Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mr. Robertson and I love RE.

I'm so excited to be learning with you today.

We've got a great lesson in store.

Today, it's the first lesson of a brand new unit and we're asking this really big question, humanists, how can you lead a happy and meaningful life? And in this lesson, we're gonna be focusing on humanist beliefs.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain what humanists believe about human nature.

In this lesson, we have four keywords.

I'm going to say the key word first, and then I'd like you to repeat it back to me.

Our first word is humanism.

Brilliant.

Our second word is humanist.

Amazing.

Our next word is non-religious.

Excellent.

And our final word is reason.

That is amazing.

Let's find out what these words mean, shall we? So by humanism, we mean a non-religious worldview based on reason and human human values.

A humanist is a person who has a worldview based on humanism.

Non-religious is a way of seeing a world that is not based on a belief in God or the divine.

And by reason, we mean the use of logic or facts to make sense of the world.

By the end of this lesson, I know that you'll know how to use and understand these words.

So this lesson is made up of two parts, and we're asking two questions.

In the first part of the lesson, we're going to be asking this question, what type of worldview is humanism? Let's find out.

Here are Laura and Sofia, they're going to help us investigate humanism in this lesson.

They're talking about how people see the world.

Laura says, "In my family there are some people who would say they are religious and some people who would say they were non-religious.

How can people see the world in different ways?" Oh, what an interesting question, Laura.

I wonder what Sofia thinks about this.

Sofia says, "We all see the world in different ways depending on ideas we pick up from family, friends and others.

The way we see and inhabit the world is our worldview." That's such an important word, Sofia.

Thank you.

Sofia's telling us that the worldview is how we see the world.

I wonder what worldviews you have in your family.

What ideas and values are important in your family? You might want to ponder on this and pause the video and talk to people around you.

Wow, what a lot of amazing discussion you had there.

Let's check our understanding, shall we? I'd like you to complete the following sentence for me.

The way we see and inhabit the world is our (pauses).

I'd like you to tell me what that blank word should be.

I'd like you to pause the video, think about what Sofia just told us, work out the missing word.

Excellent, I could hear you all shouting it.

It's worldview, isn't it? The worldview, our worldview is the way we see and inhabit the world.

Fantastic if you got that right.

Now, Laura and Sofia want to particularly investigate humanist worldviews.

Laura says, "I've heard some of my family talk about humanism.

I want to understand what type of worldview it is, and what ideas are important to humanists.

How could we do that?" Great question, Laura.

Hmm, I wonder how we could do that.

What do you think? Sofia thinks she knows an answer.

She says, "We can talk to humanists to better understand their worldview.

We could find out how they see the world and what questions they ask to make sense of it." Sofia, that sounds like a brilliant idea because if we talk to different people, we understand more about their worldview, don't we? I wonder what you know about humanism now.

Is it a word that you've heard before? Have you learned something about it at school already? You might want to pause the video, talk to the person next to you, see if you can think of all the things you might know about humanism.

But don't worry if you don't know anything because we're going to be learning lots about it here.

We're going to meet our first humanist now.

Laura meets Diane.

Hi, Diane.

And Diane is a humanist.

"What kind of worldview is humanism, Diane?" says Laura.

Diane says, "Humanism is a non-religious worldview.

A non-religious worldview is one that looks to humans, reason and the natural world for meaning." Oh, that's interesting, isn't it? So humanism is a non-religious worldview.

Diane, thank you.

Diane's gonna tell us a little bit more.

She says, "Can you see the word human in humanism?" Yeah, if I look really carefully, I can see it's the beginning of the word, isn't it? "As a humanist, I believe you do not need religion to lead a happy, meaningful and good life.

We use reason to reach our conclusions.

Reason is the ability to think things through and try to make sense of the world using facts and logic." That makes sense.

Thank you, Diane.

So she doesn't need religion, reason is really important, using facts and logic.

Diane says, "Reason has helped humanists to conclude that we should not be religious.

This means we do not: believe in a god, believe in an afterlife, follow a holy book, or have regular places of worship." So four important things that humanists do not do because they're a non-religious worldview and they use reason.

Let's see if we can understand what Diane said.

Laura says, "Humanists use reason to conclude they do not believe in God or follow a holy book." And Sofia says, "Humanists are religious and believe in the afterlife." Hmm, I think one of them has understood what Diane said much better than the other.

