Forbidden Fruit ─ The Ethics of Secularism

Kurtz (philosophy emeritus, State U. of New York, Buffalo), one of America's leading secular humanists, asserts it is possible to live a good life and be morally responsible without religion, and argues that humanity is limited by traditional religious values. In this edition, with a new introduction added to the original 1988 text, Kurtz defends the ethics of secularism and humanism, and states that in order to progress to a maximum level of creative development humans must fully partake of the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden, which is the knowledge of good and evil. Stating that this knowledge is the guiding principles in autonomous reason, he defends the idea that the awareness of the centrality of moral decency is common to all people. He describes the roles and ethics of excellence, human rights and responsibilities, the role of education in character and cognition, the purpose of privacy, and the real fruit of the tree of life. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Paul Kurtz (1925-2012), professor emeritus of philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, was the author or editor of more than fifty books, including The Transcendental Temptation, The Courage to Become, and Embracing the Power of Humanism, plus nine hundred articles and reviews. He was the founder and chairman of the Center for Inquiry, the Council for Secular Humanism, and the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He appeared on many major television and radio talk shows and has lectured at universities worldwide.