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{{short description|Philosophical school of thought}} |
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'''Humanism''' is a [[philosophy|philosophical]] stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and [[Agency (philosophy)|agency]] of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. |
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'''Humanism''' is a [[philosophy|philosophical]] and [[ethics|ethical]] stance that emphasizes the value and [[Agency (philosophy)|agency]] of [[Human|human beings]], individually and collectively, and generally prefers [[critical thinking]] and [[evidence]] ([[rationalism]] and [[empiricism]]) over acceptance of [[dogma]] or [[superstition]]. The meaning of the term ''humanism'' has fluctuated according to the successive intellectual movements which have identified with it.<ref name="What 2004">[[Nicolas Walter]]'s ''Humanism{{spaced ndash}}What's in the Word'' (London: [[Rationalist Press Association]], 1997 {{ISBN|0-301-97001-7}}) gives an account of the evolution of the meaning of the word ''humanism'' from the point of view of a modern [[secular humanist]]. A similar perspective, but somewhat less polemical, appears in [[Richard Norman]]'s ''On Humanism (Thinking in Action)'' (London: Routledge: 2004). For a historical and [[philological]]ly oriented view, see Vito Giustiniani's "Homo, Humanus, and the Meanings of Humanism", ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 46: 2 (April–June 1985): 167–95.</ref> The term was coined by theologian [[Friedrich Immanuel Niethammer|Friedrich Niethammer]] at the beginning of the [[19th century]] to refer to a system of education based on the study of classical literature ("classical humanism"). Generally, however, humanism refers to a perspective that affirms some notion of human [[freedom]] and progress. It views humans as solely responsible for the promotion and development of individuals and emphasizes a concern for man in relation to the world.<ref>Domenic Marbaniang, “Developing the Spirit of Patriotism and Humanism in Children for Peace and Harmony”, ''Children At Risk: Issues and Challenges'', Jesudason Jeyaraj (Ed.), Bangalore: CFCD/ISPCK, 2009, p.474</ref> |
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The meaning of the term "humanism" has changed according to successive intellectual movements that have identified with it. During the [[Italian Renaissance]], ancient works inspired Catholic Italian scholars, giving rise to the [[Renaissance humanism]] movement. During the [[Age of Enlightenment]], humanistic values were reinforced by advances in science and technology, giving confidence to humans in their exploration of the world. By the early 20th century, organizations dedicated to humanism flourished in Europe and the United States, and have since expanded worldwide. In the early 21st century, the term generally denotes a focus on human well-being and advocates for human [[freedom]], [[autonomy]], and [[progress]]. It views humanity as responsible for the promotion and development of individuals, espouses the equal and inherent [[dignity]] of all human beings, and emphasizes a concern for humans in relation to the world. Humanists tend to advocate for human rights, free speech, progressive policies, and democracy. |
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In modern times, humanist movements are typically [[secular humanism|non-religious movements]] aligned with [[secularism]], and today humanism typically refers to a [[nontheism|nontheistic]] [[life stance]] centred on human agency and looking to [[science]] rather than [[revelation]] from a [[supernatural]] source to understand the world.<ref>See for example the 2002 ''[[Amsterdam Declaration]]'' <http://iheu.org/humanism/the-amsterdam-declaration/> issued by the [[International Humanist and Ethical Union]] |
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</ref><ref> |
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The [[British Humanist Association]]'s [https://humanism.org.uk/humanism/ definition of Humanism] |
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</ref> |
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Starting in the 20th century, some humanist movements are [[secular humanism|non-religious]] and aligned with [[secularism]]. Most frequently in contemporary usage, humanism refers to a [[nontheism|non-theistic]] view centered on human agency, and a reliance only on science and reason rather than [[revelation]] from a divine source to understand the world. A non-theistic humanist worldview asserts that religion is not a precondition of morality, and objects to excessive religious entanglement with education and the state. |
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==Background== |
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Contemporary humanist organizations work under the umbrella of [[Humanists International]]. Well-known humanist associations include [[Humanists UK]] and the [[American Humanist Association]]. |
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The word "humanism" is ultimately derived from the Latin concept ''[[humanitas]]''. It entered English in the nineteenth century. However, historians agree that the concept predates the label invented to describe it, encompassing the various meanings ascribed to ''humanitas'', which included both benevolence toward one's fellow humans and the values imparted by ''bonae litterae'' or humane learning (literally "good letters"). |
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== Etymology == |
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In the second century AD, a Latin grammarian, [[Aulus Gellius]] (c.{{nbsp}}125{{snds}}c.{{nbsp}}180), complained: |
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The word "humanism" derives from the [[Latin]] word {{lang|la|[[humanitas]]}}, which was first used in ancient Rome by [[Cicero]] and other thinkers to describe values related to [[liberal education]].{{sfn|Kristeller|1978|p=3}} This etymology survives in the modern university concept of the [[humanities]]—the arts, philosophy, history, literature, and related disciplines. The word reappeared during the Italian [[Renaissance]] as ''umanista'' and entered the English language in the 16th century.{{sfn|Harper}} The word "humanist" was used to describe a group of students of [[classical literature]] and those advocating for a classical education.{{sfnm|1a1=Mann|1y=1996|pp=1–2|2a1=Copson|2y=2015|2pp=1–2}} |
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<blockquote>Those who have spoken Latin and have used the language correctly do not give to the word ''humanitas'' the meaning which it is commonly thought to have, namely, what the Greeks call φιλανθρωπία ([[philanthropy]]), signifying a kind of friendly spirit and good-feeling towards all men without distinction; but they gave to ''humanitas'' the force of the Greek παιδεία ([[paideia]]); that is, what we call ''eruditionem institutionemque in bonas artes'', or "education and training in the [[liberal arts]]". Those who earnestly desire and seek after these are most highly humanized. For the desire to pursue of that kind of knowledge, and the training given by it, has been granted to humanity alone of all the animals, and for that reason it is termed ''humanitas'', or "humanity".<ref>[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Gellius/13*.html Aulus Gellius], ''Attic Nights'', XIII: 17.</ref></blockquote> |
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In 1755, in [[Samuel Johnson]]'s influential ''[[A Dictionary of the English Language]]'', the word humanist is defined as a [[philology|philologer]] or grammarian, derived from the French word {{lang|fr|humaniste}}.{{efn|The word Humanism is not included in the dictionary.}} In a later edition of the dictionary, the meaning "a term used in the schools of [[Scotland]]" was added.<ref>Johnson, Samuel (1785) [https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofengl01johnuoft/page/n981/mode/1up A Dictionary of the English language]. Sixth Edition, Volume 1, p. 981.</ref> In the 1780s, [[Thomas Howes (cleric)|Thomas Howes]] was one of [[Joseph Priestley]]'s many opponents during the celebrated Unitarian disputes.<ref>Chandler, D. (2001) ''A Bibliographical History of Thomas Howes' "Critical Observations" (1776–1807) and His Dispute with Joseph Priestley''. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40372255 Studies in Bibliography], Vol. 54, pp. 285–295.</ref> Because of the different doctrinal meanings of Unitarian and [[Unitarianism]], Howes used "the more precise appellations of ''humanists'' and ''humanism''" when referring to those like Priestley "who maintain the ''mere humanity'' of [[Jesus|Christ]]".<ref>Howes, T. (1776–1800) [https://archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_critical-observations-on_howes-thomas-rev-of-_1776-1800_4 Critical Observations on Books, Antient and Modern. Vol IV.], pp. 17–18.</ref>{{sfn|Harper}} This theological origin of humanism is considered obsolete.<ref name="gibbs">{{cite journal |last1=Gibbs |first1=Robert |title=Of Time and Pages |journal=College Literature |date=2015 |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=259–260 |jstor=24544107 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24544107 |access-date=14 September 2023 |issn=0093-3139}}</ref>{{efn|The etymological link of the word humanism to the humanity or human nature of Christ has often been repeated, but typically the association is to [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge|Coleridge]] to whom is attributed its earliest use in 1812.<ref name="gibbs" /><ref>Schafer, R. (1930) [http://www.jstor.org/stable/26433563 What is Humanism?]. The Virginia Quarterly Review, vol. 6, no. 2, p. 198. JSTOR.</ref>{{sfn|Giustiniani|1985|p=173}}<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.7202/1064841ar | title=Hendrik Birus's "The Archeology of 'Humanism'" | date=2019 | last1=Adams | first1=Hazard | last2=Behler | first2=Ernst | last3=Birus | first3=Hendrik | last4=Derrida | first4=Jacques | last5=Iser | first5=Wolfgang | last6=Krieger | first6=Murray | last7=Miller | first7=Hillis | last8=Pfeiffer | first8=Ludwig | last9=Readings | first9=Bill | last10=Wang | first10=Ching-Hsien | last11=Yu | first11=Pauline | journal=Surfaces | volume=6 | s2cid=233039844 | doi-access=free }}</ref>}} |
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Gellius says that in his day ''humanitas'' is commonly used as a synonym for [[philanthropy]]{{snds}}or kindness and benevolence toward one's fellow human beings. Gellius maintains that this common usage is wrong, and that model writers of Latin, such as Cicero and others, used the word only to mean what we might call "humane" or "polite" learning, or the Greek equivalent [[Paideia]]. Yet in seeking to restrict the meaning of ''humanitas'' to literary education this way, Gellius was not advocating a retreat from political engagement into some ivory tower, though it might look like that to us. He himself was involved in public affairs. According to legal historian Richard Bauman, Gellius was a judge as well as a grammarian and was an active participant the great contemporary debate on harsh punishments that accompanied the legal reforms of [[Antoninus Pius]] (one these reforms, for example, was that a prisoner was not to be treated as guilty before being tried). "By assigning pride of place to Paideia in his comment on the etymology of ''humanitas'', Gellius implies that the trained mind is best equipped to handle the problems troubling society."<ref>Richard Bauman, ''Human Rights in Ancient Rome'' (Routledge Classical Monographs [1999]), pp. 74–75.</ref> |
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In the early 19th century, the term ''humanismus'' was used in Germany with several meanings and from there, it re-entered the English language with two distinct denotations; an academic term linked to the study of classic literature and a more-common use that signified a non-religious approach to life contrary to [[theism]].{{sfnm|1a1=Copson|1y=2015|1pp=1–2|2a1=Fowler|2y=1999|2pp=18–19}} It is probable Bavarian theologian [[Friedrich Immanuel Niethammer]] coined the term ''humanismus'' to describe the new classical curriculum he planned to offer in German secondary schools.{{sfn|Davies|1997|p=9}} Soon, other scholars such as [[Georg Voigt]] and [[Jacob Burckhardt]] adopted the term.{{sfn|Davies|1997|pp=9–10}} In the 20th century, the word was further refined, acquiring its contemporary meaning of a naturalistic approach to life, and a focus on the well-being and freedom of humans.{{sfn|Copson|2015|pp=3–4}} |
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Gellius's writings fell into obscurity during the Middle Ages, but during the Italian Renaissance, Gellius became a favorite author. Teachers and scholars of Greek and Latin grammar, rhetoric, philosophy, and poetry were called and called themselves "humanists".<ref name="mann">{{cite book |last=Mann |first=Nicholas |title=The Origins of Humanism |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1996 |pages=1–2 |quote=The term ''umanista'' was used, in fifteenth century Italian academic jargon to describe a teacher or student of classical literature including that of grammar and rhetoric. The English equivalent 'humanist' makes its appearance in the late sixteenth century with a similar meaning. Only in the nineteenth century, however, and probably for the first time in [[Humanism in Germany|Germany]] in 1809, is the attribute transformed into a substantive: ''humanism'', standing for devotion to the literature of ancient Greece and Rome, and the humane values that may be derived from them.}}</ref><ref name="oxford-renaissance">''Humanissime vir'', "most humane man", was the usual Latin way to address scholars. (Giustiniani, "Homo, Humanus, and the Meanings of Humanism" : 168.)</ref> Modern scholars, however, point out that [[Cicero]] (106{{snds}}43{{nbsp}}BCE), who was most responsible for defining and popularizing the term ''humanitas'', in fact frequently used the word in both senses, as did his near contemporaries. For Cicero, a lawyer, what most distinguished humans from brutes was speech, which, allied to reason, could (and should) enable them to settle disputes and live together in concord and harmony under the rule of law.<ref>There was a time when men wandered about in the manner of wild beasts. They conducted their affairs without the least guidance of reason but instead relied on bodily strength. There was no divine religion and the understanding of social duty was in no way cultivated. No one recognized the value inherent in an equitable code of law.(Cicero, ''De Inventione'', I. I: 2, quoted in Quentin Skinner, ''Visions of Politics, Volume 2: Renaissance Virtues'' [Cambridge University Press, 2002], p. 54.)</ref> Thus ''humanitas'' included two meanings from the outset and these continue in the modern derivative, ''humanism'', which even today can refer to both humanitarian benevolence and to a method of study and debate involving an accepted group of authors and a careful and accurate use of language.<ref>A noted authority on the subject, [[Paul Oskar Kristeller]], identified Renaissance humanism as a cultural and literary movement, which in its substance was not philosophical but which had important philosophical implications and consequences." "I have been unable to discover in the humanist literature any common philosophical doctrine," he wrote, "except a belief in the value of man and the humanities and in the revival of ancient learning." (Paul Oskar Kristeller, ''Renaissance Thought: The Classic, Scholastic, and Humanist Strains'' [New York, Harper and Row, 1961], p. 9). As the late Jacques Barzun has written:<blockquote>The path between the onset of the good letters and the modern humanist as freethinker or simply as scholar is circuitous but unbroken. If we look for what is common to the Humanists over the centuries we find two things: a body of accepted authors and a method of carrying on study and debate. The two go together with the belief that the best guides to the good life are [[Reason]] and [[Nature]]. (Jacques Barzun, ''From Dawn to Decadence :500 years of Western Cultural Life'' [New York: HarperCollins, 2000], p. 45)</blockquote></ref> |
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== Definition == |
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During the [[French Revolution]], and soon after, in Germany (by the [[Left Hegelians]]), ''humanism'' began to refer to an ethical philosophy centered on humankind, without attention to the [[Transcendence (religion)|transcendent]] or [[supernatural]]. The designation [[Religious Humanism]] refers to organized groups that sprang up during the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It is similar to [[Protestantism]], although centered on human needs, interests, and abilities rather than the supernatural.<ref>{{cite web | title=Genesis of a Humanist Manifesto | url=http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/edwin_wilson/manifesto/ch2.html | accessdate=14 May 2006 }}</ref> In the Anglophone world, such modern, organized forms of humanism, which are rooted in the 18th-century [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], have to a considerable extent more or less detached themselves from the historic connection of humanism with [[Classics|classical learning]] and the [[Liberal arts education|liberal arts]]. |
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There is no single, widely accepted definition of humanism, and scholars have given different meanings to the term.{{sfn|Davies|1997|p=3–5}} For philosopher [[Sidney Hook]], writing in 1974, humanists are opposed to the imposition of one culture in some civilizations, do not belong to a church or established religion, do not support dictatorships, and do not justify the use of violence for social reforms. Hook also said humanists support the elimination of hunger and improvements to health, housing, and education.{{sfn|Hook|1974|pp=31–33}} In the same [[edited collection]], Humanist philosopher [[H. J. Blackham]] argued humanism is a concept focusing on improving humanity's social conditions by increasing the autonomy and dignity of all humans.{{sfn|Blackham|1974|pp=35–37}} In 1999, [[Jeaneane D. Fowler]] said the definition of humanism should include a rejection of divinity, and an emphasis on human well-being and freedom. She also noted there is a lack of a shared belief system or doctrine but, in general, humanists aim for happiness and self-fulfillment.{{sfn|Fowler|1999|p=9}} |
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In 2015, prominent humanist [[Andrew Copson]] defined humanism as follows: |
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The first ''[[Humanist Manifesto I|Humanist Manifesto]]'' was issued by a conference held at the [[University of Chicago]] in 1933.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.americanhumanist.org/Who_We_Are/About_Humanism/Humanist_Manifesto_I |title=Text of Humanist Manifesto I |publisher=Americanhumanist.org |accessdate=13 November 2011 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107221355/http://www.americanhumanist.org/who_we_are/about_humanism/Humanist_Manifesto_I |archivedate=7 November 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Signatories included the philosopher [[John Dewey]], but the majority were ministers (chiefly [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]]) and [[Academic theology|theologians]]. They identified humanism as an ideology that espouses [[reason]], [[ethics]], and [[social justice|social and economic justice]], and they called for science to replace [[Dogma#In religion|dogma]] and the [[supernatural]] as the basis of [[morality]] and decision-making.<ref>Although a distinction has often been drawn between secular and religious humanism, the [[International Humanist and Ethical Union]] and similar organizations prefer to describe their life stance without qualification as 'Humanism'. See Nicolas Walter, ''Humanism: What's in the Word?'' (London: RPA/BHA/Secular Society Ltd, 1937), p. 43.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Humanism is Eight Letters, No More|url=http://www.iheu.org/humanism-is-eight-letters-no-more|authors=Harold Blackham, Levi Fragell, Corliss Lamont, Harry Stopes-Roe, Rob Tielman}}</ref> |
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* Humanism is naturalistic in its understanding of the universe; science and free inquiry will help us comprehend more about the universe. |
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* This scientific approach does not reduce humans to anything less than human beings. |
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* Humanists place importance of the pursuit of a self-defined, meaningful, and happy life. |
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* Humanism is moral; morality is a way for humans to improve their lives. |
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* Humanists engage in practical action to improve personal and social conditions.{{sfn|Copson|2015|pp=6–24}} |
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According to the [[International Humanist and Ethical Union]]: |
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==History== |
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<blockquote>Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality.<ref name="IHEU96">IHEU (1996) [https://humanists.international/policy/iheu-minimum-statement-on-humanism/ IHEU Minimum Statement on Humanism]. Humanists International, General Assembly.</ref> </blockquote> |
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Dictionaries define humanism as a worldview or philosophical stance. According to [[Merriam Webster Dictionary]], humanism is " ... a doctrine, attitude, or way of life centered on human interests or values; especially: a philosophy that usually rejects supernaturalism and stresses an individual's dignity and worth and capacity for self-realization through reason".{{sfn|Cherry|2009|p=26}} |
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[[File:Isola di Utopia Moro.jpg|thumb|An ideal society as conceived by Renaissance humanist Saint [[Thomas More]] in his book ''[[Utopia (book)|Utopia]]'']] |
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==History== |
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In 1808 Bavarian educational commissioner [[Friedrich Immanuel Niethammer]] coined the term ''Humanismus'' to describe the new [[Classics|classical curriculum]] he planned to offer in German secondary schools,<ref>Niethammer's book was entitled ''Der Streit des Philanthropinismus und des Humanismus in der Theorie des Erziehungs-Unterrichts unsrer Zeit'' (''The Dispute between Philanthropinism and Humanism in the Educational Theory of our Time''), which directly echoes Aulus Gellius's distinction between "philanthropy" and humane learning. Neithammer and other distinguished members of the movement they called "Neo-Humanism" (who included [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]] and [[Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling]] and [[Johann Gottlieb Fichte]]), felt that the curriculum imposed under Napoleon's occupation of Germany had been excessively oriented toward the practical and vocational. They wished to encourage individuals to practice life-long self cultivation and reflection, based on a study of the artistic, philosophical, and cultural masterpieces of (primarily) Greek civilization.</ref> and by 1836 the word "humanism" had been absorbed into the English language in this sense. The coinage gained universal acceptance in 1856, when German historian and philologist [[Georg Voigt]] used ''humanism'' to describe [[Renaissance humanism]], the movement that flourished in the Italian [[Renaissance]] to revive classical learning, a use which won wide acceptance among historians in many nations, especially Italy.<ref name="See 1877">As J. A. Symonds remarked, "the word humanism has a German sound and is in fact modern" (See ''The Renaissance in Italy'' Vol. 2:71 n, 1877). Vito Giustiniani writes that in the German-speaking world "Humanist" while keeping its specific meaning (as scholar of Classical literature) "gave birth to further derivatives, such as ''humanistisch'' for those schools which later were to be called ''humanistische Gymnasien'', with Latin and Greek as the main subjects of teaching (1784). Finally, ''Humanismus'' was introduced to denote 'classical education in general' (1808) and still later for the epoch and the achievements of the Italian humanists of the fifteenth century (1841). This is to say that 'humanism' for 'classical learning' appeared first in Germany, where it was once and for all sanctioned in this meaning by Georg Voigt (1859)". (Giustiniani, "Homo, Humanus, and the Meanings of Humanism" : 172.)</ref> |
