Especially in contemporary discussions, atheism is typically presented as a negative doctrine, the denial of God, gods, or any other kind of “transcendent” realm. This lecture presents secular humanism as a positive position. Kitcher argues that secular humanism can offer a satisfactory response to challenges often presented for it: it can recognize objective values, and it can address issues about the meaningfulness of our finite lives. Philip Kitcher is John Dewey Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University.