What is Learning?

What is learning and why should you bother to learn stuff?

Most Humanists I know are voracious learners. And by voracious I mean we are interested in everything and in learning all that we can learn. Given that there is a lot to learn it’s a never ending quest.

Not only are Humanists interested in learning, we are also interested in learning how we learn so that we can better learn. Is your head hurting yet?

The reason Humanists engage in all this learning is because by learning, we gain new knowledge. By learning we come to know things. By learning, we come to be able to do new things and acquire new skills. By learning, we come to understand better.

Humans are an interesting creature. We are capable of instinctual behavior, but we are also capable of learning new behaviors. And these new behaviors are really very helpful in the quest for survival and reproduction. In a word, learning is very sexy (in a survival of the fittest sort of way). People who know how to learn have a better chance of survival.

When you think of it, there is no downside to learning. True, it can be difficult at times, but that shouldn’t stop us. Because it turns out that the more you learn, the funner learning becomes.

Why are Humanists lifelong learners? Because Humanism is the applied study of what it means to be a good Human being.  In some ways, Humanism is the best of what we've learned so far and what we continue to learn.