How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
By that [Bokonon] means that a karass ignores national, institutional, occupational, familial, and class boundaries. (2.2)
Karass is an inherently humanist concept in that it ignores all those social boundaries listed above. The only requirement to entering a karass is to be a human. Oh, or a particularly intelligent robot. That'd be cool.
Quote #2
Dr. Breed obeyed, stepping back to read the banner's message. "Peace on Earth!" he read out loud heartily. (17.6)
Ah, Christmas time. It's the one time of year where everyone is a humanist, minus bargain shoppers, of course.
Quote #3
There was a framed photograph on [Hoenikker's] desk. Its back was toward me and I ventured a guess as to whose picture it was. "His wife?"
"No."
"One of his children?"
"No." (27.17-20)
Felix Hoenikker provides a convenient antithesis to humanism. If you ever want to decide if a character is or isn't a humanist in the novel, just compare them to old Dr. Hoenikker.
Quote #4
[Julian Castle] had had a dazzling talent for spending millions without increasing mankind's stores of anything but chagrin. (40.5)
Julian Castle used to enjoy a lifestyle of the rich, famous, and not-so-humanist. Basically he was the Donald Trump of his day. But when we finally meet him in the novel, he's had a change of philosophy.
Quote #5
"And you think things will be better in San Lorenzo?"
"I know damn well they will be. The people down there are poor enough and scared enough and ignorant enough to have some common sense!" (42.7-8)
This one might step on some toes. Mr. Crosby's character clearly shows that humanism and capitalism do not go hand in hand. As far the novel is concerned, at least. Whether or not that's the case in the real world is a matter we'll leave up to you.
Quote #6
"It was an iron chair a man had been roasted alive in," said Crosby. "He was roasted for murdering his son."
"Only, after they roasted him," Hazel recalled blandly, "they found out he hadn't murdered his son after all." (43.34-35)
Better tuck those feet in. (So as not to get your feet stepped on.) Capital punishment and humanism, eh, not exactly on good terms in the novel. Again, as far as the real world is concerned, you'll have to make up your own mind.
Quote #7
"It said a lot of things," [Mrs. Minton] said, "because I was very upset about how Americans couldn't imagine what it was like to be something else, to be something else and proud of it." (44.14)
One of the core concepts of humanism is the ability to imagine yourself as another person or see things from his worldview. This ability is called empathy. When you think about it, that just might make novels the perfect humanist vehicle.
Quote #8
"The form of government was anarchy, save in limited situations wherein Castle Sugar wanted to own something or get something done. In such situations, the form of government was feudalism" (56.6)
Yeah, more capitalism doesn't equal humanism talk. In this case, the novel compares capitalism to feudalism. Okay, we're going to leave this volatile subject alone now.
Quote #9
He wasn't far from Bokonon in defining maturity. "Maturity," Bokonon tells us, "is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists, unless laughter can be said to remedy anything." (88.19)
Perhaps we can rewrite The Beatles's "All You Need Is Love" to "All You Need Is Laughter." Both seem to help us get through that "bitter disappointment" Bokonon is talking about.
Quote #10
What is sacred to Bokononism?" I asked after a while.
"Not even God, as near as I can tell."
"Nothing?"
"Just one thing."
I made some guesses. "The ocean? The sun?"
"Man," said Frank. "That's all. Just man." (94.15-20)
Bokononism may be a fake religion, but it seems to embody the very real philosophy of humanism. And yes, religious humanism is totally a thing.