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But in the mid-18th century, during the French Enlightenment, a more ideological use of the term had come into use. In 1765, the author of an anonymous article in a French Enlightenment periodical spoke of "The general love of humanity ... a virtue hitherto quite nameless among us, and which we will venture to call 'humanism', for the time has come to create a word for such a beautiful and necessary thing".<ref>"''L'amour général de l'humanité ... vertu qui n'a point de nom parmi nous et que nous oserions appeler 'humanisme', puisqu'enfin il est temps de créer un mot pour une chose si belle et nécessaire''"; from the review ''Ephémérides du citoyen ou Bibliothèque raisonée des sciences morales et politiques'', Chapter 16 (Dec, 17, 1765): 247, quoted in Giustiniani, "Homo, Humanus, and the Meanings of Humanism" : 175, note 38.</ref> The latter part of the 18th and the early 19th centuries saw the creation of numerous grass-roots "philanthropic" and benevolent societies dedicated to human betterment and the spreading of knowledge (some Christian, some not). After the [[French Revolution]], the idea that human virtue could be created by human reason alone independently from traditional religious institutions, attributed by opponents of the Revolution to [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] ''[[philosophes]]'' such as [[Rousseau]], was violently attacked by influential religious and political [[Conservatism|conservatives]], such as [[Edmund Burke]] and [[Joseph de Maistre]], as a deification or idolatry of humanity.<ref>Although Rousseau himself devoutly believed in a personal God, his book, ''[[Emile: or, On Education]]'', does attempt to demonstrate that atheists can be virtuous. It was publicly burned. During the Revolution, [[Jacobin (politics)|Jacobins]] instituted a cult of the Supreme Being along lines suggested by Rousseau. In the 19th-century French positivist philosopher [[Auguste Comte]] (1798–1857) founded a "religion of humanity", whose calendar and catechism echoed the former Revolutionary cult. See [[Comtism]]</ref> Humanism began to acquire a negative sense. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' records the use of the word "humanism" by an English clergyman in 1812 to indicate those who believe in the "mere humanity" (as opposed to the divine nature) of Christ, i.e., [[Unitarianism|Unitarians]] and [[Deists]].<ref>{{Cite book |
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| title = The Oxford English Dictionary |
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| publisher = Clarendon Press |
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| year = 1989 |
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| location = Oxford |
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| volume = VII |
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| edition = 2nd |
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| pages = 474–75}} |
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</ref> In this polarised atmosphere, in which established ecclesiastical bodies tended to [[circle the wagons]] and reflexively oppose political and social reforms like extending the franchise, universal schooling, and the like, liberal reformers and radicals embraced the idea of Humanism as an alternative religion of humanity. The anarchist [[Proudhon]] (best known for declaring that "[[property is theft]]") used the word "humanism" to describe a "''culte, déification de l’humanité''" ("worship, deification of humanity") and [[Ernest Renan]] in ''L’avenir de la science: pensées de 1848'' ("The Future of Knowledge: Thoughts on 1848") (1848–49), states: "It is my deep conviction that pure ''humanism'' will be the religion of the future, that is, the cult of all that pertains to humanity{{mdash}}all of life, sanctified and raised to the level of a moral value."<ref>''"Ma conviction intime est que la religion de l'avenir sera le pur'' humanisme, ''c’est-à-dire le culte de tout ce qui est de l'homme, la vie entière santifiée et éléve a une valeur moral"''. quoted in Giustiniani, "Homo, Humanus, and the Meanings of Humanism" : 175.</ref> |
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At about the same time, the word "humanism" as a philosophy centred on humankind (as opposed to institutionalised religion) was also being used in Germany by the [[Left Hegelians]], [[Arnold Ruge]], and [[Karl Marx]], who were critical of the close involvement of the church in the German government. There has been a persistent confusion between the several uses of the terms:<ref name="What 2004"/> philanthropic humanists look to what they consider their antecedents in critical thinking and human-centered philosophy among the Greek philosophers and the great figures of Renaissance history; and scholarly humanists stress the linguistic and cultural disciplines needed to understand and interpret these philosophers and artists. |
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===Predecessors=== |
===Predecessors=== |
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Traces of humanism can be found in [[ancient Greek philosophy]].{{sfnm|1a1=Law|1y=2011|1loc=chapter History of Humanism, #Ancient Greece|2a1=Freeman|2y=2015|pp=119–122|2ps=See also Foreword of the book, p xi|3a1=Lamont|3y=1997|3p=68|4a1=Davies|4y=1997|4p=9}} [[Pre-Socratic philosophy|Pre-Socratic philosophers]] were the first Western philosophers to attempt to explain the world in terms of human reason and natural law without relying on myth, tradition, or religion.{{sfnm|1a1=Law|1y=2011|1loc=chapter History of Humanism, #Ancient Greece|1ps=:According to Law "Three early Greek philosophers – Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes – are of particular interest. The manner in which these Milesian philosophers thought critically and independently, largely putting aside mythological and religious explanations and instead attempting to develop their own ideas and theories grounded in observation and reason, obviously makes them particularly important from a humanist point of view. They collectively exhibit several of the key ideas and values of humanism." In the next paragraph, he also mentions presocratic philosopher, Protagoras.|2a1=Lamont|2y=1997|2p=41–42|2ps=:Lamont cites [[Thales]], [[Anaximander]] and [[Heraclitus]] for leaning towards materialism and naturalism but, for Lamont, the first solid materialist philosopher was Democritus with his atomic theory|3a1=Barnes|3y=1987|3pp=17–18|ps=:Scholar [[Jonothan Banres]] writes: "First, and most simply, the Presocratics invented the very idea of science and philosophy. They hit upon that special way of looking at the world which is the scientific or rational way. They saw the world as something ordered and intelligible, its history following an explicable course and its different parts arranged in some comprehensible system. The world was not a random collection of bits, its history was not an arbitrary series of events. Still less was it a series of events determined by the will- or the caprice – of the gods." See whole subchapter "First philosophy" pp 17–25|4a1=Curd|4y=2020|loc=intro }} [[Protagoras]], who lived in Athens {{Circa|440 BCE}}, put forward some fundamental humanist ideas, although only fragments of his work survive. He made one of the first agnostic statements; according to one fragment: "About the gods I am able to know neither that they exist nor that they do not exist nor of what kind they are in form: for many things prevent me for knowing this, its obscurity and the brevity of man's life".<ref>{{harvnb|Law|2011|loc=chapter History of Humanism, #Ancient Greece}} ":fragment (80B4 DK)"</ref> [[Socrates]] spoke of the need to "know thyself"; his thought changed the focus of then-contemporary philosophy from nature to humans and their well-being.{{sfnm|1a1=Lamont|1y=1997|1pp=34–35|2a1=Freeman|2y=2015|2pp=124–125}} He was a theist executed for atheism, who investigated the nature of morality by reasoning.{{sfn|Lamont|1997|pp=34–35}} [[Aristotle]] (384–322 BCE) taught rationalism and a system of ethics based on human nature that also parallels humanist thought.{{sfn|Law|2011|loc=chapter History of Humanism, #Ancient Greece}} In the third century BCE, [[Epicurus]] developed an influential, human-centered philosophy that focused on achieving [[eudaimonia]]. [[Epicurean]]s continued [[Democritus]]' atomist theory—a materialistic theory that suggests the fundamental unit of the universe is an indivisible atom. Human happiness, living well, friendship, and the avoidance of excesses were the key ingredients of Epicurean philosophy that flourished in and beyond the post-Hellenic world.{{sfn|Law|2011|loc=chapter History of Humanism, #Ancient Greece}} It is a repeated view among scholars that the humanistic features of ancient Greek thought are the roots of humanism 2,000 years later.{{sfnm|1a1=Grayling|1y=2015|1p=87|2a1=Crosson|2y=2020|2p=4}} |
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====Ancient South Asia==== |
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Other predecessor movements that sometimes use the same or equivalent vocabulary to modern Western humanism can be found in [[Chinese philosophy]] and [[Religion in China|religions]] such as [[Taoism]] and [[Confucianism]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bingming |first=Xiong |date=April 1991 |title=At peace with the past |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000088086?posInSet=4&queryId=b5ee372a-fc25-4416-9878-1d64119df97d |access-date=2023-09-13 |series=Perceptions of Time |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |page=20}}</ref> |
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Human-centered philosophy that rejected the supernatural may also be found circa 1500 BCE in the [[Cārvāka|Lokayata]] system of Indian philosophy. [[Nasadiya Sukta]], a passage in the [[Rigveda|Rig Veda]], contains one of the first recorded assertions of agnosticism. |
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In the 6th-century BCE, [[Gautama Buddha]] expressed, in [[Pali literature]] a skeptical attitude toward the supernatural:<ref>{{cite web|title=Lesson 1: A brief history of humanist thought|url=http://humanisteducation.com/class.html?module_id=1&page=1|work= Introduction to Humanism: A Primer on the History, Philosophy, and Goals of Humanism|publisher=The Continuum of Humanist Education|accessdate=21 August 2009}}</ref> |
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Arabic translations of [[Ancient Greek literature]] during the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] in the eighth and ninth centuries influenced Islamic philosophers. Many medieval Muslim thinkers pursued humanistic, rational, and scientific discourse in their search for knowledge, meaning, and [[Value (personal and cultural)|values]]. A wide range of Islamic writings on love, poetry, history, and philosophical theology show medieval Islamic thought was open to humanistic ideas of individualism, occasional secularism, skepticism, liberalism, and free speech; schools were established at Baghdad, Basra and Isfahan.{{sfnm|1a1=Goodman|1y=2003|1p=155|2a1=Ljamai|2y=2015|2pp=153–56}} |
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<blockquote>Since neither soul, nor aught belonging to soul, can really and truly exist, the view which holds that this I who am 'world', who am 'soul', shall hereafter live permanent, persisting, unchanging, yea abide eternally: is not this utterly and entirely a foolish doctrine?</blockquote> |
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Another instance of ancient humanism as an organised system of thought is found in the [[Gathas]] of [[Zarathustra]], composed between 1,000{{nbsp}}BCE{{snds}}600{{nbsp}}BCE<ref>"Principles of Integral Science of Religion", By Georg Schmid, p. 109, 'As an Example: Yasna 32:8', p. 109</ref> in [[Greater Iran]]. Zarathustra's philosophy in the Gathas lays out a conception of humankind as thinking beings, dignified with choice and agency according to the intellect which each receives from [[Ahura Mazda]] (God in the form of supreme wisdom). The idea of Ahura Mazda as a non-intervening [[Deism|deistic]] god or [[Great Architect of the Universe]] was combined with a unique eschatology and ethical system which implied that each person is held morally responsible in the afterlife, for their choices they freely made in life.<ref>{{cite web|title=Human Behavior and Good Thinking|url=http://www.zarathushtra.com/z/article/dgm/vol1.htm#volume1}}</ref> This importance placed upon thought, action and personal responsibility, and the concept of a non-intervening creator, was a source of inspiration to a number of [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] humanist thinkers in Europe such as [[Voltaire]] and [[Montesquieu]]. |
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====Ancient Greece==== |
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{{Main|Ancient Greek philosophy}} |
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6th-century [[BCE]] [[pre-Socratic]] Greek philosophers [[Thales of Miletus]] and [[Xenophanes of Colophon]] were the first in the region to attempt to explain the world in terms of human reason rather than myth and tradition, thus can be said to be the first Greek humanists. Thales questioned the notion of anthropomorphic gods and Xenophanes refused to recognise the gods of his time and reserved the divine for the principle of unity in the universe. These Ionian Greeks were the first thinkers to assert that nature is available to be studied separately from the supernatural realm. [[Anaxagoras]] brought philosophy and the spirit of rational inquiry from Ionia to Athens. [[Pericles]], the leader of Athens during the period of its greatest glory was an admirer of Anaxagoras. Other influential pre-Socratics or rational philosophers include [[Protagoras]] (like Anaxagoras a friend of Pericles), known for his famous dictum "man is the measure of all things" and [[Democritus]], who proposed that matter was composed of atoms. Little of the written work of these early philosophers survives and they are known mainly from fragments and quotations in other writers, principally [[Plato]] and [[Aristotle]]. The historian [[Thucydides]], noted for his scientific and rational approach to history, is also much admired by later humanists.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Potter |first=Charles |authorlink=Charles Francis Potter |title=Humanism A new Religion |pages=64–69 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=1930}} |
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</ref> In the 3rd century BCE, [[Epicurus]] became known for his concise phrasing of the [[problem of evil]], lack of belief in the afterlife, and human-centred approaches to achieving [[eudaimonia]]. He was also the first Greek philosopher to admit women to his school as a rule. |
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====Medieval Islam==== |
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{{See also|Early Islamic philosophy}} |
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Many medieval Muslim thinkers pursued humanistic, [[Rationalism|rational]] and scientific [[discourse]]s in their search for knowledge, meaning and [[Value (personal and cultural)|values]]. A wide range of Islamic writings on love, poetry, history and [[philosophical theology]] show that medieval Islamic thought was open to the humanistic ideas of [[individualism]], occasional [[secularism]], [[skepticism]], and [[liberalism]].<ref name=Goodman>Lenn Evan Goodman (2003), ''Islamic Humanism'', p. 155, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|0-19-513580-6}}.</ref> |
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According to Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, another reason the Islamic world flourished during the Middle Ages was an early emphasis on [[freedom of speech]], as summarised by al-Hashimi (a cousin of Caliph [[al-Ma'mun]]) in the following letter to one of the religious opponents he was attempting to [[Religious conversion|convert]] through [[reason]]:<ref>{{Cite conference |first=I. A. |last=Ahmad |title=The Rise and Fall of Islamic Science: The Calendar as a Case Study |conference=Faith and Reason: Convergence and Complementarity |publisher=[[Al-Akhawayn University]] |date=3 June 2002 |location=[[Ifrane]], Morocco |url=http://www.minaret.org/ifrane.pdf |format=PDF |accessdate=31 December 2014 |postscript=<!--None--> |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129185204/http://www.minaret.org/ifrane.pdf |archivedate=29 November 2014 |deadurl=no}}</ref> |
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{{quote|Bring forward all the arguments you wish and say whatever you please and speak your mind freely. Now that you are safe and free to say whatever you please appoint some arbitrator who will impartially judge between us and lean only towards the truth and be free from the empery of passion, and that arbitrator shall be [[Reason]], whereby God makes us responsible for our own rewards and punishments. Herein I have dealt justly with you and have given you full security and am ready to accept whatever decision Reason may give for me or against me. For "There is no compulsion in religion" ([[Al-Baqara|Qur'an 2]]:256) and I have only invited you to accept our faith willingly and of your own accord and have pointed out the hideousness of your present belief. Peace be with you and the blessings of God!}} |
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According to George Makdisi, certain aspects of [[Renaissance humanism]] has its roots in the [[Islamic Golden Age|medieval Islamic world]], including the "art of ''[[Dictation (exercise)|dictation]]'', called in Latin, ''[[ars dictaminis]]''", and "the humanist attitude toward [[classical language]]".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Makdisi |first=George |title=Scholasticism and Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=109 |issue=2 |date=April–June 1989 |pages=175–82 |doi=10.2307/604423 |publisher=Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 109, No. 2 |postscript=<!--None--> |jstor=604423}}</ref> |
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====The Icelandic Sagas==== |
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Scholars including [[Jacob Grimm]], [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] and [[Gabriel_Turville-Petre|E.O.G. Turville-Petre]] have identified a stream of humanistic philosophy in the [[Sagas of Icelanders|Icelandic sagas]]. People described as goðlauss ("without gods") expressed not only a lack of faith in deities, but also a pragmatic belief in their own faculties of strength, reason and virtue and in social codes of honor independent of any supernatural agency. |
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In his ''[[Deutsche_Mythologie|Teutonic Mythology]]'' (1835), Grimm wrote: |
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{{quote|It is remarkable that Old Norse legend occasionally mentions certain men who, turning away in utter disgust and doubt from the heathen faith, placed their reliance on their own strength and virtue. Thus in the ''Solar Lioð 17'' we read of Vebogi and Radey "a sik Þau truðu" - in themselves they trusted; of King Hakon (''Fornm. sög. 1, 35'') "konungr gerir sem allir aðrir, Þeir sem trua a matt sinn ok megin" - the king does like all others who trust in their own might and main; of Barðr (''ibid. 2, 151'') "ek trui ekki a skurðgoð eðr fiandr, hefi ek Þvi lengi truat a matt minn ok megin" - I trust not in idols and fiends; I have held, this long while, faith in my own powers.}} |
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In ''Myth and Religion of the North'' (1964), Turville-Petre argued that many of the strophes of the Gestaþáttr and Loddfáfnismál sections of the ''[[Havamal]]'' express goðlauss sentiments despite being poetically attributed to the god [[Odin]]. These strophes include numerous items of advice on good conduct and worldly wisdom. |
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===Renaissance=== |
===Renaissance=== |
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{{main|Renaissance humanism}} |
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[[File:Ritratto di francesco petrarca, altichiero, 1376 circa, padova.jpg|thumb|Portrait of [[Petrarch]] painted in 1376]] |
[[File:Ritratto di francesco petrarca, altichiero, 1376 circa, padova.jpg|thumb|upright|Portrait of [[Petrarch]] painted by [[Altichiero]] in 1376]] |
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[[File:'David' by Michelangelo JBU0001.JPG|thumb|upright|''[[David (Michelangelo)|David]]'' by [[Michelangelo]], 1501–1504. Artistic work during the Renaissance illustrates the emphasis given to anatomical details of humans.]] |
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The intellectual movement later known as Renaissance humanism first appeared in Italy and has greatly influenced both contemporaneous and modern Western culture.{{sfn|Monfasani|2020|p=1}} Renaissance humanism emerged in Italy and a renewed interest in literature and the arts occurred in 13th-century Italy, with [[Florence]] as a key center of activity.{{sfnm|1a1=Monfasani|1y=2020|1p=4|2a1=Nederman|2y=2020}} Italian scholars discovered Ancient Greek thought, particularly that of Aristotle, through Arabic translations from Africa and Spain.{{sfn|Mann|1996|pp=14–15}} Other centers were [[Verona]], [[Naples]], and [[Avignon]].{{sfn|Mann|1996|p=8}} [[Petrarch]], who is often referred to as the father of humanism, is a significant figure.{{sfnm|1a1=Mann|1y=1996|1p=8|2a1=Monfasani|2y=2020|2p=1}} Petrarch was raised in Avignon; he was inclined toward education at a very early age and studied alongside his well-educated father. Petrarch's enthusiasm for ancient texts led him to discover manuscripts such as Cicero's ''[[Pro Archia]]'' and [[Pomponius Mela]]'s ''[[De Chorographia]]'' that were influential in the development of the Renaissance.{{sfnm|1a1=Mann|1y=1996|1pp=8–14|1ps=:Mann writes "This enthusiasm is reflected in his search for new texts, first manifested in a journey to the north in 1333, when he found a manuscript of Cicero's forgotten Pro Archia in Liege, and one of Propertius in Paris, stemming from the 13th-century scholar Richard of Fournival. Both these texts he studied assiduously and transmitted to posterity with his annotations and emendations, as he did also with De chorographia of Pomponius Mel"|2a1=Monfasani|2y=2020|2pp=8–10|2ps=:Both Mann and Monfasani note that Petrarch failed his attempt to learn Greek, he was not the actual translator of ancient texts.}} Petrarch wrote Latin poems such as ''[[Canzoniere]]'' and ''[[De viris illustribus]]'', in which he described humanist ideas.{{sfn|Mann|1996|pp=8–14}} His most-significant contribution was a list of books outlining the four major disciplines—rhetoric, moral philosophy, poetry, and grammar—that became the basis of humanistic studies (''studia humanitatis''). Petrarch's list relied heavily on ancient writers, especially Cicero.{{sfn|Monfasani|2020|p=8|ps=: That was the reason Cicero was named as the grandfather of humanism by classicist scholar [[Berthold Ullman]].}} |
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Renaissance humanism was an intellectual movement in Europe of the later [[Middle Ages]] and the [[Early Modern]] period. The 19th-century German historian [[Georg Voigt]] (1827–91) identified [[Petrarch]] as the first Renaissance humanist. [[Paul Johnson (writer)|Paul Johnson]] agrees that Petrarch was "the first to put into words the notion that the centuries between the fall of Rome and the present had been the age of Darkness". According to Petrarch, what was needed to remedy this situation was the careful study and imitation of the great classical authors. For Petrarch and [[Boccaccio]], the greatest master was [[Cicero]], whose prose became the model for both learned (Latin) and vernacular (Italian) prose. |
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The revival of classicist authors continued after Petrarch's death. Florence chancellor and humanist [[Coluccio Salutati]] made his city a prominent center of Renaissance humanism; his circle included other notable humanists—including [[Leonardo Bruni]], who rediscovered, translated, and popularized ancient texts.{{sfn|Monfasani|2020|pp=9–10|ps=:Other notable humanists were [[Poggio Bracciolini]] and [[Niccolò Niccoli]]}} Humanists heavily influenced education.{{sfn|Monfasani|2020||ps=:"The two most fundamental aspects of the victory of Renaissance Humanism was its conquest of pre-university education and its concomitant success in changing the consciousness of educated Western society".}} [[Vittorino da Feltre]] and [[Guarino Veronese]] created schools based on humanistic principles; their curriculum was widely adopted and by the 16th century, humanistic ''[[paideia]]'' was the dominant outlook of pre-university education.{{sfn|Monfasani|2020|p=10}} Parallel with advances in education, Renaissance humanists made progress in fields such as philosophy, mathematics, and religion. In philosophy, [[Angelo Poliziano]], [[Nicholas of Cusa]], and [[Marsilio Ficino]] further contributed to the understanding of ancient classical philosophers and [[Giovanni Pico della Mirandola]] undermined the dominance of Aristotelian philosophy by revitalizing [[Sextus Empiricus]]' skepticism. Religious studies were affected by the growth of Renaissance humanism when [[Pope Nicholas V]] initiated the translation of Hebrew and Greek biblical texts, and other texts in those languages, to contemporaneous Latin.{{sfn|Monfasani|2020|pp=10–11}} |
