Science and technology
Natural Humanism supports scientific research and adding to the store of human knowledge. Scientific discussion is very important and deserves to be broadcast through all types of media.
Science should be synonymous with open-mindedness, non-adherence to dogmas and questioning all beliefs. Since science is not cast in stone, the maxim should be ‘moving with the times’. Within Natural Humanism, this means that opinions, views and philosophical insights can change.
The media are not gatekeepers for science. By facilitating the publication of opinion pieces substantiated by arguments, the media should encourage scientific discussion.
Science should actively examine its own worldview. Natural Humanism opposes a mechanistic framework that reduces the total human experience to mechanical processes. The universe is not a machine that can be measured and predicted in all its aspects. It is much more than that.
Science must be independent, and transparent about corporate funding.
Supervisory bodies such as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) should not be funded by the organisations or sectors they are responsible for monitoring.
Natural Humanism starts from the belief that technology must always be used in the service of people and society. The prudence that Natural Humanism brings to its relationship with technology does not imply a radical rejection of it. For example, technologies can support or even make possible community-building, decentralization and empowerment. Natural Humanism advocates an open-minded approach when examining the effects of technologies on human activities and well-being. It rejects the use of technology for covert monitoring and control of the population.