Humanism in Crisis: A New Draft of Humanist Philosophy

In his speech ‘Humanism in crisis’, Christoph Henning examines how humanism can be reconceived today. To do this, we first have to be sureof philosophy as a method: what can philosophy still accomplish today? He defines it as an approach that neither lectures people nor arrogantly ignores other opinions, but first listens and does justice to diverse views. We need to understand why many people no longer have faith in humanism. Their experiences need to be taken seriously. But he draws another conclusion: There are many crises that point us back to a renewed humanism as a unification of humankind. Without it, the dangers we will be exposed to in the future cannot be addressed: the global climate crisis, the erosion of minimum political standards and the loss of human standards by new technologies. It is essential to understand humans as vulnerable beings who are dependent on nature and each other and who must unite if we are to pass the tests of the coming times.