I wonder who we think that is.

I'd like you to pause the video and have a think.

Excellent.

It's Laura, isn't it? Humanists use reason to conclude they don't believe in a god or follow a holy book.

Brilliant if you got that right.

Laura wants to know more about humanist beliefs.

She says, "If you don't believe in God, would you call yourself an atheist, Diane?" Diane says, "My reason and understanding of the world convinced me that God does not exist.

So like many, I would call myself an atheist.

Some humanists may be agnostic.

This means they accept we cannot know for certain if God exists or not." So Diane is an atheist, which means she really definitely doesn't believe in God.

Other humans can be agnostic, meaning they can't be certain either way, but they don't really believe in it.

Let's just check our understanding there.

All humanists are atheists, is that true or false? Think about what Diane was just saying.

Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent.

It's false, isn't it? Why is it false? Well, if you remember, Diane said, "Although atheists do not believe in a god, not all humanists are atheists.

Some humanists are agnostic, meaning they accept that we do not know whether a god exists." Brilliant if you got that right.

Laura and Sofia want to reflect on where humanist beliefs come from.

Laura says, "Diane says she uses reason, looking to humans and the world around her to find truth rather than a God." Sofia says, "I wonder what questions she asked to help her understand the world and where she might find her answers." That's such a really interesting question, Sofia.

I wonder where Sofia would look to find answers if she doesn't look to holy books or God.

Diane says, "Humanists like me use reason, including our senses, to find answers to the questions in the natural world.

I might ask questions like: what do these different sounds tell me? What can I see and what does that tell me? What patterns do I notice? What can I learn from texture?" So she's using the evidence of her senses around her.

She's thinking like a scientist to help her understand and discover what's going on in the world.

Sofia asks, "Could a humanist use their senses to try to explain how plants grow?" Diane says, "Yes, they might start by: watching the plant, touching the leaves and soil of the plant.

This would help them to find a natural explanation." So like scientists, they can use their senses to try and work out how things happen, and then they're looking for a natural explanation, something that can be described from what happens in the real world.

Let's check our understanding again.

We've got three statements here and one of them is not correct, which is it? A, humanists look to the supernatural world for answers, B, humanists believe in looking for answers in the natural world, C, humanists often use their senses to find answers.

Let's think about what Diane was telling us.

Is it A, B or C? Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent it's A, isn't it? Humanists look for answers in the natural world, they use their senses, they think like scientists, and so it's not the supernatural answer, is it? Brilliant if you got that right.

I wonder what questions you have about the world.

How could you use your senses and science to try and find answers in the natural world? I wonder if there's any animals you're curious about.

I wonder if you think about things like the weather or big events that happen, and I wonder how you think they might happen and how you might try and find out about them.

If you want to, you might want to think about this now or pause the video and talk to people around you and see what you come up with.

Let's check our answers so far.

A humanist might use their senses and (pauses) to find answers in the natural world.

What do you think that answer could be? Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent.

The answer's science, isn't it? Humans might use their senses and science to find answers in the natural world.

Brilliant if you got that right.

Okay, we're going to do our first practise now.

We've been thinking about what kind of worldview humanism is, and I've written four statements here for you, but I may have made some mistakes.

I need you to really think like philosophers and see if you can answer my questions and correct them for me.

Here are my statements: humanism is a religious worldview, humanists believe in a holy book, humanists look for answers in the supernatural world, humanists use religion to answer questions about the world.

What mistakes have I made? Have I not really listened very carefully to Diane? I'd like you to look at each sentence and change it so it works and makes sense.

Looking forward to seeing your answers.

Off you go.

Amazing work, everybody.

You've corrected my mistakes brilliantly.

Humanism is a non-religious worldview, isn't it? Because humanists don't believe in a god.

Humanists do not believe in a holy book because they're not religious.

Humanists look for answers in the natural world.

Humanists use natural world using reason and looking to their senses and science to answer questions about the world.

If your answers look something like this, brilliant, you really understand what kind of worldview humanism is.

Fantastic work.

Okay, for our second question, we're going to answer this question, how do humanists understand human nature? Laura and Sofia are talking about human nature.

It's a tricky word.

Maybe you've not heard this word before.

Laura says, "Human nature refers to the characteristics that are part of us as humans.

