The Humanist Ten Commitments?

[lpetrich]

Ten Commitments: Guiding Principles for Teaching Values in America’s Public Schools

1. Altruism
2. Caring for the World Around Us
3. Critical Thinking
4. Empathy
5. Ethical Development
6. Global Awareness
7. Humility
8. Peace and Social Justice
9. Responsibility
10. Service and Participation

That page has a paragraph on each one of them. They seem like a nice and comprehensive set, even if they are short on explicitly forbidding anything very antisocial.

Richard Carrier has described another set of moral teachings in The Real Ten Commandments. He quoted from Diogenes Laertius's biography of Solon, an Athenian politician and reformer from 2600 years ago.

1. Trust good character more than promises
2. Do not speak falsely
3. Do good things
4. Do not be hasty in making friends, but do not abandon them once made
5. Learn to obey before you command
6. When giving advice, do not recommend what is most pleasing, but what is most useful
7. Make reason your supreme commander
8. Do not associate with people who do bad things
9. Honor the gods
10. Have regard for your parents

A good set, though it seems rather scattershot.

The Bible has two sets of Ten Commandments. The Exodus-20 / Deuteronomy-5 one is the best-known:

1. Do not worship any gods in preference to Me
2. Do not worship depictions of anything
3. Do not misuse My name
4. Do not work on the Sabbath
5. Honor your father and mother
6. Do not commit murder
7. Do not commit adultery
8. Do not steal
9. Do not make false accusations
10. Do not covet anything

The Exodus-34 set:

1. Worship no other god, because I am a jealous god
2. Do not make cast idols
3. Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread
4. All your firstborn are Mine
5. Do not work on the Sabbath
6. Celebrate the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Ingathering
7. Do not offer sacrifice blood with leavened bread
8. Do not let any of your sacrifices remain until next morning
9. Bring the first fruits of your land to My house
10. Do not boil a baby goat in its mother's milk

The Bible has lots of other laws, which the 10C fetishists seem intent on ignoring, except when it's expedient to invoke them. In fact, the 10C fetishists regularly ignore the second set of 10C's.

Here are the Seven Deadly Sins of medieval Catholicism:

1. Lust
2. Gluttony/Indulgence
3. Greed/Avarice
4. Sloth/Laziness
5. Wrath/Anger
6. Envy/Jealousy
7. Pride/Arrogance

The Buddha's Five Moral Rules:

1. Do not kill any living thing
2. Do not take what is not given to you
3. Do not commit sexual immorality
4. Do not speak falsely
5. Do not consume anything intoxicating

The Papyrus of Ani's Negative Confession is rather long, so that's why I'm not including it here.

 

[tantric]

mmmm - try this, the 14 precepts of engaged buddhism:


1. Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth.

2. Do not think the knowledge you presently possess is changeless, absolute truth. Avoid being narrow minded and bound to present views. Learn and practice nonattachment from views in order to be open to receive others' viewpoints. Truth is found in life and not merely in conceptual knowledge. Be ready to learn throughout your entire life and to observe reality in yourself and in the world at all times.

3. Do not force others, including children, by any means whatsoever, to adopt your views, whether by authority, threat, money, propaganda, or even education. However, through compassionate dialogue, help others renounce fanaticism and narrow-mindedness.

4. Do not avoid suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering, including personal contact, visits, images and sounds. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world.

5. Do not accumulate wealth while millions are hungry. Do not take as the aim of your life fame, profit, wealth, or sensual pleasure. Live simply and share time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need.

6. Do not maintain anger or hatred. Learn to penetrate and transform them when they are still seeds in your consciousness. As soon as they arise, turn your attention to your breath in order to see and understand the nature of your hatred.

7. Do not lose yourself in dispersion and in your surroundings. Practice mindful breathing to come back to what is happening in the present moment. Be in touch with what is wondrous, refreshing, and healing both inside and around you. Plant seeds of joy, peace, and understanding in yourself in order to facilitate the work of transformation in the depths of your consciousness.

