempts to make it seem old, passe. But without the grounding provided by the Enlightenment, humanism ceases to be humanism. Respecting the dignity of the individual is impossible if the individual is denied. If there is no individual who can reason, then all knowledge must be granted by a deity or some analogous ideological structure. If there is no objective reality, then science, empiricism and reason are empty culturally sanctioned performances. Put succinctly, humanism is grounded on the idea that there is a reality that exists outside of ourselves and we can come to know that reality through careful observation.

The Enlightenment affirmed a capacity that was already present in the individual. In my book The Evolved Self, I trace the modern structure of the self that balances both individualism and collectivism back 3,000 years. Steven Pinker, in his new book Rationality states that the capacity to reason is much, much older than that, and while this is certainly correct, the self that did the reasoning and put meaning to the process has evolved. A new self that was volitional, continuous and uniquely felt evolved from the old, but it was almost immediately constrained by organized religions. The Enlightenment released those bonds for increasing numbers of mankind, and we have been living the Enlightenment ever since.

But social, political and cultural contexts continually change. We have problems such as global warming, overpopulation and globalization that were not present 400 years ago. While the original Enlightenment was concerned with replacing feudalism, the New Enlightenment must concern itself with recent global capitalism in the digital age and the rise of a new Woke educated aristocracy. The New Enlightenment uses the capacities that are already inherent in the self to amend and update humanism making it very contemporary. Those who would deny those capacities would return us to the Dark Ages.

Citations, References And Other Reading

The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.