This includes the way we think, feel and how we behave." Sofia says, "We could talk to a humanist to better understand how they view human nature and where this view comes from." What a great idea, Sofia.

I wonder what you think humanists will think about human nature and why they think we act like we do.

I wonder if we've had any clues already from what Diane's told us.

This time Sofia is going to talk to a different humanist so we can get a different perspective.

This is Neil, who's also a humanist.

Sofia says, "How do humanists understand human nature, Neil?" Neil says, "Many humanists believe there's good and bad in all of us at the same time.

For example, humans are capable of kindness, honesty, bravery and generosity.

Yet they're equally capable of anger, cruelty and greed.

These positive and negative features are natural and part of being human." So, because Neil believes that humanists are natural, humans have a natural origin, he thinks there's good and bad in all of us.

Let's see if we can just check our understanding of what Neil's just told us.

Which statement about humanist's understanding of human nature is wrong? A, there's good and bad in all of us, B, the good and bad in all of us is natural, C, there can only be good or bad in us at any one time.

Let's think really carefully about what Neil just said.

Pause the video and have a think.

Oh, well done, you weren't fooled, were you? It's C, isn't it? Humans think that there's good and bad in all of us, but that doesn't mean there's only good or bad in any of us at one time.

Brilliant if you got that right.

Sofia's going to ask Neil more now to find out a bit more information.

She says, "I'd like to understand more about how humanists view human nature." Neil says, "Listen carefully to the story of 'The Two Wolves.

'" So we're gonna hear that story in a minute.

"While you're listening to the story, think about: what does the story suggest about human nature, and what do we mean when we say to feed the good wolf?" This is a really brilliant story and I can't wait to read it to you.

We also might want to think about how we can encourage each other to feed the good wolf.

Let's listen to this story.

This is a story that humanists might tell to find out more about human nature.

It's not an original humanist story, but it's got some really deep meanings, as we'll hear, which will help us explain human nature.

"An old woman sat quietly with her grandson one evening, gazing into a glowing fire while she sipped slowly on a cup of hot tea.

After a while, she spoke up, her voice cutting into the silence of the room.

'Inside me,' she said with thought, 'there are two wolves.

These wolves have always been there and they're always in conflict with each other.

' She paused as she considered what she wanted to share with her grandson." You can see an illustration of two wolves here.

I wonder what you think the two wolves might represent.

You might want to think about the colour.

What could they represent? "The old lady went on, 'The first wolf is dark and dangerous.

It is full of negative things like anger, selfishness, jealousy, cruelty, and fear.

It wants to hurt others, to take more than it needs and to think only of itself no matter what the cost.

The second wolf is full of good.

It shows kindness, courage, honesty, peace, and joy.

It cares about others and tries to do what's right even when it's hard.

' The woman looked at her grandson who stared back at her, his eyes wide with interest.

'The second wolf is bright and gentle,' she said softly, 'it's sort of kindness, bravery.

It's loving, honest, humble, and forgiving.

This wolf wants to help others to do good and to bring calm wherever it goes.

'" What's happening in this illustration? "The boy listened carefully, his eyes wide with wonder.

After a moment, the woman continued, her voice soft but steady.

'But these two wolves are just inside me,' she said, 'they live in everyone.

They're inside you too.

In fact, they live inside all people.

Every day these two wolves battle, pulling us in different directions.

'" I wonder what you think the battle between the two wolves represents.

Why are they fighting? What might the battle mean? And does that suggest a little bit more about how humanists view human nature? "'Every day these two wolves battle, pulling us in different directions.

The first pushes us to be cruel or careless.

The second to be compassionate and wise.

Some days one of the wolves feels stronger.

On other days, the other wolf gains strength.

' The boy sat in silence thinking about what he had heard, the fire crackled beside them.

Then slowly he looked up and asked, 'Grandma, which wolf wins?' The old woman smiled gently, her eyes kind but full of meaning.

'The one you feed,' she replied." Curious answer.

I wonder what she meant by that.

I wonder what you think it means to feed the good wolf.

How might you feed it? What might that mean? "The old lady finished, 'Every choice we make, every word we say, every action we take feeds one of the wolves.

The more you feed the good wolf, the stronger it becomes.

'" I love that story.

I think it's got a really deep meaning to it.

