ABSTRACT
Core humanist assumptions include the autonomy and integrity of the individual, free agency, authenticity of individual speech, creativity, the sovereignty of the conscious self and independence of thought. This chapter focuses on the semiological assumptions underlying the kind of discourse, that is, on the sign theory underlying the New Humanists' view of rationality. A prominent theme in the New Humanist literature is that of reason and rationality, generally linked to the idea that religion and religious beliefs are manifestations of 'unreason' or of irrational thinking. In the new humanist literature, rationality is typically discussed in philosophical terms; it has to do with propositions – or what knowledge claims or belief claims are about. The New Humanist discourse on rationality rests on a mainstream view of signs as two-dimensional – unlike the 'integrational sign', which is three-dimensional. The New Humanists need to conceive of languages as fixed codes and communication as telementational.