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<blockquote>Once the language was mastered grammatically it could be used to attain the second stage, eloquence or rhetoric. This art of persuasion [Cicero had held] was not art for its own sake, but the acquisition of the capacity to persuade others – all men and women – to lead the good life. As Petrarch put it, 'it is better to will the good than to know the truth'. Rhetoric thus led to and embraced philosophy. [[Leonardo Bruni]] (c.{{nbsp}}1369–1444), the outstanding scholar of the new generation, insisted that it was Petrarch who "opened the way for us to show how to acquire learning", but it was in Bruni's time that the word ''umanista'' first came into use, and its subjects of study were listed as five: grammar, rhetoric, poetry, moral philosophy, and history".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Johnson |first=Paul |title=The Renaissance |year=2000 |publisher=The Modern Library |location=New York |pages=32–34 and 37 |isbn=0-679-64086-X}}</ref></blockquote> |
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Humanist values spread from Italy in the 15th century. Students and scholars went to Italy to study before returning to their homelands carrying humanistic messages. Printing houses dedicated to ancient texts were established in Venice, Basel, and Paris.{{sfn|Monfasani|2020|p=10}} By the end of the 15th century, the center of humanism had shifted from Italy to northern Europe, with [[Erasmus of Rotterdam]] being the leading humanist scholar.{{sfn|Monfasani|2020|pp=12–13}} The longest-lasting effect of Renaissance humanism was its education curriculum and methods. Humanists insisted on the importance of classical literature in providing intellectual discipline, moral standards, and a civilized taste for the elite—an educational approach that reached the contemporary era.{{sfn|Kristeller|2008|p=114}} |
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[[File:Salutati.jpg|thumb|Coluccio Salutati, Chancellor of Florence and disciple of Petrarch (1331–1406)]] |
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=== Enlightenment === |
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The basic training of the humanist was to speak well and write (typically, in the form of a letter). One of Petrarch's followers, [[Coluccio Salutati]] (1331–1406) was made chancellor of [[Florence]], "whose interests he defended with his literary skill. The Visconti of Milan claimed that Salutati’s pen had done more damage than 'thirty squadrons of Florentine cavalry'".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Johnson |first=Paul |title=The Renaissance |year=2000 |publisher=The Modern Library |location=New York |page=37}}</ref> |
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During the [[Age of Enlightenment]], humanistic ideas resurfaced, this time further from religion and classical literature.{{sfn|Fowler|1999|p=16}} Science and intellectualism advanced, and humanists argued that rationality could replace deism as the means with which to understand the world. Humanistic values, such as tolerance and opposition to slavery, started to take shape.{{sfn|Fowler|1999|pp=16–18}} New philosophical, social, and political ideas appeared. Some thinkers rejected theism outright; and atheism, deism, and hostility to organized religion were formed.{{sfn|Fowler|1999|p=18}} During the Enlightenment, [[Baruch Spinoza]] redefined God as signifying the totality of nature; Spinoza was accused of atheism but remained silent on the matter.{{sfn|Lamont|1997|p=74}} Naturalism was also advanced by prominent [[Encyclopédistes]]. Baron d'Holbach wrote the polemic ''[[System of Nature]]'', claiming that religion was built on fear and had helped tyrants throughout history.{{sfn|Lamont|1997|p=45}} [[Diderot]] and [[Claude Adrien Helvétius|Helvetius]] combined their materialism with sharp, political critique.{{sfn|Lamont|1997|p=45}} |
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[[File:Gianfrancesco Poggio Bracciolini - Imagines philologorum.jpg|thumb|Poggio Bracciolini (1380–1459), an early Renaissance humanist, book collector, and reformer of script, who served as papal secretary<ref>Following an old engraving; from Alfred Gudeman, ''Imagines philologorum: 160 bildnisse...'' ("Portraits of Philologists, 160 prints"), (Leipzig/Berlin) 1911.</ref>]] |
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Also during the Enlightenment, the abstract conception of humanity started forming—a critical juncture for the construction of humanist philosophy. Previous appeals to "men" now shifted toward "man"; to illustrate this point, scholar Tony Davies points to political documents like ''[[The Social Contract]]'' (1762) of [[Rousseau]], in which he says "Man is born free, but is everywhere in chains". Likewise, [[Thomas Paine]]'s ''[[Rights of Man]]'' uses the singular form of the word, revealing a universal conception of "man".{{sfn|Davies|1997|p=25}} In parallel, Baconian empiricism—though not humanism ''per se''—led to [[Thomas Hobbes]]'s materialism.{{sfn|Davies|1997|pp=108–09}} |
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Contrary to a still widely held interpretation that originated in Voigt's celebrated contemporary, [[Jacob Burckhardt]],<ref>The influence of Jacob Burckhardt's classic masterpiece of cultural history, [[The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy]] (1860) on subsequent Renaissance historiography is traced in Wallace K. Ferguson's ''The Renaissance in Historical Thought: Five Centuries of Historical Interpretation'' (1948).</ref> and which was adopted wholeheartedly – especially by modern thinkers calling themselves "humanists" – <ref>For example the ''Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy,'' adhering to the tenacious 19th-century narrative of the Renaissance as a complete break with the past established in 1860 by [[Jacob Burckhardt]], describes the liberating effects of the re-discovery of classical writings this way:<blockquote>Here, one felt no weight of the supernatural pressing on the human mind, demanding homage and allegiance. Humanity{{mdash}}with all its distinct capabilities, talents, worries, problems, possibilities{{mdash}}was the centre of interest. It has been said that medieval thinkers philosophised on their knees, but, bolstered by the new studies, they dared to stand up and to rise to full stature.{{cite encyclopedia|title=Humanism|encyclopedia="The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, Second Edition|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1999}}</blockquote></ref> most specialists today do not characterise Renaissance humanism as a philosophical movement, nor in any way as anti-Christian or even anti-clerical. A modern historian has this to say: |
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Scholar J. Brent Crosson argues that, while there is a widely-held belief that the birth of humanism was solely a European affair, intellectual thought from Africa and Asia significantly contributed as well. He also notes that during enlightenment, the universal man did not encompass all humans but was shaped by gender and race. According to Crosson, the shift from man to human started during enlightenment and is still ongoing.{{sfn|Crosson|2020|pp=1–3}} Crosson also argues that enlightenment, especially in Britain, produced not only a notion of universal man, but also gave birth to pseudoscientific ideas, such as those about differences between races, that shaped European history.{{sfn|Crosson|2020|pp=5–6}} |
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{{quote|text=Humanism was not an ideological programme but a body of literary knowledge and linguistic skill based on the "revival of good letters", which was a revival of a late-antique philology and grammar, This is how the word "humanist" was understood by contemporaries, and if scholars would agree to accept the word in this sense rather than in the sense in which it was used in the nineteenth century we might be spared a good deal of useless argument. That humanism had profound social and even political consequences of the life of Italian courts is not to be doubted. But the idea that as a movement it was in some way inimical to the Church, or to the conservative social order in general is one that has been put forward for a century and more without any substantial proof being offered.<poem> |
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===From Darwin to current era=== |
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</poem>The nineteenth-century historian Jacob Burckhardt, in his classic work, ''[[The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy]]'', noted as a "curious fact" that some men of the new culture were "men of the strictest piety, or even ascetics". If he had meditated more deeply on the meaning of the careers of such humanists as Abrogio Traversari (1386–1439), the General of the Camaldolese Order, perhaps he would not have gone on to describe humanism in unqualified terms as "pagan", and thus helped precipitate a century of infertile debate about the possible existence of something called "Christian humanism" which ought to be opposed to "pagan humanism".|author=Peter Partner|source=''Renaissance Rome, Portrait of a Society 1500–1559'' (University of California Press 1979) pp. 14–15.}} |
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French philosopher [[Auguste Comte]] (1798–1857) introduced the idea—which is sometimes attributed to [[Thomas Paine]]—of a "[[religion of humanity]]". According to scholar Tony Davies, this was intended to be an atheist cult based on some humanistic tenets, and had some prominent members but soon declined. It was nonetheless influential during the 19th century, and its humanism and rejection of supernaturalism are echoed in the works of later authors such as [[Oscar Wilde]], [[George Holyoake]]—who coined the word ''secularism''—[[George Eliot]], [[Émile Zola]], and [[Edward Spencer Beesly|E. S. Beesly]]. Paine's ''[[The Age of Reason]]'', along with the 19th-century [[Biblical criticism]] of the German [[Hegelian]]s [[David Strauss]] and [[Ludwig Feuerbach]], also contributed to new forms of humanism.{{sfn|Davies|1997|pp=26–30}}{{sfn|Hardie|2000|loc=19th Century}} |
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The ''umanisti'' criticised what they considered the barbarous Latin of the universities, but the revival of the humanities largely did not conflict with the teaching of traditional university subjects, which went on as before.<ref> |
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[[File:Jeremy Bentham by Henry William Pickersgill.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Henry William Pickersgill]], ''Portrait of [[Jeremy Bentham]]'', 1829.]] |
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"The term ''umanista'' was associated with the revival of the ''[[studia humanitatis]]'' "which included ''grammatica'', ''rhetorica'', poetics, ''historia'', and ''philosophia moralis'', as these terms were understood. Unlike the liberal arts of the eighteenth century, they did not include the visual arts, music, dancing or gardening. The humanities also failed to include the disciplines that were the chief subjects of instruction at the universities during the Later Middle Ages and throughout the Renaissance, such as theology, jurisprudence, and medicine, and the philosophical disciplines other than ethics, such as logic, natural philosophy, and metaphysics. In other words, humanism does not represent, as often believed, the sum total of Renaissance thought and learning, but only a well-defined sector of it. Humanism has its proper domain or home territory in the humanities, whereas all other areas of learning, including philosophy (apart from ethics), followed their own course, largely determined by their medieval tradition and by their steady transformation through new observations, problems, or theories. These disciplines were affected by humanism mainly from the outside and in an indirect way, though often quite strongly". ([[Paul Oskar Kristeller]], ''Humanism'', pp. 113–14, in Charles B. Schmitt, [[Quentin Skinner]] (editors), ''The Cambridge History of Renaissance Philosophy'' [1990].</ref> |
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Advances in science and philosophy provided scholars with further alternatives to religious belief. [[Charles Darwin]]'s theory of [[natural selection]] offered naturalists an explanation for the plurality of species.{{sfn|Law|2011|p=36}} Darwin's theory also suggested humans are simply a natural species, contradicting the traditional theological view of humans as more than animals.{{sfn|Lamont|1997|p=75}} Philosophers [[Ludwig Feuerbach]], [[Friedrich Nietzsche]], and [[Karl Marx]] attacked religion on several grounds, and theologians [[David Strauss]] and [[Julius Wellhausen]] questioned the Bible.{{sfn|Law|2011|p=36}} In parallel, [[utilitarianism]] was developed in Britain through the works of [[Jeremy Bentham]] and [[John Stuart Mill]]. Utilitarianism, a moral philosophy, centers its attention on human happiness, aiming to eliminate human and animal pain via natural means.{{sfn|Law|2011|p=37}} In Europe and the US, as philosophical critiques of theistic beliefs grew, large parts of society distanced themselves from religion. Ethical societies were formed, leading to the contemporary humanist movement.{{sfn|Law|2011|p=39}} |
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The rise of rationalism and the scientific method was followed in the late 19th century in Britain by the start of many rationalist and ethical associations, such as the [[National Secular Society]], the [[Ethical Union]], and the [[Rationalist Press Association]].{{sfn|Hardie|2000|loc=19th Century}} In the 20th century, humanism was further promoted by the work of philosophers such as [[A. J. Ayer]], [[Antony Flew]], and [[Bertrand Russell]], whose advocacy of atheism in ''[[Why I Am Not a Christian]]'' further popularized humanist ideas. In 1963, the [[British Humanist Association]] evolved out of the Ethical Union, and merged with many smaller ethical and rationalist groups. Elsewhere in Europe, humanist organizations also flourished. In the Netherlands, the [[Humanistisch Verbond|Dutch Humanist Alliance]] gained a wide base of support after World War II; in Norway, the [[Norwegian Humanist Association]] gained popular support.{{sfn|Hardie|2000|loc=20th Century}} |
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Nor did the humanists view themselves as in conflict with Christianity. Some, like Salutati, were the Chancellors of Italian cities, but the majority (including Petrarch) were ordained as priests, and many worked as senior officials of the Papal court. Humanist Renaissance popes [[Pope Nicholas V|Nicholas V]], [[Pope Pius II|Pius II]], [[Pope Sixtus IV|Sixtus IV]], and [[Pope Leo X|Leo X]] wrote books and amassed huge libraries.<ref>See their respective entries in Sir John Hale's ''Concise Encyclopaedia of the Italian Renaissance'' (Oxford University Press, 1981).</ref> |
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In the US, humanism evolved with the aid of significant figures of the [[Unitarian Universalist Association|Unitarian Church]]. Humanist magazines began to appear, including ''[[The New Humanist]]'', which published the [[Humanist Manifesto I]] in 1933. The [[American Ethical Union]] emerged from newly founded, small, ethicist societies.{{sfn|Hardie|2000|loc=19th Century}} The [[American Humanist Association]] (AHA) was established in 1941 and became as popular as some of its European counterparts. The AHA spread to all states, and some prominent public figures such as [[Isaac Asimov]], [[John Dewey]], [[Erich Fromm]], [[Paul Kurtz]], [[Carl Sagan]], and [[Gene Roddenberry]] became members.{{sfn|Hardie|2000|loc=20th Century}} Humanist organizations from all continents formed the [[International Humanist and Ethical Union]] (IHEU), which is now known as [[Humanists International]], and promotes the humanist agenda via the [[United Nations]] organizations [[UNESCO]] and [[UNICEF]].{{sfn|Morain|Morain|1998|p=100}} |
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In the [[High Renaissance]], in fact, there was a hope that more direct knowledge of the wisdom of antiquity, including the writings of the Church fathers, the earliest known Greek texts of the Christian Gospels, and in some cases even the Jewish [[Kabbalah]], would initiate a harmonious new era of universal agreement.<ref>To later generations, the Dutch humanist, [[Desiderius Erasmus]], epitomised this reconciling tendency). According to the ''[[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]'', "[[European Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] thinkers remembered Erasmus (not quite accurately) as a precursor of modern intellectual freedom and a foe of both Protestant and Catholic dogmatism". [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/erasmus/. Erasmus himself was not much interested in the Kabbalah, but several other humanists were, notably Pico della Mirandola]. See [[Christian Kabbalah]].)</ref> With this end in view, Renaissance Church authorities afforded humanists what in retrospect appears a remarkable degree of freedom of thought.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bergin |first1=Thomas |last2=Speake |first2=Jennifer |title=The Encyclopedia of the Renaissance |year=1987 |publisher=Facts On File Publications |location=Oxford |pages=216–17}}</ref><ref>"Only thirteen of Pico della Mirandola's nine hundred theses were thought theologically objectionable by the papal commission that examined them.... [This] suggests that, in spite of his publicly expressed contempt in his ''Apologia'' for their intellectual inadequacies, the Curial authorities hardly saw these theses as the work of a dangerous theological modernist like Luther or Calvin. Unorthodox though they were, most of the issues raised in them had been the subject of theological dispute for centuries and the commission ... condemned him not for innovations but for 'reviving several of the errors of gentile philosophers which are already disproved and obsolete'". Davies (1997), p 103.</ref> One humanist, the [[Greek Orthodox]] Platonist [[Gemistus Pletho]] (1355–1452), based in [[Mystras]], Greece (but in contact with humanists in Florence, Venice, and Rome) taught a Christianised version of pagan [[polytheism]].<ref>[[Richard H. Popkin]] (editor), ''The Columbia History of Western Philosophy'' (1998), pp. 293, 301.</ref> |
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== Varieties of humanism == |
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====Back to the sources==== |
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Early 20th century naturalists, who viewed their humanism as a religion and participated in church-like congregations, used the term "religious humanism". Religious humanism appeared mostly in the US and is now rarely practiced.{{sfn|Copson|2015|pp=3–4}} The [[American Humanist Association]] arose from religious humanism.{{sfnm|1a1=Wilson|1y=1974|1p=15|2a1=Copson|2y=2015|2pp=3–4}} The same term has been used by religious groups such as the [[Quaker]]s to describe their [[Christian humanism|humanistic theology]].{{sfn|Fowler|1999|p=20}} |
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[[File:Quentin Massys- Erasmus of Rotterdam.JPG|thumb|Portrait of [[Erasmus of Rotterdam]]]] |
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The term "Renaissance humanism" was given to a tradition of cultural and educational reform engaged in by civic and ecclesiastical chancellors, book collectors, educators, and writers that developed during the 14th and early 15th centuries. By the late 15th century, these academics began to be referred to as ''umanisti'' (humanists).{{sfn|Mann|1996|pp=1–2}} While modern humanism's roots can be traced in part to the Renaissance, the term "Renaissance humanism" does not meaningfully relate to humanism in the modern sense.{{sfn|Norman|2004|p=14}}{{sfn|Copson|2015|pp=2–3}} |
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The humanists' close study of [[Latin]] literary texts soon enabled them to discern historical differences in the writing styles of different periods. By analogy with what they saw as decline of Latin, they applied the principle of ''[[ad fontes]]'', or back to the sources, across broad areas of learning, seeking out manuscripts of [[Patristic]] literature as well as pagan authors. In 1439, while employed in [[Naples]] at the court of [[Alfonso V of Aragon]] (at the time engaged in a dispute with the Papal States) the humanist [[Lorenzo Valla]] used stylistic textual analysis, now called [[philology]], to prove that the [[Donation of Constantine]], which purported to confer temporal powers on the Pope of Rome, was an 8th-century forgery.<ref>More than 100 years earlier, Dante in the [[Divine Comedy]] (c. 1308–1321) had pinpointed the Donation of Constantine (which he accepted as genuine) as a great mistake and the cause of all the political and religious problems of Italy, including the corruption of the Church. Although Dante had thunderously attacked the idea that the Church could have temporal as well as spiritual powers, it remained to Valla to conclusively prove that the legal justification for such powers was spurious.</ref> For the next 70 years, however, neither Valla nor any of his contemporaries thought to apply the techniques of philology to other controversial manuscripts in this way. Instead, after the fall of the [[Byzantine Empire]] to the Turks in 1453, which brought a flood of Greek Orthodox refugees to Italy, humanist scholars increasingly turned to the study of [[Neoplatonism]] and [[Hermeticism]], hoping to bridge the differences between the Greek and Roman Churches, and even between Christianity itself and the non-Christian world.<ref>Ironically, it was a humanist scholar, [[Isaac Casaubon]], in the 17th century, who would use philology to show that the [[Corpus Hermeticum]] was not of great antiquity, as had been asserted in the 4th century by [[Saint Augustine]] and [[Lactantius]], but dated from the Christian era. See Anthony Grafton, ''Defenders of the Text: The Traditions of Scholarship in an Age of Science, 1450–1800'' (Harvard University Press, 1991).</ref> The refugees brought with them Greek manuscripts, not only of Plato and Aristotle, but also of the Christian Gospels, previously unavailable in the Latin West. |
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Other terms using "humanism" in their name include: |
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After 1517, when the new invention of printing made these texts widely available, the Dutch humanist [[Erasmus]], who had studied Greek at the Venetian printing house of [[Aldus Manutius]], began a philological analysis of the Gospels in the spirit of Valla, comparing the Greek originals with their Latin translations with a view to correcting errors and discrepancies in the latter. Erasmus, along with the French humanist [[Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples]], began issuing new translations, laying the groundwork for the Protestant Reformation. Henceforth Renaissance humanism, particularly in the German North, became concerned with religion, while Italian and French humanism concentrated increasingly on scholarship and philology addressed to a narrow audience of specialists, studiously avoiding topics that might offend despotic rulers or which might be seen as corrosive of faith. After the Reformation, critical examination of the Bible did not resume until the advent of the so-called [[Higher criticism]] of the 19th-century German [[Tübingen school]]. |
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*[[Christian humanism]]: the first humanism and a historical current in the late Middle Ages in which Catholic scholars combined Christian faith with interest in classical antiquity and a focus on human well-being.{{sfn|Wilson|1974|p=15}} |
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*Ethical humanism: a synonym of [[Ethical culture]], was prominent in the US in the early 20th century and focused on relations between humans. {{sfn|Wilson|1974|pp=15–16}} |
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*[[Scientific humanism]]: this emphasizes belief in the [[scientific method]] as a component of humanism as described in the works of [[John Dewey]] and [[Julian Huxley]]; scientific humanism is largely synonymous with secular humanism.{{sfn|Wilson|1974|p=16}} |