8. Do not utter words that can create discord and cause the community to break. Make every effort to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.

9. Do not say untruthful things for the sake of personal interest or to impress people. Do not utter words that cause division and hatred. Do not spread news that you do not know to be certain. Do not criticize or condemn things of which you are not sure. Always speak truthfully and constructively. Have the courage to speak out about situations of injustice, even when doing so may threaten your own safety.

10. Do not use the Buddhist community for personal gain or profit, or transform your community into a political party. A religious community, however, should take a clear stand against oppression and injustice and should strive to change the situation without engaging in partisan conflicts.

11. Do not live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature. Do not invest in companies that deprive others of their chance to live. Select a vocation that helps realise your ideal of compassion.

12. Do not kill. Do not let others kill. Find whatever means possible to protect life and prevent war.

13. Possess nothing that should belong to others. Respect the property of others, but prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on Earth.

14. Do not mistreat your body. Learn to handle it with respect. Do not look on your body as only an instrument. Preserve vital energies (sexual, breath, spirit) for the realisation of the Way. (For brothers and sisters who are not monks and nuns Sexual expression should not take place without love and commitment. In sexual relations, be aware of future suffering that may be caused. To preserve the happiness of others, respect the rights and commitments of others. Be fully aware of the responsibility of bringing new lives into the world. Meditate on the world into which you are bringing new beings.

 

[ronburgundy]

mmmm - try this, the 14 precepts of engaged buddhism:


1. Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth.

2. Do not think the knowledge you presently possess is changeless, absolute truth. Avoid being narrow minded and bound to present views. Learn and practice nonattachment from views in order to be open to receive others' viewpoints. Truth is found in life and not merely in conceptual knowledge. Be ready to learn throughout your entire life and to observe reality in yourself and in the world at all times.

3. Do not force others, including children, by any means whatsoever, to adopt your views, whether by authority, threat, money, propaganda, or even education. However, through compassionate dialogue, help others renounce fanaticism and narrow-mindedness.

4. Do not avoid suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering, including personal contact, visits, images and sounds. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world.

5. Do not accumulate wealth while millions are hungry. Do not take as the aim of your life fame, profit, wealth, or sensual pleasure. Live simply and share time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need.

6. Do not maintain anger or hatred. Learn to penetrate and transform them when they are still seeds in your consciousness. As soon as they arise, turn your attention to your breath in order to see and understand the nature of your hatred.

7. Do not lose yourself in dispersion and in your surroundings. Practice mindful breathing to come back to what is happening in the present moment. Be in touch with what is wondrous, refreshing, and healing both inside and around you. Plant seeds of joy, peace, and understanding in yourself in order to facilitate the work of transformation in the depths of your consciousness.

8. Do not utter words that can create discord and cause the community to break. Make every effort to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.

9. Do not say untruthful things for the sake of personal interest or to impress people. Do not utter words that cause division and hatred. Do not spread news that you do not know to be certain. Do not criticize or condemn things of which you are not sure. Always speak truthfully and constructively. Have the courage to speak out about situations of injustice, even when doing so may threaten your own safety.

10. Do not use the Buddhist community for personal gain or profit, or transform your community into a political party. A religious community, however, should take a clear stand against oppression and injustice and should strive to change the situation without engaging in partisan conflicts.

11. Do not live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature. Do not invest in companies that deprive others of their chance to live. Select a vocation that helps realise your ideal of compassion.

12. Do not kill. Do not let others kill. Find whatever means possible to protect life and prevent war.

13. Possess nothing that should belong to others. Respect the property of others, but prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on Earth.

14. Do not mistreat your body. Learn to handle it with respect. Do not look on your body as only an instrument. Preserve vital energies (sexual, breath, spirit) for the realisation of the Way. (For brothers and sisters who are not monks and nuns Sexual expression should not take place without love and commitment. In sexual relations, be aware of future suffering that may be caused. To preserve the happiness of others, respect the rights and commitments of others. Be fully aware of the responsibility of bringing new lives into the world. Meditate on the world into which you are bringing new beings.

