features
A Wisdom that is Called Empty
By Rado Gatchalian, The FILOsopher First published in the author’s Facebook blog: The FILOsopher The cliché “as you age, you become wise” only fits in a context where maturity is synonymous with supreme omniscient knowledge. But behold — when we accept this saddest (yet glorifying) truth that we shall all succumb to deterioration — and […]
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The Role of Art in a Humanistic Society
By Junelie Anthony Velonta HAPI Scholar The eyes of a portrait stare in the same way human eyes do. While they are soulless, nothing more than paint on canvas, they represent people, and wherever people are depicted, they carry with them emotions, thoughts, ideas—life. God may have given breath to Adam, but it was man […]
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A Failure of Human Empathy: The Salem Witch Trials
By Edgar Louis de Gracia HAPI Scholar The Salem Witch Trials were a series of witchcraft cases in 1692-1693 in colonial Massachusetts. It was believed that witches were young women and men who were possessed by the devil or involved themselves in “the dark arts”. By then, the belief wasn’t new: the idea of the […]
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Why I, a Teenager, Don’t Believe in a God
By Edgar Louis de Gracia HAPI Scholar When I was a young boy, I was subjected to religious indoctrination. For the longest time, I was led to believe that asking for forgiveness, being good, and praying to God would help; my young self believed those words and never questioned them. As time passed, when I […]
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“Humanism” in 6 Philippine Languages
So yes, when it comes to humanism, actions truly speak louder than words… but make no mistake, words can still be pretty powerful! And so we at Humanist Alliance Philippines, International, in acknowledgment and appreciation of the rich diversity of languages in our country, would like to present the Bikolano, Bisaya, Hiligaynanon, Ilokano, Tagalog, and […]
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Isang Panganganinag Ngayong Araw ng Kalayaan
Ni Junelie Velonta HAPI Scholar Nasa kalagitnaan ng kalayaang Pilipino ang pantay na karapatan ng bawat mamamayan, bunga ng dugo at pawis ng ating mga ninuno gamit ang kanilang mga itak, baril, at boses. Ngunit kung susuriin ang kasaysayan, tayo’y lumaya sa mga rehimeng mapang-api, pero hindi natibag ang mga kadena na sumisimbolo ng ating […]
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Baking 101 with HAPI-Zambales!
By Van Catayong HAPI-Zambales Lead Convenor “Give a man bread and he will eat for a day; teach him how to bake and he will eat a lifetime.” During HAPI National’s visit to Anawangin Cove in San Antonio, Zambales last March, we did a brainstorming activity along the beach about possible future projects that our […]
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My Religious Family Finally Found Out I’m an Atheist
By Glemir Sordilla HAPI Scholar Ever since I was a kid, I bombarded my parents with my curiosity. “Why does the moon follow me everywhere?” I used to ask, or “Why did you say Santa gave me my gift when I know it’s from you?” Despite my genuine interest and hunger for answers, they always […]
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An Atheistic God
By Rado Gatchalian The FILOsopher For centuries, this mind-boggling question, “Does God exist?” has catapulted our civilizations to secondary, yet also primal, questions of peace and violence, of good and evil, of liberty and authority. It is 2021 and we still battle with this one fundamental question that ultimately defines our existence: who we are […]
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Science and humanism will get us through this pandemic
By Merlie Figura HammerChemist & Retired Medical Underwriter Some basic definitions: an epidemic is when a disease affects a large number of people within a community, population, or region. A pandemic is an epidemic that has spread over multiple countries or continents. As Covid-19 began spreading in Wuhan, China, it became an epidemic. When the disease spread […]
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