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*[[Secular humanism]]: coined in the mid-20th century, it was initially an attempt to denigrate humanism, but some humanist associations embraced the term.{{sfn|Copson|2015|p=2}} Secular humanism is synonymous with the contemporary humanist movement.{{sfn|Fowler|1999|pp=21–22}} |
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*[[Marxist humanism]]: one of several rival schools of [[Marxism|Marxist]] thought that accepts basic humanistic tenets such as secularism and naturalism, but differs from other strands of humanism because of its vague stance on democracy and rejection of free will.{{sfnm|1a1=Lamont|1y=1997|1pp=28–29|2a1=Davies|2y=1997|2pp=56–57}} |
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*Digital humanism: an emerging philosophical and ethical framework that seeks to preserve and promote human values, dignity, and well-being in the context of rapid technological advancements, particularly in the digital realm.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schmölz |first1=Alexander |title=Die Conditio Humana im digitalen Zeitalter: Zur Grundlegung des Digitalen Humanismus und des Wiener Manifests |journal=MedienPädagogik: Zeitschrift für Theorie und Praxis der Medienbildung |date=13 November 2020 |pages=208–234 |doi=10.21240/mpaed/00/2020.11.13.X |url=https://www.medienpaed.com/article/view/1144 |language=de |issn=1424-3636|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Werthner |first1=Hannes |last2=Prem |first2=Erich | last3=Lee |first3=Edward A.|last4= Ghezzi|first4=Carlo|editor-first1=Hannes |editor-first2=Erich |editor-first3=Edward A. |editor-first4=Carlo |editor-last1=Werthner |editor-last2=Prem |editor-last3=Lee |editor-last4=Ghezzi |publication-date=2022 |title=Perspectives on Digital Humanism |url= https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-86144-5 | access-date=17 September 2023| publisher=Springer |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-86144-5 |isbn=978-3-030-86144-5|s2cid=244480204 }}</ref> |
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These varieties of humanism are now largely of historical interest only. Some ethical movements continue (e.g. [https://ethical.nyc/ New York Society for Ethical Culture]) but in general humanism no longer needs any qualification "because the lifestance is by definition naturalistic, scientific, and secular".<ref>{{cite magazine |last= Doerr |first=Ed |date= 1 November 2022 |title= Humanism unmodified |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Humanism+unmodified.-a094226943 |magazine= [[The Humanist]] |location=[[Washington, DC]] |publisher= [[American Humanist Association]] |access-date= 14 December 2023}}</ref> However, according to [[Andrew Copson]] the view that there are still two types of humanism – religious and secular – "has begun to seriously muddy the conceptual water".{{sfn|Copson|2015|pp=2–3}} |
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====Consequences==== |
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== Philosophy == |
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The ''ad fontes'' principle also had many applications. The re-discovery of ancient manuscripts brought a more profound and accurate knowledge of ancient philosophical schools such as [[Epicureanism]], and [[Neoplatonism]], whose Pagan wisdom the humanists, like the Church fathers of old, tended, at least initially, to consider as deriving from divine revelation and thus adaptable to a life of Christian virtue.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Humanism|encyclopedia=Encyclopedic Dictionary of Religion|volume=F-N|page=1733|publisher=Corpus Publications|year=1979|isbn=0-9602572-1-7}} "Renaissance humanists rejoiced in the mutual compatibility of much ancient philosophy and Christian truths", M. A. Screech, ''Laughter at the Foot of the Cross'' (1997), p. 13.</ref> The line from a drama of [[Terence]], ''Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto'' (or with ''nil'' for ''nihil''), meaning "I am a human being, I think nothing human alien to me",<ref>''Homo'' in Latin specifically means "human being", in contrast to ''vir'', "man", and ''mulier'', "woman": Annabel Robinson, ''The Life and Work of Jane Ellen Harrison'' (Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 206; Tore Janson, ''A Natural History of Latin'' (Oxford University Press, 2004), p. 281; Timothy J. Moore, ''Roman Theatre'' (Cambridge University Press, 2012), p. 62 (note to the line in Terence); as a "watchword" for humanists, ''Humanism and the Humanities in the Twenty-First Century'', edited by William S. Haney and Peter Malekin (Associated University Presses, 2001), p. 171; similar ''homo sum'' declaration by Seneca, James Ker, ''The Deaths of Seneca'' (Oxford University Press, 2009), p. 193.</ref> known since antiquity through the endorsement of Saint Augustine, gained renewed currency as epitomising the humanist attitude. The statement, in a play modeled or borrowed from a (now lost) Greek comedy by Menander, may have originated in a lighthearted vein{{snds}}as a comic rationale for an old man's meddling{{snds}}but it quickly became a proverb and throughout the ages was quoted with a deeper meaning, by Cicero and Saint Augustine, to name a few, and most notably by [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]]. Richard Bauman writes: |
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Humanism is strongly linked to rationality.{{sfn|Law|2015|p=55}} For humanists, humans are reasonable beings, and reasoning and the scientific method are means of finding truth.{{sfn|Law|2015|p=58}} Humanists argue science and rationality have driven successful developments in various fields{{sfn|Law|2015|p=57}} while the invocation of supernatural phenomena fails to coherently explain the world. One form of irrational thinking is [[Adductive reasoning|adducing]]. Humanists are skeptical of explanations of natural phenomena or diseases that rely on hidden agencies.{{sfn|Law|2015|pp=57–61}} |
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<blockquote>''Homo sum: humani nihil a me alienum puto.'', I am a human being: and I deem nothing pertaining to humanity is foreign to me.</blockquote> |
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Human autonomy is another hallmark of humanist philosophy.{{sfn|Nida-Rümelin|2009|p=17}} For people to be autonomous, their beliefs and actions must be the result of their own reasoning.{{sfn|Nida-Rümelin|2009|p=17}} For humanists, autonomy dignifies each individual; without autonomy, people's humanity is lessened.{{sfn|Norman|2004|p=104}} Humanists also consider human essence to be universal, irrespective of race and social status, diminishing the importance of collective identities and signifying the importance of individuals.{{sfn|Nida-Rümelin|2009|pp=16–17}} |
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The words of the comic playwright P.{{nbsp}}Terentius Afer reverberated across the Roman world of the mid-2nd century BCE and beyond. Terence, an African and a former slave, was well placed to preach the message of universalism, of the essential unity of the human race, that had come down in philosophical form from the Greeks, but needed the pragmatic muscles of Rome in order to become a practical reality. The influence of Terence's felicitous phrase on Roman thinking about human rights can hardly be overestimated. Two hundred years later Seneca ended his seminal exposition of the unity of humankind with a clarion-call: |
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[[Immanuel Kant]] provided the modern philosophical basis of the humanist narrative. His theory of critical philosophy formed the basis of the world of knowledge, defending rationalism and grounding it in the empirical world.{{sfn|Walker|2020|pp=4–6}} He also supported the idea of the moral autonomy of the individual, which is fundamental to his philosophy. According to Kant, morality is the product of the way humans live and not a set of fixed values. Instead of a universal ethic code, Kant suggested a universal procedure that shapes the ethics that differ among groups of people.{{sfnm|1a1=Dierksmeier|1y=2011|1p=79|2a1=Rohlf|2y=2020|2loc=Morality and freedom}} |
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<blockquote>There is one short rule that should regulate human relationships. All that you see, both divine and human, is one. We are parts of the same great body. Nature created us from the same source and to the same end. She imbued us with mutual affection and sociability, she taught us to be fair and just, to suffer injury rather than to inflict it. She bid us extend our hands to all in need of help. Let that well-known line be in our heart and on our lips: ''Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto''." <ref>Bauman, ''Human Rights in Ancient Rome'', p. 1.</ref></blockquote> |
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Philosopher and humanist advocate [[Corliss Lamont]], in his book ''The Philosophy of Humanism'' (1997), states: |
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Better acquaintance with Greek and Roman technical writings also influenced the development of European science (see the [[history of science in the Renaissance]]). This was despite what [[A. C. Crombie]] (viewing the Renaissance in the 19th-century manner as a chapter in the heroic March of Progress) calls "a backwards-looking admiration for antiquity", in which Platonism stood in opposition to the [[Aristotelianism|Aristotelian]] concentration on the observable properties of the physical world.<ref>[[A. C. Crombie]], ''Historians and the Scientific Revolution'', p. 456 in ''Science, Art and Nature in Medieval and Modern Thought'' (1996).</ref> But Renaissance humanists, who considered themselves as restoring the glory and nobility of antiquity, had no interest in scientific innovation. However, by the mid-to-late 16th century, even the universities, though still dominated by Scholasticism, began to demand that Aristotle be read in accurate texts edited according to the principles of Renaissance philology, thus setting the stage for Galileo's quarrels with the outmoded habits of Scholasticism. |
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<blockquote>In the Humanist ethics the chief end of thought and action is to further this-earthly human interests on behalf of the greater glory of people. The watchword of Humanism is happiness for all humanity in this existence as contrasted with salvation for the individual soul in a future existence and the glorification of a supernatural Supreme Being ... It heartily welcomes all life-enhancing and healthy pleasures, from the vigorous enjoyments of youth to the contemplative delights of mellowed age, from the simple gratifications of food and drink, sunshine and sports, to the more complex appreciation of art and literature, friendship and social communion. {{sfn|Lamont|1997|p=248}}</blockquote> |
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==Themes== |
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Just as artist and inventor [[Leonardo da Vinci]]{{snds}}partaking of the ''[[zeitgeist]]'' though not himself a humanist{{snds}}advocated study of human [[anatomy]], nature, and weather to enrich Renaissance works of art, so Spanish-born humanist [[Juan Luis Vives]] (c. 1493–1540) advocated observation, craft, and practical techniques to improve the formal teaching of Aristotelian philosophy at the universities, helping to free them from the grip of Medieval Scholasticism.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gottlieb |first=Anthony |title=The Dream of Reason: a history of western philosophy from the Greeks to the Renaissance |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |location=New York |year=2000 |pages=410–11}}</ref> Thus, the stage was set for the adoption of an approach to [[natural philosophy]], based on [[empiricism|empirical]] observations and experimentation of the physical universe, making possible the advent of the age of scientific inquiry that followed the Renaissance.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Alleby |first=Brad |title=Humanism |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Science & Religion |volume=1 |edition=2nd |publisher=Macmillan Reference USA |year=2003 |pages=426–28 |isbn=0-02-865705-5}}</ref> |
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=== Morality === |
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It was in education that the humanists' program had the most lasting results, their curriculum and methods: |
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The humanist attitude toward morality has changed since its beginning. Starting in the 18th century, humanists were oriented toward an objective and universalist stance on ethics. Both [[Utilitarianism|Utilitarian philosophy]]—which aims to increase human happiness and decrease suffering—and [[Kantian ethics]]—which states one should act in accordance with maxims one could will to become a universal law—shaped the humanist moral narrative until the early 20th century. Because the concepts of free will and reason are not based on scientific naturalism, their influence on humanists remained in the early 20th century but was reduced by social progressiveness and egalitarianism.{{sfnm|1a1=Norman|1y=2004|1pp=98–105|2a1=Shook|2y=2015|2p=406}} As part of social changes in the late 20th century, humanist ethics evolved to support [[secularism]], civil rights, personal autonomy, religious toleration, [[multiculturalism]], and [[cosmopolitanism]].{{sfn|Shook|2015|pp=421–422}} |
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<blockquote>were followed everywhere, serving as models for the Protestant Reformers as well as the Jesuits. The humanistic school, animated by the idea that the study of classical languages and literature provided valuable information and intellectual discipline as well as moral standards and a civilised taste for future rulers, leaders, and professionals of its society, flourished without interruption, through many significant changes, until our own century, surviving many religious, political and social revolutions. It has but recently been replaced, though not yet completely, by other more practical and less demanding forms of education.<ref>Kristeller, "Humanism" in ''The Cambridge History of Renaissance Philosophy'', p. 114.</ref></blockquote> |
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A naturalistic criticism of humanistic morality is the denial of the existence of morality. For naturalistic skeptics, morality was not hardwired within humans during their evolution; humans are primarily selfish and self-centered.{{sfn|Shook|2015|pp=407–408}} Defending humanist morality, humanist philosopher [[John R. Shook]] makes three observations that lead him to the acceptance of morality. According to Shook, ''homo sapiens'' has a concept of morality that must have been with the species since the beginning of human history, developing by recognizing and thinking upon behaviors. He adds morality is universal among human cultures and all cultures strive to improve their moral level. Shook concludes that while morality was initially generated by our genes, culture shaped human morals and continues to do so. He calls "moral naturalism" the view that morality is a natural phenomenon, can be scientifically studied, and is a tool rather than a set of doctrines that was used to develop human culture.{{sfn|Shook|2015|pp=407–410 & 421}} |
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===From Renaissance to modern humanism=== |
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Humanist philosopher [[Brian David Ellis|Brian Ellis]] advocates a social humanist theory of morality called "social contractual utilitarianism", which is based on Hume's naturalism and empathy, Aristotelian virtue theory, and Kant's idealism. According to Ellis, morality should aim for [[eudaimonia]], an Aristotelian concept that combines a satisfying life with virtue and happiness by improving societies worldwide.{{sfn|Ellis|2010|pp=135–37}} Humanist [[Andrew Copson]] takes a consequentialist and utilitarian approach to morality; according to Copson, all humanist ethical traits aim at human welfare.{{sfn|Copson|2015|pp=21–22}} Philosopher [[Stephen Law]] emphasizes some principles of humanist ethics; respect for personal moral autonomy, rejection of god-given moral commands, an aim for human well-being, and "emphasiz[ing] the role of reason in making moral judgements".{{sfn|Law|2011|loc=Humanism and morality}} |
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Renaissance scholars associated with humanism were religious, but inveighed against the abuses of the Church, if not against the Church itself.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}} For them, the word [[Secularism#Overview|"secular"]] carried no connotations of disbelief{{snds}}that would come later, in the nineteenth century. In the Renaissance to be secular meant simply to be in the world rather than in a monastery. Petrarch frequently admitted that his brother Gherardo's life as a Carthusian monk was superior to his own (although Petrarch himself was in [[Minor Orders]] and was employed by the Church all his life). He hoped that he could do some good by winning earthly glory and praising virtue, inferior though that might be to a life devoted solely to prayer. By embracing a non-theistic philosophic base,<ref name="How Should We Then Live">{{cite book |last1=Schaeffer |first1=Francis A. |title=How Should We Then Live? |publisher=Crossway |isbn=978-1581345360 |pages=146–47}}</ref> however, the methods of the humanists, combined with their eloquence, would ultimately have a corrosive effect on established authority. |
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Humanism's godless approach to morality has driven criticism from religious commentators. The necessity for a divine being delivering sets of doctrines for morals to exist is a common argument; according to [[Dostoevsky]]'s character Ivan Karamázov in ''[[The Brothers Karamazov]]'', "if God does not exist, then everything is permitted".{{sfn|Norman|2004|p=86}} This argument suggests chaos will ensue if religious belief disappears.{{sfn|Norman|2004|p=86}} For humanists, theism is an obstacle to morality rather than a prerequisite for it.{{sfnm|1a1=Norman|1y=2004|1p=86|2a1=Shook|2y=2015|2pp=404–05}} According to humanists, acting only out of fear, adherence to dogma, and expectation of a reward is a selfish motivation rather than morality.{{sfn|Norman|2004|pp=89–90}} Humanists point to the subjectivity of the supposedly objective divine commands by referring to the [[Euthyphro dilemma]], originally posed by Socrates: "does God command something because it is good or is something good because God commands it?" If goodness is independent from God, humans can reach goodness without religion but [[relativism]] is elicited if God creates goodness.{{sfnm|1a1=Norman|1y=2004|1pp=88–89|2a1=Shook|2y=2015|2p=405}} Another argument against this religious criticism is the human-made nature of morality, even through religious means. The interpretation of holy scriptures almost always includes human reasoning; different interpreters reach contradictory theories.{{sfnm|1a1=Norman|1y=2004|1pp=87–88|2a1=Shook|2y=2015|2p=405}} |
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<blockquote> |
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Yet it was from the Renaissance that modern Secular Humanism grew, with the development of an important split between reason and religion. This occurred as the church's complacent authority was exposed in two vital areas. In science, Galileo's support of the Copernican revolution upset the church's adherence to the theories of Aristotle, exposing them as false. In theology, the Dutch scholar Erasmus with his new Greek text showed that the Roman Catholic adherence to Jerome's Vulgate was frequently in error. A tiny wedge was thus forced between reason and authority, as both of them were then understood.<ref>[[Os Guinness]], ''The Dust of Death: A Critique of the Establishment and the Counter Culture and the Proposal for a Third Way'' (Intervarsity Press, 1973) p. 5.</ref> |
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</blockquote> |
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=== Religion === |
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For some, this meant turning back to the Bible as the source of authority instead of the Catholic Church, for others it was a split from theism altogether. This was the main divisive line between the Reformation and the Renaissance,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schaeffer |first1=Francis A. |title=How Should We Then Live? |publisher=Crossway |isbn=978-1581345360 |pages=79–80}}</ref> which dealt with the same basic problems, supported the same science based on reason and empirical research, but had a different set of presuppositions (theistic versus naturalistic).<ref name="How Should We Then Live"/> |
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Humanism has widely been seen as antithetical to religion.{{sfn|Kline|2020|pp=224–225}} Philosopher of religion David Kline, traces the roots of this animosity since the Renaissance, when humanistic views deconstructed the previous religiously defined order. Kline describes several ways this antithesis has evolved. Kline notes the emergence of a confident human-made knowledge, which was a new way of [[epistemology]], repelled the church from its authoritative position. Kline uses the paradigm of non-humanists [[Copernicus]], [[Kepler]], and Galileo to illustrate how scientific discoveries added to the deconstruction of the religious narrative in favor of human-generated knowledge. This ultimately uncoupled the fate of humans from the divine will, prompting social and political shifts.{{sfn|Kline|2020|pp=225–232}} The relation of state and citizens changed as civic humanistic principles emerged; people were no longer to be servile to [[Divine right of kings|religiously grounded monarchies]] but could pursue their own destinies.{{sfn|Kline|2020|pp=230–236}} Kline also points at the aspects of personal belief that added to the hostility between humanism and religion. Humanism was linked with prominent thinkers who advocated against the existence of God using rationalistic arguments. Critique of theism continued through the humanistic revolutions in Europe, challenging religious worldviews, attitudes and superstitions on a rational basis—a tendency that continued to the 20th century.{{sfn|Kline|2020|pp=236–240}} |
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===19th and 20th centuries=== |
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According to Stephen Law, humanist adherence to secularism placed humans at odds with religion, especially nationally dominant religions striving to retain privileges gained in the last centuries. Worth notes religious persons can be secularists. Law notes secularism is criticized for suppressing freedom of expression of religious persons but firmly denies such accusation; instead, he says, secularism protects this kind of freedom but opposes the privileged status of religious views.{{sfn|Law|2015|loc=Humanism and secularism}} |
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The phrase the "religion of humanity" is sometimes attributed to American [[Founding Father]] [[Thomas Paine]], though as yet unattested in his surviving writings. According to Tony Davies: <blockquote>Paine called himself a ''theophilanthropist'', a word combining the Greek for "God", "love", and "humanity", and indicating that while he believed in the existence of a creating intelligence in the universe, he entirely rejected the claims made by and for all existing religious doctrines, especially their miraculous, transcendental and salvationist pretensions. The Parisian "Society of Theophilanthropy" which he sponsored, is described by his biographer as "a forerunner of the ethical and humanist societies that proliferated later" ... [Paine's book] the trenchantly witty ''Age of Reason'' (1793) ... pours scorn on the supernatural pretensions of scripture, combining Voltairean mockery with Paine's own style of taproom ridicule to expose the absurdity of a theology built on a collection of incoherent Levantine folktales.<ref>Tony Davies, ''Humanism'' (Routledge, 1997) pp.{{nbsp}}26–27.</ref></blockquote> |
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According to Andrew Copson, humanism is not incompatible with some aspects of religion. He observes that components like belief, practice, identity, and culture can coexist, allowing an individual who subscribes to only a few religious doctrines to also identify as a humanist.{{sfn|Copson|2015|p=25}} Copson adds that religious critics usually frame humanism as an enemy of religion but most humanists are proponents of [[religious tolerance]] or exhibit a curiosity about religion's effects in society and politics, commenting: "Only a few are regularly outraged by other people's false beliefs ''per se''".{{sfn|Copson|2015|pp=25–28|ps=: [[Stephen Law]] makes a similar argument in ''Humanism, a Very Short Introduction'' (2011) at page 23}} |