Most of those are decent.

However, I'm not so keen on #8. Far too often, social "harmony" is superficial and exists only by suppressing alternative views and doubts about current practices that are often unwise or unjust. Disrupting and causing discord to such "harmony" is often a moral requirement and neccessary for progress.

I'm also not for #12, unless its heavily qualified to be limited to not killing humans or for reasons other than food or self-defense.

 

[rousseau]

Reality is that animals do what they need to to survive, which often includes selfishness.

Any education should encourage people to look outside themselves, or in other words oppose that self interest, but I don't know that I have a lot of faith in its efficacy.

People are interesting in that most of us give the facade of being moral and upstanding citizens, but when push comes to shove we almost always put our most immediate family and friends first, and people in other countries.. don't even think about it.

The need for ourselves, and our in-group, to survive is much, much more powerful than being told to 'play nice' a few times when we're in high school. Ultimately even the most empathetic will turn inward when they're forced to.

The only real way to social harmony, imo, isn't a bunch of words, but instead effective government, social systems, sustainable energy, and on and on. We need to give people the conditions to live happy and sustainable lives, not give them a contrived set of superficial values that mean nothing if they're struggling to feed themselves.

 

[tantric]

Most of those are decent.

However, I'm not so keen on #8. Far too often, social "harmony" is superficial and exists only by suppressing alternative views and doubts about current practices that are often unwise or unjust. Disrupting and causing discord to such "harmony" is often a moral requirement and neccessary for progress.

I'm also not for #12, unless its heavily qualified to be limited to not killing humans or for reasons other than food or self-defense.

re: #8. 'community' here refers specifically to what we call 'samgha'. it doesn't mean your society or culture, but your circle of trust, your in-group. they people you love, trust and depend upon

i have issues with #12. our family dog developed severe bilateral hip dysplasia - it's back legs just fell out and got dragged around.we are responsible, entirely for the dog's life. is there compassion in putting the dog through torture to avoid killing? my step mother was a christian fundamentalist. i say 'was' because now she's a vegetable in a poorly run nursing home, a victim of Alzheimer. some days she sits in her own shit for hours. she knew perfectly well her fate, and she decided to endure it because suicide is a sin. my mother died from a particularly hideous cancer called multiple myeloma - the kind that rots your bones. in the end, she had to come home to die, out of her mind from pain and morphine. we would sit at dinner while she screamed from the back room and begged us to kill her. and dammit - i was gonna do it. my father stopped me.he said if there was any indication of 'foul play' that her life insurance policy would not pay and we would then lose our home paying the medical bills. i was 19 at the time. i spend the next several years a raving loon, bent on the down fall of capitalism and the society that had tortured my mother to death. eventually, i got past it. mostly.

 

[Thomas II]

Or, simply, "Don't be an asshole!"

 

[fromderinside]

Well since we're taking into account we're animals I like Thomas II's and these two

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

and

Do no harm.

Covers all of humanism as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Perspicuo]

Commitments are better than commandments.

Commandments always have problems with them, which is the reason "robot psychology" (which is the term Isaac Asimov used for robot programming) is going to be fascinating, tricky and globally controverted, when the tech arrives.

In addition, value ethics is a cool way to save space while driving the message, furthermore leaving the decision making to the person.


Thanks for sharing, lpetrich.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

Ok lemme try

1. Be nice
2. Don't be an ass
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

3 through 10 are not needed.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Ok lemme try

1. Be nice
2. Don't be an ass
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

3 through 10 are not needed.

The Eightfold Path is a really good template as it makes it clear that all aspects of your life should be included when considering if you are being an ass.

 

[untermensche]

Strive to do no harm.

Nothing more is needed. For adults.

Within it is the commandment to look at all people as something you could possibly harm.

And the commandment to take all complaints of harm seriously even if they are not all serious.