Futurism |
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Belief in Science |
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Faith in the Future |
Introduction | Rational Religion | Responsibilities | Conservation vs. Evolution | Against Anti-science | Logo
The futurian logo
The futurian logo was created by the founder of the movement, Kate Craig-Wood. It has layered meanings:
The central circle started as a yin yang. In this context it was originally intended to symbolise life in the broader context and more specifically humanity; there are many aspects of our selves which is a mixture of two elements, most notably our two genders, but also more intangible philosophical concepts like good and evil. When considering the larger picture there are binary theoretical concepts like order and chaos too. It is that last which perhaps most symbolises us, for life can be viewed as nothing more than a fight against the apparently unstoppable force of entropy, which in fighting it accelerates it - life is arguably nothing more than a localised increase in order at the expense of increased regional disorder.
It can also symbolise the two pillars of Futurism: science and technology. Those compound and interact leading to yet more of both, computer and medical sciences being just two examples, in an exponential process. Our own interaction with science and technology is a similarly compounding, exponential process, thus two to the power two gives us four (the four-way yin-yang).
Just taking one binary aspect as an example; Kate and many of her friends consider themselves to have transcended gender and no longer views it as a binary. She is, arguably, among the first trans-humans, having been modified by medical technology and becoming something different, able to experience society in a way1 not possible only a few decades ago.
However, more importantly and simplistically the four-way "yin yang" also symbolises a wheel or propeller - emblems of technology - and its suggestion of motion symbolises the advance of science and technology.
The outer symbol is borrowed from pagain traditions. It is the Goddess triple moon, and in this context is being used to symbolise nature in the broadest context; both the Earth but also the Universe. The moon is perhaps the best symbol for this since its image has perhaps alone above all else drawn us to question beyond the mundane of our lives and wonder at what the larger picture holds.
So, when combined together, the symbol as a whole represents humanity constantly evolving with the relentless advance of science and technology, but doing so in harmony with nature and the universe.
Religiousness and beliefs
There are deliberately cultural and religious aspects to this symbol since we believe that it is important to embrace the comfort that can be found from a somewhat religious approach - we are only human - but that such comfort should come from a position of enlightenment and rationality, not dogma and myth.
In some senses Futurism asks its followers to believe in two things: 1) science/reason and 2) the universe. To reduce that further, we do embrace solipsists with open arms (as long as they are willing to question their beliefs as we do) and indeed many of us have solipsistic bents, but we ask that the solipsists embrace the notion that their continued existince has merit while there are unanswered questions. In short, in the absence of a conclusive argument wither way (for or against solipsism) a rational course of action seems to be to learn more about this strange world we inhabit, regardless of whether you actually believe in it or not!
We are also not closed to the idea of deities, it merely seems unlikely based on the evidence at hand. Our goal is to understand our universe, though arguably that would exclude many hard-line traditional religious folk whose religions insist they their deity is "unknowable". We believe everything and anything can be understood and explained, given sufficient time and intellectual resource.
Rights / using the logo
Please note that the logo is an internationally registered design. You may use it provided that you do so in conjunction with a link back to this site.