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Davies identifies Paine's '' [[The Age of Reason]]'' as "the link between the two major narratives of what [[Jean-François Lyotard]]<ref>In [[The Postmodern Condition|La Condition postmoderne]]</ref> calls the narrative of legitimation": the rationalism of the 18th-century ''[[Philosophes]]'' and the radical, historically based German 19th-century Biblical criticism of the [[Hegelian]]s [[David Friedrich Strauss]] and [[Ludwig Feuerbach]]. "The first is political, largely French in inspiration, and projects 'humanity as the hero of liberty'. The second is philosophical, German, seeks the totality and autonomy of knowledge, and stresses ''understanding'' rather than freedom as the key to human fulfilment and emancipation. The two themes converged and competed in complex ways in the 19th century and beyond, and between them set the boundaries of its various humanisms.<ref>Davies, ''Humanism'', p. 27.</ref> ''Homo homini deus est'' ("The human being is a god to humanity" or "god is nothing [other than] the human being to himself"), Feuerbach had written.<ref>Davies, ''Humanism'', p. 28.</ref> |
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=== The meaning of life === |
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Victorian novelist Mary Ann Evans, known to the world as [[George Eliot]], translated Strauss's ''Das Leben Jesu'' (''"The Life of Jesus"'', 1846) and Ludwig Feuerbach's ''Das Wesen Christianismus'' ("The Essence of Christianity"). She wrote to a friend: |
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In the 19th century, along with the decline of religion and its accompanied [[teleology]], the question of the [[meaning of life]] became more prominent.{{sfn|Norman|2015|pp=326–28}} Unlike religions, humanism does not have a definite view on the meaning of life.{{sfn|Norman|2015|p=341}} Humanists commonly say people create rather than discover meaning. While philosophers such as [[Nietzsche]] and [[Sartre]] wrote on the meaning of life in a godless world, the work of [[Albert Camus]] has echoed and shaped humanism. In Camus' ''[[The Myth of Sisyphus]]'', he quotes a Greek myth in which the absurd hero [[Sisyphus]] is destined to push a heavy rock up a hill; the rock slips back and he must repeat the task. Sisyphus is negating Gods and preset meanings of life, but argues that life has value and significance, and that each individual is able to create their meanings of life. Camus thus highlights the importance of personal agency and [[self-determination]] that lie at the centre of humanism.{{sfn|Norman|2015|pp=334–35}} |
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<blockquote>the fellowship between man and man which has been the principle of development, social and moral, is not dependent on conceptions of what is not man ... the idea of God, so far as it has been a high spiritual influence, is the ideal of goodness entirely human (i.e., an exaltation of the human).<ref>quoted in Davies (1997), p. 27.</ref></blockquote> |
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Personal humanist interpretations of the meaning of life vary from the pursuit of happiness without recklessness and excesses to participation in human history, and connection with loved ones, living animals, and plants.{{sfn|Norman|2015|p=341}}{{efn|To illustrate the importance of pursuing happiness without excesses, Andrew Copson quotes [[Epicurus]]: "When I say that pleasure is the goal of living I do not mean the pleasures of libertines ... I mean, on the contrary, the pleasure that consists of freedom from bodily pain and mental agitation. Pleasant life is not the product of one drinking party after another or sexual intercourse with women and young men or of the seafood and other delicacies afforded by the serious table. On the contrary, it is the result of sober thinking ... " Copson is citing 66 Epicurus, ''Letter to Menoeceus'', in ''The Art of Happiness'', trans. Strodach, p. 159.{{sfn|Copson|2015|p=15}}}} Some answers are close to those of religious discourse if the appeal to divinity is overlooked.{{sfn|Law|2011|loc= Chapter: The meaning of life, part: Humanism and the meaning of life}} According to humanist professor Peter Derks, elements that contribute to the meaning of life are a morally worthy purpose in life, positive self-evaluation, an understanding of one's environment, being seen and understood by others, the ability to emotionally connect with others, and a desire to have a meaning in life.{{sfn|Butler|2020|pp=2–3}} Humanist professor [[Anthony B. Pinn]] places the meaning of life in the quest of what he calls "complex subjectivity". Pinn, who is advocating for a non-theistic, humanistic religion inspired by African cultures, says seeking the never-reaching meaning of life contributes to well-being, and that rituals and ceremonies, which are occasions for reflection, provide an opportunity to assess the meaning of life, improving well-being.{{sfn|Butler|2020|pp=3–4}} |
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Eliot and her circle, who included her companion [[George Henry Lewes]] (the biographer of [[Goethe]]) and the [[abolitionism in the United Kingdom|abolitionist]] and social theorist [[Harriet Martineau]], were much influenced by the positivism of [[Auguste Comte]], whom Martineau had translated. Comte had proposed an atheistic ''culte'' founded on human principles{{snds}}a secular [[Religion of Humanity]] (which worshiped the dead, since most humans who have ever lived are dead), complete with holidays and liturgy, modeled on the rituals of what was seen as a discredited and dilapidated Catholicism.<ref>"Comte's secular religion is no vague effusion of humanistic piety, but a complete system of belief and ritual, with liturgy and sacraments, priesthood and pontiff, all organised around the public veneration of Humanity, the ''Nouveau Grand-Être Suprême'' (New Supreme Great Being), later to be supplemented in a positivist trinity by the ''Grand Fétish'' (the Earth) and the ''Grand Milieu'' (Destiny)". According to Davies (pp. 28–29), Comte's austere and "slightly dispiriting" philosophy of humanity viewed as alone in an indifferent universe (which can only be explained by "positive" science) and with nowhere to turn but to each other, was even more influential in Victorian England than the theories of Charles Darwin or Karl Marx.</ref> Although Comte's English followers, like Eliot and Martineau, for the most part rejected the full gloomy panoply of his system, they liked the idea of a religion of humanity. Comte's austere vision of the universe, his injunction to "''vivre pour altrui''" ("live for others", from which comes the word "[[altruism]]"),<ref>Davies, p. 29.</ref> and his idealisation of women inform the works of Victorian novelists and poets from George Eliot and [[Matthew Arnold]] to [[Thomas Hardy]]. |
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<gallery> |
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The British Humanistic Religious Association was formed as one of the earliest forerunners of contemporary chartered Humanist organisations in 1853 in London. This early group was democratically organised, with male and female members participating in the election of the leadership, and promoted knowledge of the sciences, philosophy, and the arts.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Morain |first1=Lloyd |last2=Morain |first2=Mary |title=Humanism as the Next Step |publisher=Humanist Press |year=2007 |location=Washington, D.C. |page=109 |url=http://aha-files.s3.amazonaws.com/63/226/Hum_as_the_Next_Step.pdf |isbn=978-0931779091 |lccn=97-74611}}</ref> |
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Happyman.svg|Organizations like [[Humanists International]] use the "[[Happy Human]]" symbol. |
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Giordano-Bruno-Stiftung Haus Weitblick.jpg|Home of [[Giordano Bruno Foundation]] in Germany. |
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Haam-friendly-atheists.jpg|Humanists, Atheists, & Agnostics of Manitoba (HAAM) booth in 2012. |
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London Pride 2023 (53079759015).jpg|[[Humanists UK]] in London Pride 2023. |
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</gallery> |
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==In public life== |
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In February 1877, the word was used pejoratively, apparently for the first time in America, to describe [[Felix Adler (Society for Ethical Culture)|Felix Adler]]. Adler, however, did not embrace the term, and instead coined the name "[[Ethical Culture]]" for his new movement {{snds}}a movement which still exists in the now Humanist-affiliated New York Society for Ethical Culture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nysec.org/sitemap/about-ethical-culture/history/ |title=History: New York Society for Ethical Culture |accessdate=6 March 2009 |year=2008 |publisher=New York Society for Ethical Culture }}</ref> In 2008, Ethical Culture Leaders wrote: "Today, the historic identification, Ethical Culture, and the modern description, Ethical Humanism, are used interchangeably."<ref>{{cite web|title=Ethical Culture |publisher=American Ethical Union |url=http://aeu.org/library/articles/Ethical_Culture.pdf |accessdate=23 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226081725/http://aeu.org/library/articles/Ethical_Culture.pdf|archive-date=26 February 2009 }}</ref> |
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=== In politics === |
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The hallmark of contemporary humanism in politics is the demand for secularism.{{sfn|Haworth|2015|pp=255–256}} Philosopher Alan Haworth said secularism delivers fair treatment to all citizens of a nation-state since all are treated without discrimination; religion is a private issue and the state should have no power over it.{{sfn|Haworth|2015|pp=259–261}} He also argues that secularism helps plurality and diversity, which are fundamental aspects of our modern world.{{sfn|Haworth|2015|pp=261–262}} While barbarism and violence can be found in most civilizations, Haworth notes religion usually fuels rhetoric and enables these actions. He also said the values of hard work, honesty, and charity are found in other civilizations. {{sfn|Haworth|2015|pp=263–66}} According to Haworth, humanism opposes the irrationality of [[nationalism]] and [[totalitarianism]], whether these are part of [[fascism]] or [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist–Leninist communism]].{{sfn|Haworth|2015|pp=263–77}} |
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According to professor Joseph O. Baker, in political theory, contemporary humanism is formed by two main tendencies; the first is [[individualism|individualistic]] and the second inclines to [[Collectivism and individualism|collectivism]]. The trajectory of each tendency can lead to [[libertarianism]] and [[socialism]] respectively, but a range of combinations exists. Individualistic humanists often have a philosophical perspective of humanism; in politics, these are inclined to libertarianism and in ethics tend to follow a scientistic approach. Collectivists have a more-applied view of humanism, lean toward socialism, and have a humanitarian approach to ethics.{{sfn|Baker|2020|pp=1–7}} The second group has connections with the thought of [[young Marx]], especially his anthropological views rejecting his political practices.{{sfn|Baker|2020|pp=8–9}} A factor that repels many humanists from the libertarian view is the neoliberal or capitalistic consequences they feel it entails.{{sfn|Baker|2020|pp=10–11}} |
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Active in the early 1920s, [[F.C.S. Schiller]] labelled his work "humanism" but for Schiller the term referred to the [[pragmatism|pragmatist]] philosophy he shared with [[William James]]. In 1929, [[Charles Francis Potter]] founded the First Humanist Society of New York whose advisory board included [[Julian Huxley]], [[John Dewey]], [[Albert Einstein]] and [[Thomas Mann]]. Potter was a minister from the [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]] tradition and in 1930 he and his wife, Clara Cook Potter, published ''Humanism: A New Religion''. Throughout the 1930s, Potter was an advocate of such liberal causes as, [[women’s rights]], access to [[birth control]], "civil divorce laws", and an end to capital punishment.<ref>{{cite web |last=Stringer-Hye |first=Richard |title=Charles Francis Potter |work=Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography |publisher=Unitarian Universalist Historical Society |url=http://wWorldWarII5.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/charlesfrancispotter.html |accessdate=1 May 2008}}</ref> |
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Humanism has been a part of both major 20th-century ideological currents—liberalism and Marxism. Early 19th-century socialism was connected to humanism. In the 20th century, a humanistic interpretation of Marxism focused on Marx's early writings, viewing Marxism not as "[[scientific socialism]]" but as a philosophical critique aimed at the overcoming of "[[Marx's theory of alienation|alienation]]". In the US, liberalism is associated mostly with humanistic principles, which is distinct from the European use of the same word, which has economical connotations.{{sfn|Nida-Rümelin|2009|pp=17–18}} In the post-1945 era, [[Jean-Paul Sartre]] and other French existentialists advocated for humanism, linking it to socialism while trying to stay neutral during the [[Cold War]].{{sfn|Soper|1986|pp=79–81}} |
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[[Raymond B. Bragg]], the associate editor of ''The New Humanist'', sought to consolidate the input of [[Leon Milton Birkhead]], [[Charles Francis Potter]], and several members of the Western Unitarian Conference. Bragg asked [[Roy Wood Sellars]] to draft a document based on this information which resulted in the publication of the ''[[Humanist Manifesto]]'' in 1933. Potter's book and the Manifesto became the cornerstones of modern humanism, the latter declaring a new religion by saying, "any religion that can hope to be a synthesising and dynamic force for today must be shaped for the needs of this age. To establish such a religion is a major necessity of the present." It then presented 15 theses of humanism as foundational principles for this new religion. |
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=== In psychology and counseling === |
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In 1941, the [[American Humanist Association]] was organised. Noted members of The AHA included [[Isaac Asimov]], who was the president from 1985 until his death in 1992, and writer [[Kurt Vonnegut]], who followed as honorary president until his death in 2007. [[Gore Vidal]] became honorary president in 2009. [[Robert Buckman]] was the head of the association in Canada, and is now an honorary president.{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}} |
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{{main|Humanistic psychology}} |
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After World War II, three prominent Humanists became the first directors of major divisions of the United Nations: [[Julian Huxley]] of [[UNESCO]], [[Brock Chisholm]] of the [[World Health Organization]], and [[John Boyd-Orr]] of the [[Food and Agriculture Organization]].<ref>[http://www.americanhumanist.org/publications/morain/chapter-8.html American Humanist Association] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020812090133/http://www.americanhumanist.org/publications/morain/chapter-8.html |date=12 August 2002 }}</ref> |
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Humanist counseling is humanism-inspired applied psychology, which is a major current of counseling. There are various approaches such as discussion and [[critical thinking]], replying to [[existential anxiety]], and focusing on social and political dimensions of problems.{{sfn|Schuhmann|2015|pp=173–82}} Humanist counseling focuses on respecting the client's worldview and placing it in the correct cultural context. The approach emphasizes an individual's inherent drive towards [[self-actualization]] and creativity. It also recognizes the importance of moral questions about one's interactions with people according to one's worldview. This is examined using a process of dialogue.{{sfn|Schuhmann|2015|pp=182–88}} Humanist counseling originated in post-World War II Netherlands.{{sfn|Schuhmann|2015|pp=173–74}} |
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Humanistic counseling is based on the works of psychologists [[Carl Rogers]] and [[Abraham Maslow]]. It introduced a positive, humanistic psychology in response to what Rogers and Maslow viewed as the over-pessimistic view of psychoanalysis in the early 1960s. Other sources include the philosophies of [[existentialism]] and [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]].{{sfn|Schuhmann|2015|pp=173–74}} |
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In 2004, [[American Humanist Association]], along with other groups representing agnostics, atheists, and other freethinkers, joined to create the [[Secular Coalition for America]] which advocates in Washington, D.C., for [[separation of church and state]] and nationally for the greater acceptance of nontheistic Americans. The Executive Director of Secular Coalition for America is Larry T. Decker. |
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Some modern counseling organizations have humanist origins, like the [[British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy]], which was founded by [[Harold Blackham]], which he developed alongside the [[Humanists UK|British Humanist Association]]'s Humanist Counselling Service.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://heritage.humanists.uk/harold-john-blackham/|title=Harold John Blackham|work=Humanist Heritage|publisher=[[Humanists UK]]|access-date=9 August 2022|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116171608/https://heritage.humanists.uk/harold-john-blackham/|url-status=live}}</ref> Modern-day humanist [[pastoral care]] in the UK and the Netherlands draws on elements of humanistic psychology.{{sfn|Savage|2021}} |
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==Types== |
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== Demographics == |
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===Scholarly tradition=== |
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====Renaissance humanists==== |
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{{main|Renaissance humanism}} |
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Demographic data about humanists is sparse. Scholar Yasmin Trejo examined the results of [[Pew Research Center]]'s 2014 Religious Landscape Study.{{sfn|Trejo|2020|pp=1–3}} Trejo did not use self-identification to measure humanists but combined the answers of two questions: "Do you believe in God or a universal spirit?" (she chose those who answered 'no') and "when it comes to questions of right or wrong, which of the following do you look to most for guidance?" (picking answers 'scientific information' and 'philosophy and reason'). According to Trejo, most humanists identify as atheist or agnostic (37% and 18%), 29% as "nothing in particular", while 16% of humanists identify as religious.{{sfn|Trejo|2020|p=8}} She also found most humanists (80%) were raised in a religious background. {{sfn|Trejo|2020|pp=11–12}} Sixty percent of humanists are married to non-religious spouses, while one quarter are married to a Christian.{{sfn|Trejo|2020|p=14}} There is a gender divide among humanists: 67 percent are male. Trejo says this can be explained by the fact that more males self-identify as atheist, while women have stronger connections to religion because of socialization, community influence, and stereotypes; some women, especially Catholic Latinas, are expected to be religious and many of them abide by their community expectations.{{sfn|Trejo|2020|p=16}} Other findings note the high level of education of most humanists, indicating a higher socioeconomic status.{{sfn|Trejo|2020|p=18}} The population of humanists is overwhelming non-Hispanic white; according to Trejo, this is because minority groups are usually very religious.{{sfn|Trejo|2020|p=19}} |
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"Renaissance humanism" is the name later given to a tradition of cultural and educational reform engaged in by civic and ecclesiastical chancellors, book collectors, educators, and writers, who by the late fifteenth century began to be referred to as ''umanisti''{{snds}}"humanists".<ref name=mann/> It developed during the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of scholastic university education, which was then dominated by Aristotelian philosophy and logic. [[Scholasticism]] focused on preparing men to be doctors, lawyers or professional theologians, and was taught from approved textbooks in logic, natural philosophy, medicine, law and theology.<ref>Craig W. Kallendorf, introduction to ''Humanist Educational Treatises'', edited and translated by Craig W. Kallendorf (Cambridge, Massachusetts and London England: The I Tatti Renaissance Library, 2002) p. vii.</ref> There were important centres of humanism at [[Florence]], [[Naples]], [[Rome]], [[Venice]], [[Mantua]], [[Ferrara]], and [[Urbino]]. |
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== Criticisms == |
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Humanists reacted against this utilitarian approach and the narrow pedantry associated with it. They sought to create a citizenry (frequently including women) able to speak and write with eloquence and clarity and thus capable of engaging the civic life of their communities and persuading others to virtuous and prudent actions. This was to be accomplished through the study of the ''[[humanitas|studia humanitatis]]'', today known as the [[humanities]]: grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry and moral philosophy.<ref><blockquote>Early Italian humanism, which in many respects continued the grammatical and rhetorical traditions of the [[Middle Ages]], not merely provided the old [[Trivium]] with a new and more ambitious name (''Studia humanitatis''), but also increased its actual scope, content and significance in the curriculum of the schools and universities and in its own extensive literary production. The ''studia humanitatis'' excluded logic, but they added to the traditional grammar and rhetoric not only history, Greek, and moral philosophy, but also made poetry, once a sequel of grammar and rhetoric, the most important member of the whole group. (Paul Oskar Kristeller, ''Renaissance Thought II: Papers on Humanism and the Arts'' [New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1965], p. 178.)</blockquote> See also Kristeller's ''Renaissance Thought I'', "Humanism and Scholasticism In the Italian Renaissance", ''Byzantion'' 17 (1944–45): 346–74. Reprinted in ''Renaissance Thought'' (New York: Harper Torchbooks), 1961.</ref> As a program to revive the cultural{{snds}}and particularly the literary{{snds}}legacy and moral philosophy of classical antiquity, Humanism was a pervasive cultural mode and not the program of a few isolated geniuses like [[François Rabelais|Rabelais]] or [[Erasmus]] as is still sometimes popularly believed.<ref>Vito Giustiniani gives as an example of an out-dated, but still pervasive view, that of Corliss Lamont, who described Renaissance Humanism as, "first and foremost a revolt against the otherworldliness of mediaeval Christianity, a turning away from preoccupation with personal immortality to make the best of life in this world. Renaissance writers like Rabelais and Erasmus gave eloquent voice to this new joy of living and to the sheer exuberance of existence. For the Renaissance the ideal human being was no longer the ascetic monk, but a new type – the universal man the many-sided personality delighting in every kind of this-earthly achievements. The great Italian artists, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, typified this ideal." (Giustiniani, "Homo, Humanus, and the Meanings of Humanism": 192.)</ref> |
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===Western and Christian=== |