Laura and Sofia are also thinking about this story, and I wonder which of them you think has understood it better.

Laura says, "The wolves represent the inner struggle between our positive and negative instincts." Sofia says, "The wolves symbolise good and evil people we encounter in the outside world." Whose answer makes more sense to you thinking about that story? Pause the video and have a think.

I agree.

It's Laura, isn't it? That story is all about the wolves that are inside us.

It's not really about people being either good or evil, but about the idea that everybody can be good and evil and do make good or bad choices.

Sofia wants to find out more about this story.

She asked Neil, "What does the story of 'The Two Wolves' tell us about where humanists can find answers?" Neil says, "We can see from the story that both the wolves, the good and bad, are naturally within us." Now it's important to say here that humanists don't believe there are literal wolves inside us.

It's a metaphor.

It's to help us understand the fact that as human beings, we have good sides and bad sides to us.

"The challenge, and the beauty, of being human, is in recognising that the answer can be found in the natural world and by feeding the parts of our nature that are good for us and others." So what Neil's saying is, as human beings, we need to recognise we have these tendencies, these two wolves inside us, and we need to do all we can to feed the good wolf and cultivate our good habits.

Sofia asks Neil and Diane what feeding the good wolf means to them.

Neil says, "To me, feeding the good wolf means trying my best to always treat people with kindness, respect and fairness." Diane says, "I think it's about learning from my mistakes, listening to others, and understanding people who are different from me." So they've given slightly different answers, haven't they? Because they're both individual people, individual humanists.

But you can see that in the way they try and treat other people and then the actions they take, they try and feed the good wolf.

Neil says, "Many humanists believe we cannot ignore the bad wolf, but it's our responsibility to try to keep it under control.

They also believe we should feed the good wolf and encourage others to do the same.

It's by doing this, we can try our best to live good lives and make the world a better place." Laura and Sofia have been reflecting on the story of "The Two Wolves" themselves.

Laura says, "Neil says feeding the good wolf is about trying his best to be kind to others.

I love the idea of the two wolves." And Sofia says, "I know there a time for my brother has annoyed me and I have upset him.

The two wolves helps me to understand why I get angry and what I can do about it." I wonder what you think about that story.

What do you think about this idea of having two wolves inside you? Have you ever tried to feed the good wolf? What do you do to help feed your good wolf? And I wonder why you think what you do? Where do you get these ideas of yours from? Again, you might want to pause the video here and talk to people or just quietly think by yourself.

So we're gonna have a go at our final task now, and this is really going to help us dig into the story in a bit more detail.

I want you to think about what Diane and Neil have been saying about this story, and we're gonna try and use that story to help explain how humanists view human nature.

In your answer, I'd like you firstly to explain what the good wolf represents.

Then I'd like you to explain what the bad wolf represents.

And then I'd like you to think about how you might feed the good wolf.

What kinds of things might you do to feed the good wolf? Think about the examples that Diane and Neil mentioned.

And you might want to reflect on this idea for yourself as well, how might you try and feed the good wolf in your life? What kinds of actions and ideas would you like to cultivate? I'm really looking forward to seeing what you've written, so pause the video and off you go.

Wow, so much deep thinking here.

You might have said something like, "The story of the two wolves helps us to understand how many humanists believe there's good and bad in everyone.

In story, the old lady explained that everyone had a good and bad wolf in them, representing different sides of humans; the kind, honest and brave is the good wolf, and the bad wolf is selfish evil, and angry.

Many humanists believe that you can make sure the good wolf prevails by feeding it through being kind, taking responsibility." I wonder what things you thought you might do to feed your good wolf as well.

If you've managed to get some of those ideas down and you've understood this idea of having two sides to human nature and that everyone has good and bad in them and that many humans talk about feeding the good wolf to mean acting as best as they can, then you've done brilliantly and well done.

Let's summarise what we've learned in this lesson today.

We've learned that humanism is a non-religious worldview.

We've learned that a non-religious worldview is one that looks to humans, reason and the natural world for meaning.

We've learned that many humanists use their senses and science to try to answer questions about the world.

Finally, we've learned that the story of "The Two Wolves" helps us to understand how many humanists see the good and bad in human nature as natural.

You've been amazing today.

You've done such deep thinking and come up with so many brilliant ideas, and I'm really looking forward to learning with you again soon.

Thank you.