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Criticism of humanism focus on its adherence to human rights, which some critics have called "Western". Critics say humanist values have become a tool of Western moral dominance, which is a form of [[neo-colonialism]] that leads to oppression and a lack of ethical diversity.{{sfn|Jakelić|2020|p=2}} Other critics, namely feminists, black activists, postcolonial critics, and gay and lesbian advocates, say humanism is an oppressive philosophy because it is not free from the biases of the white, heterosexual males who shaped it.{{sfn|Childers|Hentzi|1995|pp=140–41}} History professor [[Samuel Moyn]] attacks humanism for its connection to human rights. According to Moyn, the concept of human rights in the 1960s was a declaration of anti-colonial struggle, but that idea was later transformed into an impossible utopian vision, replacing the failing utopias of the 20th century. The humanist use of human rights rhetoric thus turns human rights into a moral tool that is impractical and ultimately non-political. He also notes a commonality between humanism and the Catholic discourse on human dignity.{{sfn|Jakelić|2020|pp=12–14}} |
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Anthropology professor [[Talal Asad]] argues humanism is a project of modernity and a secularized continuation of Western Christian theology. According to Asad, just as the Catholic Church passed the Christian doctrine of love to Africa and Asia while assisting in the enslavement of large parts of their population, humanist values have at times been a pretext for Western countries to expand their influence to other parts of the world to humanize "barbarians".{{sfn|Jakelić|2020|pp=3–6}} Asad has also said humanism is not a purely secular phenomenon but takes the idea of the essence of humanity from Christianity.{{sfn|Jakelić|2020|p=6}} According to Asad, Western humanism cannot incorporate other humanistic traditions, such as those from India and China, without subsuming and ultimately eliminating them.{{sfn|Jakelić|2020|pp=6–7}} |
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===Non-theistic worldviews=== |
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====Secular humanists==== |
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{{main|Secular humanism}} |
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Sociology professor [[Didier Fassin]] has stated that humanism's focus on empathy and compassion, rather than goodness and justice, is a problem.{{sfn|Jakelić|2020|pp=7–8}} According to Fassin, humanism originated in the Christian tradition, particularly the [[Parable of the Good Samaritan]], in which empathy is universalized. Fassin has also argued that humanism's central essence, the sanctity of human life, is a religious victory hidden in a secular wrapper.{{sfn|Jakelić|2020|pp=7–8}} |
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[[File:Happyman.svg|thumb|right|upright=0.25|The Humanist "happy human" logo]] |
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===Amoral and materialistic=== |
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Secular humanism is a comprehensive [[life stance]] or [[world view]] which embraces human [[reason]], [[metaphysical naturalism]], [[altruism|altruistic]] [[morality]] and [[distributive justice]], and consciously rejects [[supernatural]] claims, [[ethical monotheism|theistic]] [[faith]] and [[religiosity]], [[pseudoscience]], and [[superstition]].<ref name="americanhumanist">{{cite web |last=Edwords |first=Fred |title=What Is Humanism? |url=http://www.americanhumanist.org/who_we_are/about_humanism/What_is_Humanism |year=1989 |publisher=American Humanist Association |accessdate=19 August 2009 |quote=Secular Humanism is an outgrowth of eighteenth century enlightenment rationalism and nineteenth century freethought... Secular and Religious Humanists both share the same worldview and the same basic principles... From the standpoint of philosophy alone, there is no difference between the two. It is only in the definition of religion and in the practice of the philosophy that Religious and Secular Humanists effectively disagree. |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100130233229/http://www.americanhumanist.org/who_we_are/about_humanism/What_is_Humanism |archivedate=30 January 2010 |df=dmy-all }} A decidedly anti-theistic version of secular humanism, however, is developed by Adolf Grünbaum, 'In Defense of Secular Humanism' (1995), in his ''Collected Works'' (edited by Thomas Kupka), vol. I, New York: Oxford University Press 2013, ch. 6 (pp. 115{{ndash}}48)</ref><ref name="humaniststudies">{{cite web|title=Definitions of humanism (subsection)|publisher=Institute for Humanist Studies|url=http://humaniststudies.org/humphil.html |accessdate=16 January 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070118050402/http://humaniststudies.org/humphil.html|archive-date=18 January 2007 }} |
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The main criticism from [[Evangelicalism|evangelical Christians]], such as [[Tim LaHaye]], is that humanism destroys traditional family and moral values.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lahaye |first=Tim |date= 1980|title=Battle for the Mind|publisher=Baker Book House |isbn=978-0-8007-5043-5}}</ref> According to [[Corliss Lamont]], this criticism is a malicious campaign by religious fanatics, the so-called Moral Majority, who need a demonic scapegoat to rally its followers.<ref>Lamont, C. (1982) [https://www.corliss-lamont.org/philos8.pdf Introduction to the Sixth Edition. Exposing the Moral Majority]. In, The Philosophy of Humanism, Eighth Edition, Revised. pp.xiii-xv. Humanist Press.</ref> Other religious opponents scorn humanism by stating it is materialistic thereby diminishing humanity because it denies the spiritual nature and needs of man. Also, because the goal in life is the acquisition of material goods, humanism produces greed and selfishness.<ref> Waggoner, R.L. (1988) [https://www.thebible.net/biblicaltheism/materialface.htm The Material Face of Humanism]. TheBible.net.</ref> In response to this criticism Norman states that there is absolutely no reason why humanists should be committed to the view that the only things worth living for are 'material goods'. Such an accusation, he says, is based on a "sloppy" understanding of [[materialism]]. However, he does acknowledge a "tension" in humanism that because of its championing of scientific knowledge, it appears to be committed to a materialistic conception of human beings as physical systems and therefore as not much different from anything else in the universe.{{sfn|Norman|2012|pp=55–56}} |
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</ref> It is sometimes referred to as Humanism (with a capital H and no [[grammatical modifier|qualifying]] adjective). |
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===Vague and indefinable=== |
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The [[International Humanist and Ethical Union]] ([[IHEU]]) is the world union of 117 Humanist, rationalist, [[irreligious]], [[atheistic]], [[Brights movement|Bright]], [[secular]], [[Ethical movement|Ethical Culture]], and [[freethought]] organisations in 38 countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://iheu.org/story/humanist-movement-hits-new-high-membership |title=Humanist movement hits new high in membership. |publisher=iheu.org |date= |accessdate=11 April 2013}}</ref> The "[[Happy Human]]" is the official symbol of the IHEU as well as being regarded as a universally recognised symbol for secular humanism. |
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Humanism has frequently been criticised for its vagueness and the difficulty of defining the term. According to [[Paul Kurtz]], “Humanism is so charged with levels of emotion and rhetoric that its meaning is often vague and ambiguous”.{{sfn|Kurtz|1973|p=176}} For Giustiniani, “the meaning of ‘humanism’ has so many shades that to analyze all of them is hardly feasible”.{{sfn|Giustiniani|1985|p=165}} [[Nicolas Walter]] points out that most of the people in the past who have called themselves or been called humanists would reject many of today's tenets. The origins of humanism, he writes, “are so contradictory and confusing that it is often meaningless on its own”.<ref>Walter, Nicolas (1998) Humanism: Finding Meaning in the Word. Prometheus Books, p.15.</ref> [[Andrew Copson]] notes that the suggestion that there are two types of humanism – religious and secular – “has begun to seriously muddy the conceptual water”.{{sfn|Copson|2015|p=3}} According to Tony Davies, “the meaning of ‘humanism’ is the semantic tangle, or grapple, that makes its meaning so difficult to grasp”. {{sfn|Davies|1997|p=128}} For [[Sarah Bakewell]], humanism “is a semantic cloud of meanings and implications, none attachable to any particular theorist or practitioner”.<ref>Bakewell, Sarah (2023) Humanly Possible: Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking, Inquiry, and Hope. Penguin Press, New York, p.11.</ref> |
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Yet, the difficulty of defining humanism is not necessarily a problem. Davies avoids offering a definition, choosing instead “to stress the plurality, complexity and fluidity of meanings”.{{sfn|Davies|1997|p=125}} Jeaneane Fowler argues that humanism is indefinable precisely because of its “particular dynamism” and the acknowledged vagueness of the term “far from being a disadvantage, is an asset”.{{sfn|Fowler|1999|p=7}} |
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According to the IHEU's bylaw 5.1:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iheu.org/bylaws |title=IHEU's Bylaws |accessdate=5 July 2008 |publisher=International Humanist and Ethical Union}}</ref> |
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<blockquote>Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the [[natural and legal rights|right]] and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It is not [[theism|theistic]], and it does not accept [[supernatural]] views of reality.</blockquote> |
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===Antihumanism=== |
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{{main|Antihumanism}} |
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"Religious humanists" are non-superstitious people who nevertheless see ethical humanism as their religion, and who seek to integrate (secular) humanist ethical philosophy with congregational [[ritual]]s centred on human needs, interests, and abilities. Though practitioners of religious humanism did not officially organise under the name of "humanism" until the late 19th and early 20th centuries, non-theistic religions paired with human-centred ethical philosophy have a long history. A unified [[Ethical Culture]] movement was first founded in 1876; its founder, [[Felix Adler (Society for Ethical Culture)|Felix Adler]] was a former member of the [[Free Religious Association]], and conceived of Ethical Culture as a new religion that would retain the ethical message at the heart of all religions. Ethical Culture was religious in the sense of playing a defining role in people's lives and addressing issues of ultimate concern. Nowadays religious humanists in the United States are represented by organisations such as the [[American Ethical Union]], and will simply describe themselves as "ethical humanists" or "humanists". Secular humanists and religious humanists organise together as part of larger national and international groupings, and differentiate themselves primarily in their attitude to the promotion of humanist thinking. |
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Antihumanism is a philosophical theory that rejects humanism as a pre-scientific ideology.{{sfn|Soper|1986|pp=11–12}} This argument developed during the 19th and 20th centuries in parallel with the advancement of humanism. Prominent thinkers questioned the metaphysics of humanism and the human nature of its concept of freedom.{{sfn|Childers|Hentzi|1995|pp=140–41}} [[Nietzsche]], while departing from a humanistic, pro-Enlightenment viewpoint, criticized humanism for illusions on a number of topics, especially the nature of truth. According to Nietzsche, objective truth is an anthropomorphic illusion and humanism is meaningless,{{sfn|Davies|1997|pp=36–37}} and replacing theism with reason and science simply replaces one religion with another.{{sfn|Soper|1986|pp=12–13}} |
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Earlier attempts at inventing a secular religious tradition informed the Ethical Culture movement. The [[Cult of Reason]] ({{lang-fr|Culte de la Raison}}) was a religion based on [[deism]] devised during the [[French Revolution]] by [[Jacques Hébert]], [[Pierre Gaspard Chaumette]] and their supporters.<ref>{{cite web | title=War, Terror, and Resistance | url=http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/chap7c.html | accessdate=31 October 2006 }}</ref> In 1793 during the [[French Revolution]], the cathedral [[Notre Dame de Paris]] was turned into a "[[Temple of Reason]]" and for a time [[Liberty (goddess)|Lady Liberty]] replaced the Virgin Mary on several altars.<ref name="Herrick">James A. Herrick, "The Making of the New Spirituality", InterVarsity Press, 2004 {{ISBN|0-8308-3279-3}}, p. 75-76</ref> In the 1850s, [[Auguste Comte]], the Father of Sociology, founded [[Positivism]], a "religion of humanity".<ref name="Humanism as the Next Step">{{cite web | title=Humanism as the Next Step | url=http://www.americanhumanist.org/publications/morain/chapter-8.html | accessdate=25 June 2006 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060614195856/http://www.americanhumanist.org/publications/morain/chapter-8.html |archivedate = 14 June 2006}}</ref> One of the earliest forerunners of contemporary chartered humanist organisations was the Humanistic Religious Association formed in 1853 in London. This early group was democratically organised, with male and female members participating in the election of the leadership and promoted knowledge of the sciences, philosophy, and the arts.<ref name="Humanism as the Next Step"/> |
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According to [[Karl Marx]], humanism is a [[bourgeois]] project that inaccurately attempts to present itself as radical.{{sfn|Davies|1997|p=40}} After the atrocities of World War II, questions about human nature and the concept of humanity were renewed.{{sfn|Davies|1997|pp=50–52}} During the Cold War, influential Marxist philosopher [[Louis Althusser]] introduced the term "theoretical antihumanism" to attack both humanism and humanist-like socialist currents, eschewing more structural and formal interpretations of Marx. According to Althusser, Marx's early writings resonate with the humanistic idealism of Hegel, Kant, and Feuerbach, but Marx radically moved toward scientific socialism in 1845, rejecting concepts such as the essence of man.{{sfn|Davies|1997|pp=57–60}} |
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The distinction between so-called "ethical" humanists and "secular" humanists is most pronounced in the United States, although it is becoming less so over time. The philosophical distinction is not reflected at all in Canada, Latin America, Africa, or Asia, or most of Europe. In the UK, where the humanist movement was strongly influenced by Americans in the 19th century, the leading "ethical societies" and "ethical churches" evolved into secular humanist charities (e.g. the British Ethical Union became the British Humanist Association and later [[Humanists UK]]). In Scandinavian countries, "Human-etik" or "[[:no:humanetikk|humanetikk]]" (roughly synonymous with ethical humanism) is a popular strand within humanism, originating from the works of Danish philosopher [[Harald Høffding]]. The Norwegian Humanist Association belongs to this tendency, known as [[Human-Etisk Forbund]] (literally "Human-Ethical League"). Over time, the emphasis on ''human-etisk'' has become less pronounced, and today HEF promotes both "humanisme" and "human-etisk". In Sweden, the main Swedish humanist group [[Humanisterna]] ("Humanists") began as a "human-ethical association", like the Norwegian humanists, before adopting the more prevalent secular humanist model popular in most of Europe. Today the distinction in Europe is mostly superficial. |
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==Humanist organizations== |
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==Criticism== |
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[[File:Richard Dawkins speaking at the British Humanist Association Annual Conference.jpg|thumb|[[Richard Dawkins]] accepting the Services to Humanism award 2012 at the British Humanist Association Annual Conference]] |
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Humanist organizations exist in several countries. [[Humanists International]] is a global organization.{{sfn|Norman|2004|p=160}} The three countries with the highest numbers of Humanist International member organisations are the UK, India, and the US. The largest humanist organisation is the [[Norwegian Humanist Association]].<ref name="FutureLearn 2013">{{cite web | title=The global picture | website=FutureLearn | date=8 August 2013 | url=https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/humanist-lives/0/steps/55754 | access-date=10 February 2023}}</ref> [[Humanists UK]] – formerly the British Humanist Association – and the [[American Humanist Association]] are two of the oldest humanist organizations. |
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Polemics about humanism have sometimes assumed paradoxical twists and turns. Early 20th century critics such as [[Ezra Pound]], [[T. E. Hulme]], and [[T. S. Eliot]] considered humanism to be sentimental "slop" (Hulme){{Citation needed|date=September 2014}}<!--double check please--> or "an old bitch gone in the teeth" (Pound).<ref>Tony Davies, ''Humanism'' (Routledge, 1997) p. 48.</ref> [[Postmodernism|Postmodern]] critics who are self-described [[antihumanism|anti-humanists]], such as [[Jean-François Lyotard]] and [[Michel Foucault]], have asserted that humanism posits an overarching and excessively abstract notion of humanity or universal [[human nature]], which can then be used as a pretext for imperialism and domination of those deemed somehow less than human. "Humanism fabricates the human as much as it fabricates the nonhuman animal", suggests Timothy Laurie, turning the human into what he calls "a placeholder for a range of attributes that have been considered most virtuous among humans (e.g. rationality, altruism), rather than most commonplace (e.g. hunger, anger)".<ref>{{Citation |title=Becoming-Animal Is A Trap For Humans |first=Timothy |last=Laurie |journal=Deleuze and the Non-Human |year=2015 |url=https://www.academia.edu/10912960}} eds. Hannah Stark and Jon Roffe.</ref> Nevertheless, philosopher [[Kate Soper]]<ref>in ''Humanism and Anti-humanism (Problems of Modern European Thought)'' (La Salle, Illinois: Open Court Press, 1986, p. 128.</ref> notes that by faulting humanism for falling short of its own benevolent ideals, anti-humanism thus frequently "secretes a humanist rhetoric".<ref>quoted in Davies (1997) p. 49.</ref> |
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In 2015, London-based Humanists UK had around 28,000 members. Its membership includes some high-profile people such as [[Richard Dawkins]], [[Brian Cox (physicist)|Brian Cox]], [[Salman Rushdie]], [[Polly Toynbee]], and [[Stephen Fry]], who are known for their participation in public debate, promoting secularism, and objecting to state funding for faith-based institutions.{{sfn|Engelke|2015|pp=216–18}} Humanists UK organizes and conducts non-religious{{sfn|Engelke|2015|pp=216–21}} ceremonies for weddings, namings, comings of age, and funerals. |
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In his book, ''Humanism'' (1997), Tony Davies calls these critics "humanist anti-humanists". Critics of antihumanism, most notably [[Jürgen Habermas]], counter that while antihumanists may highlight humanism's failure to fulfil its emancipatory ideal, they do not offer an alternative emancipatory project of their own.<ref>Habermas accepts some criticisms leveled at traditional humanism but believes that humanism must be rethought and revised rather than simply abandoned.</ref> Others, like the German philosopher [[Heidegger]] considered themselves humanists on the model of the ancient Greeks, but thought humanism applied only to the German "race" and specifically to the Nazis and thus, in Davies' words, were anti-humanist humanists.<ref>"The antihhumanist Humanism of Heidegger and the humanist antihumanism of Foucault and Althusser" (Davies [1997]), p. 131.</ref> Such a reading of Heidegger's thought is itself deeply controversial; Heidegger includes his own views and critique of Humanism in Letter On Humanism. Davies acknowledges that after the horrific experiences of the wars of the 20th century "it should no longer be possible to formulate phrases like 'the destiny of man' or the 'triumph of human reason' without an instant consciousness of the folly and brutality they drag behind them". For "it is almost impossible to think of a crime that has not been committed in the name of human reason". Yet, he continues, "it would be unwise to simply abandon the ground occupied by the historical humanisms. For one thing humanism remains on many occasions the only available alternative to bigotry and persecution. The freedom to speak and write, to organise and campaign in defence of individual or collective interests, to protest and disobey: all these can only be articulated in humanist terms."<ref>Davies (1997), pp. 131–32</ref> |
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The American Humanist Association (AHA) was formed in 1941 from previous humanist associations. Its journal ''[[The Humanist]]'' is the continuation of a previous publication ''The Humanist Bulletin''.{{sfn|Morain|Morain|1998|p=100}} In 1953, the AHA established the "[[Humanist of the Year]]" award to honor individuals who promote science.{{sfn|Morain|Morain|1998|pp=105–12}} By the 1970s, it became a well-recognized organization, initiating campaigns for abortion rights and opposing discriminatory policies. This resulted in the organization becoming a target of the religious right by the 1980s.{{sfn|Morain|Morain|1998|pp=100–05}} |
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Modern humanists, such as [[Corliss Lamont]] or [[Carl Sagan]], hold that humanity must seek for truth through reason and the best observable evidence and endorse [[scientific skepticism]] and the [[scientific method]]. However, they stipulate that decisions about right and wrong must be based on the individual and common good, with no consideration given to metaphysical or supernatural beings. The idea is to engage with what is human.<ref>"Conscience, the sense of right and wrong and the insistent call of one's better, more idealistic, more social-minded self, is a social product. Feelings of right and wrong that at first have their locus within the family gradually develop into a pattern for the tribe or city, then spread to the larger unit of the nation, and finally from the nation to humanity as a whole. Humanism sees no need for resorting to supernatural explanations, or sanctions at any point in the ethical process" ({{Cite book |last=Lamont |first=Corliss |authorlink=Corliss Lamont |title=The Philosophy of Humanism, Eighth Edition |pages=252–53 |publisher=Humanist Press: Amherst, New York |year=1997 |isbn=0-931779-07-3}})</ref> The ultimate goal is human flourishing; making life better for all humans, and as the most conscious species, also promoting concern for the welfare of other sentient beings and the planet as a whole.<ref>See for example {{cite book |last=Kurtz |first=Paul |title=Humanist manifesto 2000 : a call for a new planetary humanism |year=2000 |publisher=Prometheus Books |location=Amherst, NY |isbn=157392783X}}</ref> The focus is on doing good and living well in the here and now, and leaving the world a better place for those who come after. In 1925, the English mathematician and philosopher [[Alfred North Whitehead]] cautioned: "The prophecy of [[Francis Bacon]] has now been fulfilled; and man, who at times dreamt of himself as a little lower than the angels, has submitted to become the servant and the minister of nature. It still remains to be seen whether the same actor can play both parts".<ref>''Science and the Modern World'' (New York: Simon and Schuster, [1925] 1997) p. 96.</ref> |
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==See also== |
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Sentientist philosophers criticise humanism for focusing too strongly, sometimes even exclusively, on the human species. They propose [[Sentientism]] as an extension of humanism that grants degrees of moral consideration to all [[Sentience|sentient]] beings - those capable of experiencing. Sentient beings include humans and most non-human animals and could potentially include artificial or alien intelligences. |
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{{columns-list|colwidth=20em| |
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== Humanistic psychology == |
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* [[Alternatives to the Ten Commandments]] – secular and humanist alternatives |
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{{main|Humanistic psychology}} |
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Humanistic psychology is a psychological perspective which rose to prominence in the mid-20th century in response to [[Sigmund Freud]]'s psychoanalytic theory and [[B. F. Skinner]]'s [[Behaviorism]]. The approach emphasizes an individual's inherent drive towards [[self-actualization]] and creativity. Psychologists [[Carl Rogers]] and [[Abraham Maslow]] introduced a positive, humanistic psychology in response to what they viewed as the overly pessimistic view of psychoanalysis in the early 1960s. Other sources include the philosophies of [[existentialism]] and [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]]. |
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==See also== |
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{{columns-list|colwidth=30em| |
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* [[Alternatives to the Ten Commandments]]{{snds}}Secular and humanist alternatives |
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* [[Amsterdam Declaration]] |
* [[Amsterdam Declaration]] |
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* [[Anthropocentrism]] |
* [[Anthropocentrism]] |
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* [[ |
* [[Community organizing]] |
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* [[Community organising]] |
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* [[Extropianism]] |
* [[Extropianism]] |
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* ''[[Existentialism Is a Humanism]]'', by [[Jean-Paul Sartre]] |
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* [[John N. Gray]] |
* [[John N. Gray]] |
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* [[History of the Humanist Movement in the Philippines]] |
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* [[Dignity|Human dignity]] |
* [[Dignity|Human dignity]] |
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* [[Humanist celebrant]] |
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* [[Humanistic Buddhism]] |
* [[Humanistic Buddhism]] |
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* [[ |
* [[Humanistic economics]] |
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* [[Humanist International]] |
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* [[Humanist Movement]] |
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* [[Humanistic psychology]] |
* [[Humanistic psychology]] |
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* [[Humanitas]] |
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* [[HumanLight]] |
* [[HumanLight]] |
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* [[Index of humanism articles]] |
* [[Index of humanism articles]] |
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* ''[[Letter on Humanism]]'' by [[Martin Heidegger]] |
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* [[List of humanists]] |
* [[List of humanists]] |
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* [[Marxist humanism]] |
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* [[Materialism]] |
* [[Materialism]] |
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* [[Misanthropy]] |
* [[Misanthropy]] |
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* [[Natural rights]] |
* [[Natural rights]] |
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* [[Objectivity (philosophy)]] |
* [[Objectivity (philosophy)]] |
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* [[Paideia]] |
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* [[Pluralistic Rationalism]] |
* [[Pluralistic Rationalism]] |
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* [[Post-theism]] |
* [[Post-theism]] |
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* [[Secular humanism]] |
* [[Secular humanism]] |
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* [[Sentientism]] |
* [[Sentientism]] |
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* [[Social psychology]] |
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* [[Soka Gakkai]] |
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* [[Unitarian Universalism]] |
* [[Unitarian Universalism]] |
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* [[Ubuntu (philosophy)|Ubuntu]] |
* [[Ubuntu (philosophy)|Ubuntu]] |
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}} |
}} |
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{{Portal bar|Human rights|Philosophy|Psychology|Religion}} |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
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{{notelist}} |
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{{Reflist|30em}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Refbegin|40em}} |
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{{Reflist|20em}} |
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* Bauman, Richard. ''Human Rights in Ancient Rome''. Routledge Classical Monographs, 1999 {{ISBN|0-415-17320-5}} |
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* Berry, Philippa and Andrew Wernick. ''The Shadow of Spirit: Post-Modernism and Religion''. Routledge, (1992) 2006. {{ISBN|0-415-06638-7}} |
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== Sources == |
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* [[Jacob Burckhardt|Burckhardt, Jacob]], [[s:The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy|Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy']] 1860. |
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* Christopher S. Celenza and Kenneth Gouvens, Editors. ''Humanism and Creativity in the Renaissance''. Leiden 2006, pp.{{nbsp}}295–326 {{ISBN|90-04-14907-4}} |
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{{Refbegin|30em}} |
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* Davies, Tony. ''Humanism'' ''The New Critical Idiom''. Drakakis, John, series editor. [[University of Stirling]], UK. Routledge, 1997 {{ISBN|0-415-11052-1}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Baker|first=Joseph O.|editor=[[Anthony B. Pinn]]|title=The Oxford Handbook of Humanism|url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190921538-e-7|year=2020|publisher=Pemberton|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.013.20|chapter=The Politics of Humanism|pages=1–20|isbn=978-0-19-092153-8|access-date=23 September 2021}} |
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* Ferguson, Wallace K. ''The Renaissance in Historical Thought. Five Centuries of Interpretation''. New York: Nachdruck: AMS, 1981 (Boston: Mifflin, 1948) |
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* {{cite |
* {{cite book|last=Barnes|first=Jonathan|author-link=Jonathan Barnes|title=Early Greek Philosophy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wtNQAQAAIAAJ|year=1987|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|isbn=978-0-14-044461-2|access-date=11 November 2022|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116172305/https://books.google.com/books?id=wtNQAQAAIAAJ|url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Blackham|first=H. J.|author-link=H. J. Blackham|editor=[[Paul Kurtz]]|title=The Humanist Alternative: Some Definitions of Humanism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=40IbAAAAMAAJ|year=1974|publisher=Pemberton|isbn=978-0-87975-013-8|chapter=A definition of humanism|access-date=8 July 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116172306/https://books.google.com/books?id=40IbAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}} |
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* Gay, Peter. ''Enlightenment: The Science of Freedom''. New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 1996 {{ISBN|0-393-31366-2}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Butler|first=Philip|editor=[[Anthony B. Pinn]]|title=The Oxford Handbook of Humanism|url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190921538-e-20|year=2020|publisher=Pemberton|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.013.20|chapter=Humanism and the Conceptualization of Value and Well-Being|pages=644–664|isbn=978-0-19-092153-8|access-date=20 July 2021|archive-date=1 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201235342/https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190921538-e-20|url-status=live}} |
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* [[Peter Gay|Gay, Peter]]. ''The Party of Humanity: Essays in the French enlightenment''. New York: [[W. W. Norton]] (1971). {{OCLC|11672592}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Cherry|first=Matt|author-link=Julian Nida-Rümelin|editor=Heiko Spitzeck|others=Shiban Khan, Ernst von Kimakowitz, Michael Pirson, Wolfgang Amann|title=Humanism in Business|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xmAjwS-Q9LEC|year=2009|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-89893-5|chapter=The Humanist Tradition|pages=26–51|access-date=16 July 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116172306/https://books.google.com/books?id=xmAjwS-Q9LEC|url-status=live}} |
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* Giustiniani, Vito. "Homo, Humanus, and the Meanings of Humanism", ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 46 (vol. 2, April{{spaced ndash}}June 1985): 167{{spaced ndash}}95. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080919015632/http://www.scribd.com/doc/5642760/Homo-Humanus-and-the-Meanings-of-Humanism] [https://web.archive.org/web/20080919015632/http://www.scribd.com/doc/5642760/Homo-Humanus-and-the-Meanings-of-Humanism] [https://web.archive.org/web/20080919015632/http://www.scribd.com/doc/5642760/Homo-Humanus-and-the-Meanings-of-Humanism] |
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* {{cite book|last1=Childers|first1=Joseph W.|last2=Hentzi|first2=Gary|title=The Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QvK83BCsC3cC|year=1995|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-07242-7|access-date=26 July 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116172307/https://books.google.com/books?id=QvK83BCsC3cC|url-status=live}} |
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* Grafton, Anthony. ''Bring Out Your Dead: The Past as Revelation''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004 {{ISBN|978-0-674-00468-9}} |
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* Schmitt, Charles B. and [[Quentin Skinner]], Editors. ''The Cambridge History of Renaissance Philosophy''. Cambridge, 1990. |
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* {{cite web |url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=humanism |title=Humanism |last=Harper |first=Douglas |date= |website=Online Etymological Dictionary |access-date=3 September 2022 |archive-date=16 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116173646/https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=humanism |url-status=live }} |
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{{Refend}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Jakelić|first=Slavica|editor=[[Anthony B. Pinn]]|title=The Oxford Handbook of Humanism|url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190921538-e-8|year=2020|publisher=Pemberton|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.013.8|chapter=Humanism and Its Critics|pages=264–293|isbn=978-0-19-092153-8|access-date=19 July 2021|archive-date=1 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201235437/https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190921538-e-8|url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite journal|last=Hardie|first=Glenn M|title=Humanist history: a selective review|journal=Humanist in Canada|issue=132|year=2000|pages=24–29, 38|publisher=Gale Academic OneFile|url=https://go.gale.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T002&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&hitCount=1&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosition=1&docId=GALE%7CA30400810&docType=Article&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=ZONE-Exclude-FT&prodId=AONE&pageNum=1&contentSet=GALE%7CA30400810&searchId=R1&userGroupName=wikipedia&inPS=true|access-date=27 July 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116173703/https://galeapps.gale.com/apps/auth?userGroupName=wikipedia&da=true&origURL=https%3A%2F%2Fgo.gale.com%2Fps%2Fretrieve.do%3FtabID%3DT002%26resultListType%3DRESULT_LIST%26searchResultsType%3DSingleTab%26hitCount%3D1%26searchType%3DBasicSearchForm%26currentPosition%3D1%26docId%3DGALE%257CA30400810%26docType%3DArticle%26sort%3DRelevance%26contentSegment%3DZONE-Exclude-FT%26prodId%3DAONE%26pageNum%3D1%26contentSet%3DGALE%257CA30400810%26searchId%3DR1%26userGroupName%3Dwikipedia%26inPS%3Dtrue&prodId=AONE|url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Haworth|first=Alan|editor=[[A. C. Grayling]]|others=[[Andrew Copson]]|title=The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Humanism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8BotCgAAQBAJ|date=2015|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-119-97717-9|chapter=Humanism and the Political Order|pages=255–279|access-date=2 July 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116172305/https://books.google.com/books?id=8BotCgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Hook|first=Sidney|author-link=Sidney Hook|editor=[[Paul Kurtz]]|title=The Humanist Alternative: Some Definitions of Humanism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=40IbAAAAMAAJ|year=1974|publisher=Pemberton|isbn=978-0-87975-013-8|chapter=The snare of definitions|access-date=8 July 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116172306/https://books.google.com/books?id=40IbAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Huang|first=Chun-chien|editor=[[Anthony B. Pinn]]|title=The Oxford Handbook of Humanism|url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190921538-e-7|year=2020|publisher=Pemberton|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.013.31|chapter=Humanism in East Asia|pages=1–29|isbn=978-0-19-092153-8|access-date=23 September 2021}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Hussain|first=Khuram|editor=[[Anthony B. Pinn]]|title=The Oxford Handbook of Humanism|url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190921538-e-7|year=2020|publisher=Pemberton|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.013.35|chapter=Humanism in the Middle East|pages=1–17|isbn=978-0-19-092153-8|access-date=23 September 2021}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Kline|first=David|editor=[[Anthony B. Pinn]]|title=The Oxford Handbook of Humanism|url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190921538-e-7|year=2020|publisher=Pemberton|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.013.20|chapter=Humanism Against Religion|pages=224–244|isbn=978-0-19-092153-8|access-date=23 September 2021}} |
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* {{cite journal | last=Kristeller | first=Paul Oskar | title=HUMANISM | journal=Minerva | publisher=Springer | volume=16 | issue=4 | year=1978 | issn=0026-4695 | eissn=1573-1871 | jstor=41820353 | pages=586–595 | doi=10.1007/BF01100334 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/41820353 | access-date=29 October 2022 | archive-date=16 January 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116174446/https://www.jstor.org/stable/41820353 | url-status=live }} |
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* {{cite book|last=Kristeller|first=Paul Oskar|title=The Cambridge Companion to Renaissance Philosophy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KHWXF1uTVZUC|date=2008|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-82748-5|chapter=Humanism|pages=111–138|editor1=C. B. Schmitt|editor2=[[Quentin Skinner]]|editor3=Eckhard Kessler|editor4=Jill Kraye|access-date=9 July 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116174502/https://books.google.com/books?id=KHWXF1uTVZUC|url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite book |last=Kurtz |first=P. | editor=[[Paul Kurtz]] |title=The Humanist Alternative: Some Definitions of Humanism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=40IbAAAAMAAJ |year=1973 |publisher=Pemberton |isbn=0301-73041-5 |chapter=Epilogue: Is Everyone a Humanist? |access-date=22 September 2023}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Monfasani|first=John|title=The Oxford Handbook of Humanism|url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190921538|date=2020|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|chapter=Humanism and the Renaissance|editor=[[Anthony B. Pinn]]|pages=150–175|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.013.30|isbn=978-0-19-092153-8|access-date=19 July 2021}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Ljamai|first=Abdelilah|editor=[[A. C. Grayling]]|others=[[Andrew Copson]]|title=The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Humanism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8BotCgAAQBAJ|date=2015|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-119-97717-9|chapter=Humanistic Thought in the Islamic World of the Middle Ages|pages=153–169|access-date=2 July 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116172305/https://books.google.com/books?id=8BotCgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Law|first=Stephen|author-link=Stephen Law|title=Humanism: A Very Short Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xa7KOJvM2MMC&pg=PT12|date=2011|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-161400-2|access-date=27 May 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116174510/https://books.google.com/books?id=Xa7KOJvM2MMC&pg=PT12|url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Law|first=Stephen|author-link=Stephen Law|editor=[[A. C. Grayling]]|others=[[Andrew Copson]]|title=The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Humanism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8BotCgAAQBAJ|date=2015|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-119-97717-9|chapter=Science, Reason, and Scepticism|pages=55–71|access-date=2 July 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116172305/https://books.google.com/books?id=8BotCgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Lamont|first=Corliss|author-link=Corliss Lamont|title=The Philosophy of Humanism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JOpLPVHccEEC|year=1997|publisher=Continuum|isbn=978-0-8044-6379-9|access-date=19 July 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116175043/https://books.google.com/books?id=JOpLPVHccEEC|url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite book|last1=Mann|first1=Nicholas|author-link1=Nicholas Mann (academic)|editor=Jill Kraye|title=The Cambridge Companion to Renaissance Humanism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nyi9_Y4375YC|date=1996|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-43624-3|chapter=The origins of humanism|access-date=15 July 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116175042/https://books.google.com/books?id=Nyi9_Y4375YC|url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Masolo|first=D.A.|editor=[[Anthony B. Pinn]]|title=The Oxford Handbook of Humanism|url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190921538-e-7|year=2020|publisher=Pemberton|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.013.28|chapter=Humanism in Africa|pages=1–30|isbn=978-0-19-092153-8|access-date=23 September 2021}} |
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* {{cite book|last1=Morain|first1=Lloyd|author-link1=Lloyd Morain|last2=Morain|first2=Mary|author-link2=Mary Morain|title=Humanism as the Next Step|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uN3WAAAAMAAJ|year=1998|publisher=Humanist Press|isbn=978-0-931779-09-1|access-date=15 July 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116175052/https://books.google.com/books?id=uN3WAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite journal|last=Nederman|first=Cary|title=Civic Humanism|website=[[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]|date=8 September 2020|edition=Fall 2020|editor=[[Edward N. Zalta]]|url=https://stanford.library.sydney.edu.au/archives/spr2019/entries/humanism-civic/|access-date=12 September 2021|archive-date=12 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210912175044/https://stanford.library.sydney.edu.au/archives/spr2019/entries/humanism-civic/|url-status=dead}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Nida-Rümelin|first=Julian|author-link=Julian Nida-Rümelin|editor=Heiko Spitzeck|others=Shiban Khan, Ernst von Kimakowitz, Michael Pirson, Wolfgang Amann|title=Humanism in Business|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xmAjwS-Q9LEC|date=2009|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-89893-5|chapter=Philosophical grounds of humanism in economics|access-date=16 July 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116172306/https://books.google.com/books?id=xmAjwS-Q9LEC|url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Norman|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Norman (philosopher)|title=On Humanism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W-isAgAAQBAJ|year=2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-70659-2|access-date=2 July 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116175136/https://books.google.com/books?id=W-isAgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Norman|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Norman (philosopher)|title=On Humanism. Second Edition.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W-isAgAAQBAJ|year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-70659-2|access-date=15 September 2023}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Norman|first=Richard|editor=[[A. C. Grayling]]|others=[[Andrew Copson]]|title=The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Humanism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8BotCgAAQBAJ|date=2015|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-119-97717-9|chapter=Life Without Meaning?|pages=325–246|access-date=2 July 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116172305/https://books.google.com/books?id=8BotCgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite web|last=Rohlf|first=Michael|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant/|title=Immanuel Kant|publisher=[[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]|year=2020|editor=[[Edward N. Zalta]]|access-date=1 December 2021|archive-date=23 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023075000/https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socrates/|url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite journal|last=Savage|first=David|date=2021|title=The Development of Non-Religious Pastoral Support in the UK |journal=Religions |volume=12 |issue=10 |page=812 |doi=10.3390/rel12100812|doi-access=free }} |
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* {{cite book|last=Schröder|first=Stefan|editor=[[Anthony B. Pinn]]|title=The Oxford Handbook of Humanism|url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190921538-e-7|year=2020|publisher=Pemberton|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.013.32|chapter=Humanism in Europe|pages=1–24|isbn=978-0-19-092153-8|access-date=23 September 2021}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Schuhmann|first=Carmen|editor=[[A. C. Grayling]]|others=[[Andrew Copson]]|title=The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Humanism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8BotCgAAQBAJ|date=2015|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-119-97717-9|chapter=Counselling and the Humanist Worldview|pages=173–193|access-date=2 July 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116172305/https://books.google.com/books?id=8BotCgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Shook|first=John R|editor=[[A. C. Grayling]]|others=[[Andrew Copson]]|title=The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Humanism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8BotCgAAQBAJ|year=2015|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-119-97717-9|chapter=Humanism, Moral Relativism, and Ethical Objectivity|pages=403–425|access-date=2 July 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116172305/https://books.google.com/books?id=8BotCgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Soper|first=Kate|author-link=Kate Soper|title=Humanism and Anti-humanism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=brPuAAAAMAAJ|year=1986|publisher=Open Court|isbn=978-0-8126-9017-0|access-date=26 July 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116175400/https://books.google.com/books?id=brPuAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Trejo|first=A.G. Yasmin|editor=[[Anthony B. Pinn]]|title=The Oxford Handbook of Humanism|url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190921538-e-7|year=2020|publisher=Pemberton|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.013.15|chapter=Changing demographics of humanism|pages=1–25|isbn=978-0-19-092153-8|access-date=23 September 2021}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Walker|first=Corey D. B.|editor=[[Anthony B. Pinn]]|title=The Oxford Handbook of Humanism|url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190921538-e-7|year=2020|publisher=Pemberton|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.013.17|chapter=Humanism and the Modern Age|pages=1–18|isbn=978-0-19-092153-8|access-date=23 September 2021}} |
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* {{cite book|last=White|first=Carol Wyene|editor=[[Anthony B. Pinn]]|title=The Oxford Handbook of Humanism|url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190921538-e-7|year=2020|publisher=Pemberton|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190921538.013.11|chapter=Humanism in the Americas|pages=1–40|isbn=978-0-19-092153-8|access-date=23 September 2021}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Wilson|first=Edwin H.|author-link=Edwin H. Wilson|editor=[[Paul Kurtz]]|title=The Humanist Alternative: Some Definitions of Humanism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=40IbAAAAMAAJ|year=1974|publisher=Pemberton|isbn=978-0-87975-013-8|chapter=Humanism's many definitions|access-date=8 July 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116172306/https://books.google.com/books?id=40IbAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Yao|first=Xinzhong|title=An Introduction to Confucianism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tAE2OJ9bPG0C&pg=PA45|date=2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-64430-3|pages=15–25|access-date=6 July 2021|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116175659/https://books.google.com/books?id=tAE2OJ9bPG0C&pg=PA45|url-status=live}} |
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{{refend}} |
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==Further reading== |
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* {{cite book|last=Cummings|first=Dolan |title=Debating Humanism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eXjZCgAAQBAJ|year=2018|publisher=Andrews UK Limited|isbn=978-1-84540-690-5}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Dacey|first=Austin|author-link=Austin Dacey|title=The Case for Humanism An Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qditj8AiR0sC|year=2003|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7425-1393-8}} |
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* {{cite book | last=Gay | first=Peter|author-link=Peter Gay| title=The Party of Humanity: Essays in the French Enlightenment | publisher=Knopf | series=Borzoi book | year=1964 | isbn=978-90-10-04434-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QhtDAAAAIAAJ | access-date=24 October 2022}} |
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* {{cite book | last=Levi | first=Albert William |author-link=Albert William Levi| title=Humanism & Politics: Studies in the Relationship of Power and Value in the Western Tradition | publisher=Indiana University Press | year=1969 | isbn=978-0-253-13900-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M0A1AAAAIAAJ | access-date=20 October 2022}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Proctor|first=Robert E. |title=Defining the Humanities: How Rediscovering a Tradition Can Improve Our Schools : with a Curriculum for Today's Students|url=|year=1998|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-33421-3}} |
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* {{cite book |last=Ranisch |first=Robert |title=Post- and transhumanism: an introduction |publisher=Peter Lang |year=2014 |location=Frankfurt am Main |isbn=9783631606629}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Rockmore|first=Tom |author-link=Tom Rockmore|title=Heidegger and French Philosophy: Humanism, Antihumanism, and Being|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QTM09F0tkosC|year=1995|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-11181-2}} |
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* {{cite book | last=Wernick | first=A. | title=Auguste Comte and the Religion of Humanity: The Post-theistic Program of French Social Theory | publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] | year=2001 | isbn=978-0-521-66272-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VO0WK7iDWwIC | access-date=24 October 2022}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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{{Spoken Wikipedia|Humanism.ogg|2008 |
{{Spoken Wikipedia|Humanism.ogg|date=6 November 2008}} |
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{{Wiktionary}} |
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{{Commons category|Humanism}} |
{{Commons category|Humanism}} |
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* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Humanism |volume=13 |short=x}} |
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* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00547bk ''In Our Time'' with Melvyn Bragg. Humanism]. BBC Radio discussion with Tony Davies, Department of English, University of Birmingham; Lisa Jardine, Professor of Renaissance Studies, Queen Mary College, University of London and Honorary Fellow of Kings College Cambridge; Simon Goldhill, Reader in Greek Literature and Culture at Kings College Cambridge. |
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* [http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Humanism/ Humanism at the Open Directory Project. A web portal to Humanist Societies.] |
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* [http://www.corliss-lamont.org/philos8.htm ''The Philosophy of Humanism''] by [[Corliss Lamont]] |
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* [http://www.americanhumanist.org/ ''American Humanist Association''] |
* [http://www.americanhumanist.org/ ''American Humanist Association''] |
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* [http://www.iheu.org/ ''International Humanist and Ethical Union''] |
* [http://www.iheu.org/ ''International Humanist and Ethical Union''] |
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* [https://www.humanism.org.uk/ ''Humanists UK''] |
* [https://www.humanism.org.uk/ ''Humanists UK''] |
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* https://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/42028/1/2010_Del-Olmo_Teoria_Humanismo_I.pdf |
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Latest revision as of 14:13, 24 December 2024
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Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "humanism" has changed according to successive intellectual movements that have identified with it. During the Italian Renaissance, ancient works inspired Catholic Italian scholars, giving rise to the Renaissance humanism movement. During the Age of Enlightenment, humanistic values were reinforced by advances in science and technology, giving confidence to humans in their exploration of the world. By the early 20th century, organizations dedicated to humanism flourished in Europe and the United States, and have since expanded worldwide. In the early 21st century, the term generally denotes a focus on human well-being and advocates for human freedom, autonomy, and progress. It views humanity as responsible for the promotion and development of individuals, espouses the equal and inherent dignity of all human beings, and emphasizes a concern for humans in relation to the world. Humanists tend to advocate for human rights, free speech, progressive policies, and democracy.
Starting in the 20th century, some humanist movements are non-religious and aligned with secularism. Most frequently in contemporary usage, humanism refers to a non-theistic view centered on human agency, and a reliance only on science and reason rather than revelation from a divine source to understand the world. A non-theistic humanist worldview asserts that religion is not a precondition of morality, and objects to excessive religious entanglement with education and the state.
Contemporary humanist organizations work under the umbrella of Humanists International. Well-known humanist associations include Humanists UK and the American Humanist Association.
Etymology
The word "humanism" derives from the Latin word humanitas, which was first used in ancient Rome by Cicero and other thinkers to describe values related to liberal education.[1] This etymology survives in the modern university concept of the humanities—the arts, philosophy, history, literature, and related disciplines. The word reappeared during the Italian Renaissance as umanista and entered the English language in the 16th century.[2] The word "humanist" was used to describe a group of students of classical literature and those advocating for a classical education.[3]
In 1755, in Samuel Johnson's influential A Dictionary of the English Language, the word humanist is defined as a philologer or grammarian, derived from the French word humaniste.[a] In a later edition of the dictionary, the meaning "a term used in the schools of Scotland" was added.[4] In the 1780s, Thomas Howes was one of Joseph Priestley's many opponents during the celebrated Unitarian disputes.[5] Because of the different doctrinal meanings of Unitarian and Unitarianism, Howes used "the more precise appellations of humanists and humanism" when referring to those like Priestley "who maintain the mere humanity of Christ".[6][2] This theological origin of humanism is considered obsolete.[7][b]
In the early 19th century, the term humanismus was used in Germany with several meanings and from there, it re-entered the English language with two distinct denotations; an academic term linked to the study of classic literature and a more-common use that signified a non-religious approach to life contrary to theism.[11] It is probable Bavarian theologian Friedrich Immanuel Niethammer coined the term humanismus to describe the new classical curriculum he planned to offer in German secondary schools.[12] Soon, other scholars such as Georg Voigt and Jacob Burckhardt adopted the term.[13] In the 20th century, the word was further refined, acquiring its contemporary meaning of a naturalistic approach to life, and a focus on the well-being and freedom of humans.[14]
Definition
There is no single, widely accepted definition of humanism, and scholars have given different meanings to the term.[15] For philosopher Sidney Hook, writing in 1974, humanists are opposed to the imposition of one culture in some civilizations, do not belong to a church or established religion, do not support dictatorships, and do not justify the use of violence for social reforms. Hook also said humanists support the elimination of hunger and improvements to health, housing, and education.[16] In the same edited collection, Humanist philosopher H. J. Blackham argued humanism is a concept focusing on improving humanity's social conditions by increasing the autonomy and dignity of all humans.[17] In 1999, Jeaneane D. Fowler said the definition of humanism should include a rejection of divinity, and an emphasis on human well-being and freedom. She also noted there is a lack of a shared belief system or doctrine but, in general, humanists aim for happiness and self-fulfillment.[18]
In 2015, prominent humanist Andrew Copson defined humanism as follows:
- Humanism is naturalistic in its understanding of the universe; science and free inquiry will help us comprehend more about the universe.
- This scientific approach does not reduce humans to anything less than human beings.
- Humanists place importance of the pursuit of a self-defined, meaningful, and happy life.
- Humanism is moral; morality is a way for humans to improve their lives.
- Humanists engage in practical action to improve personal and social conditions.[19]
According to the International Humanist and Ethical Union:
Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality.[20]
Dictionaries define humanism as a worldview or philosophical stance. According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, humanism is " ... a doctrine, attitude, or way of life centered on human interests or values; especially: a philosophy that usually rejects supernaturalism and stresses an individual's dignity and worth and capacity for self-realization through reason".[21]
History
Predecessors
Traces of humanism can be found in ancient Greek philosophy.[22] Pre-Socratic philosophers were the first Western philosophers to attempt to explain the world in terms of human reason and natural law without relying on myth, tradition, or religion.[23] Protagoras, who lived in Athens c. 440 BCE, put forward some fundamental humanist ideas, although only fragments of his work survive. He made one of the first agnostic statements; according to one fragment: "About the gods I am able to know neither that they exist nor that they do not exist nor of what kind they are in form: for many things prevent me for knowing this, its obscurity and the brevity of man's life".[24] Socrates spoke of the need to "know thyself"; his thought changed the focus of then-contemporary philosophy from nature to humans and their well-being.[25] He was a theist executed for atheism, who investigated the nature of morality by reasoning.[26] Aristotle (384–322 BCE) taught rationalism and a system of ethics based on human nature that also parallels humanist thought.[27] In the third century BCE, Epicurus developed an influential, human-centered philosophy that focused on achieving eudaimonia. Epicureans continued Democritus' atomist theory—a materialistic theory that suggests the fundamental unit of the universe is an indivisible atom. Human happiness, living well, friendship, and the avoidance of excesses were the key ingredients of Epicurean philosophy that flourished in and beyond the post-Hellenic world.[27] It is a repeated view among scholars that the humanistic features of ancient Greek thought are the roots of humanism 2,000 years later.[28]
Other predecessor movements that sometimes use the same or equivalent vocabulary to modern Western humanism can be found in Chinese philosophy and religions such as Taoism and Confucianism.[29]
Arabic translations of Ancient Greek literature during the Abbasid Caliphate in the eighth and ninth centuries influenced Islamic philosophers. Many medieval Muslim thinkers pursued humanistic, rational, and scientific discourse in their search for knowledge, meaning, and values. A wide range of Islamic writings on love, poetry, history, and philosophical theology show medieval Islamic thought was open to humanistic ideas of individualism, occasional secularism, skepticism, liberalism, and free speech; schools were established at Baghdad, Basra and Isfahan.[30]
Renaissance
The intellectual movement later known as Renaissance humanism first appeared in Italy and has greatly influenced both contemporaneous and modern Western culture.[31] Renaissance humanism emerged in Italy and a renewed interest in literature and the arts occurred in 13th-century Italy, with Florence as a key center of activity.[32] Italian scholars discovered Ancient Greek thought, particularly that of Aristotle, through Arabic translations from Africa and Spain.[33] Other centers were Verona, Naples, and Avignon.[34] Petrarch, who is often referred to as the father of humanism, is a significant figure.[35] Petrarch was raised in Avignon; he was inclined toward education at a very early age and studied alongside his well-educated father. Petrarch's enthusiasm for ancient texts led him to discover manuscripts such as Cicero's Pro Archia and Pomponius Mela's De Chorographia that were influential in the development of the Renaissance.[36] Petrarch wrote Latin poems such as Canzoniere and De viris illustribus, in which he described humanist ideas.[37] His most-significant contribution was a list of books outlining the four major disciplines—rhetoric, moral philosophy, poetry, and grammar—that became the basis of humanistic studies (studia humanitatis). Petrarch's list relied heavily on ancient writers, especially Cicero.[38]
The revival of classicist authors continued after Petrarch's death. Florence chancellor and humanist Coluccio Salutati made his city a prominent center of Renaissance humanism; his circle included other notable humanists—including Leonardo Bruni, who rediscovered, translated, and popularized ancient texts.[39] Humanists heavily influenced education.[40] Vittorino da Feltre and Guarino Veronese created schools based on humanistic principles; their curriculum was widely adopted and by the 16th century, humanistic paideia was the dominant outlook of pre-university education.[41] Parallel with advances in education, Renaissance humanists made progress in fields such as philosophy, mathematics, and religion. In philosophy, Angelo Poliziano, Nicholas of Cusa, and Marsilio Ficino further contributed to the understanding of ancient classical philosophers and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola undermined the dominance of Aristotelian philosophy by revitalizing Sextus Empiricus' skepticism. Religious studies were affected by the growth of Renaissance humanism when Pope Nicholas V initiated the translation of Hebrew and Greek biblical texts, and other texts in those languages, to contemporaneous Latin.[42]
Humanist values spread from Italy in the 15th century. Students and scholars went to Italy to study before returning to their homelands carrying humanistic messages. Printing houses dedicated to ancient texts were established in Venice, Basel, and Paris.[41] By the end of the 15th century, the center of humanism had shifted from Italy to northern Europe, with Erasmus of Rotterdam being the leading humanist scholar.[43] The longest-lasting effect of Renaissance humanism was its education curriculum and methods. Humanists insisted on the importance of classical literature in providing intellectual discipline, moral standards, and a civilized taste for the elite—an educational approach that reached the contemporary era.[44]
Enlightenment
During the Age of Enlightenment, humanistic ideas resurfaced, this time further from religion and classical literature.[45] Science and intellectualism advanced, and humanists argued that rationality could replace deism as the means with which to understand the world. Humanistic values, such as tolerance and opposition to slavery, started to take shape.[46] New philosophical, social, and political ideas appeared. Some thinkers rejected theism outright; and atheism, deism, and hostility to organized religion were formed.[47] During the Enlightenment, Baruch Spinoza redefined God as signifying the totality of nature; Spinoza was accused of atheism but remained silent on the matter.[48] Naturalism was also advanced by prominent Encyclopédistes. Baron d'Holbach wrote the polemic System of Nature, claiming that religion was built on fear and had helped tyrants throughout history.[49] Diderot and Helvetius combined their materialism with sharp, political critique.[49]
Also during the Enlightenment, the abstract conception of humanity started forming—a critical juncture for the construction of humanist philosophy. Previous appeals to "men" now shifted toward "man"; to illustrate this point, scholar Tony Davies points to political documents like The Social Contract (1762) of Rousseau, in which he says "Man is born free, but is everywhere in chains". Likewise, Thomas Paine's Rights of Man uses the singular form of the word, revealing a universal conception of "man".[50] In parallel, Baconian empiricism—though not humanism per se—led to Thomas Hobbes's materialism.[51]
Scholar J. Brent Crosson argues that, while there is a widely-held belief that the birth of humanism was solely a European affair, intellectual thought from Africa and Asia significantly contributed as well. He also notes that during enlightenment, the universal man did not encompass all humans but was shaped by gender and race. According to Crosson, the shift from man to human started during enlightenment and is still ongoing.[52] Crosson also argues that enlightenment, especially in Britain, produced not only a notion of universal man, but also gave birth to pseudoscientific ideas, such as those about differences between races, that shaped European history.[53]
From Darwin to current era
French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798–1857) introduced the idea—which is sometimes attributed to Thomas Paine—of a "religion of humanity". According to scholar Tony Davies, this was intended to be an atheist cult based on some humanistic tenets, and had some prominent members but soon declined. It was nonetheless influential during the 19th century, and its humanism and rejection of supernaturalism are echoed in the works of later authors such as Oscar Wilde, George Holyoake—who coined the word secularism—George Eliot, Émile Zola, and E. S. Beesly. Paine's The Age of Reason, along with the 19th-century Biblical criticism of the German Hegelians David Strauss and Ludwig Feuerbach, also contributed to new forms of humanism.[54][55]
Advances in science and philosophy provided scholars with further alternatives to religious belief. Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection offered naturalists an explanation for the plurality of species.[56] Darwin's theory also suggested humans are simply a natural species, contradicting the traditional theological view of humans as more than animals.[57] Philosophers Ludwig Feuerbach, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Karl Marx attacked religion on several grounds, and theologians David Strauss and Julius Wellhausen questioned the Bible.[56] In parallel, utilitarianism was developed in Britain through the works of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. Utilitarianism, a moral philosophy, centers its attention on human happiness, aiming to eliminate human and animal pain via natural means.[58] In Europe and the US, as philosophical critiques of theistic beliefs grew, large parts of society distanced themselves from religion. Ethical societies were formed, leading to the contemporary humanist movement.[59]
The rise of rationalism and the scientific method was followed in the late 19th century in Britain by the start of many rationalist and ethical associations, such as the National Secular Society, the Ethical Union, and the Rationalist Press Association.[55] In the 20th century, humanism was further promoted by the work of philosophers such as A. J. Ayer, Antony Flew, and Bertrand Russell, whose advocacy of atheism in Why I Am Not a Christian further popularized humanist ideas. In 1963, the British Humanist Association evolved out of the Ethical Union, and merged with many smaller ethical and rationalist groups. Elsewhere in Europe, humanist organizations also flourished. In the Netherlands, the Dutch Humanist Alliance gained a wide base of support after World War II; in Norway, the Norwegian Humanist Association gained popular support.[60]
In the US, humanism evolved with the aid of significant figures of the Unitarian Church. Humanist magazines began to appear, including The New Humanist, which published the Humanist Manifesto I in 1933. The American Ethical Union emerged from newly founded, small, ethicist societies.[55] The American Humanist Association (AHA) was established in 1941 and became as popular as some of its European counterparts. The AHA spread to all states, and some prominent public figures such as Isaac Asimov, John Dewey, Erich Fromm, Paul Kurtz, Carl Sagan, and Gene Roddenberry became members.[60] Humanist organizations from all continents formed the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), which is now known as Humanists International, and promotes the humanist agenda via the United Nations organizations UNESCO and UNICEF.[61]
Varieties of humanism
Early 20th century naturalists, who viewed their humanism as a religion and participated in church-like congregations, used the term "religious humanism". Religious humanism appeared mostly in the US and is now rarely practiced.[14] The American Humanist Association arose from religious humanism.[62] The same term has been used by religious groups such as the Quakers to describe their humanistic theology.[63]
The term "Renaissance humanism" was given to a tradition of cultural and educational reform engaged in by civic and ecclesiastical chancellors, book collectors, educators, and writers that developed during the 14th and early 15th centuries. By the late 15th century, these academics began to be referred to as umanisti (humanists).[64] While modern humanism's roots can be traced in part to the Renaissance, the term "Renaissance humanism" does not meaningfully relate to humanism in the modern sense.[65][66]
Other terms using "humanism" in their name include:
- Christian humanism: the first humanism and a historical current in the late Middle Ages in which Catholic scholars combined Christian faith with interest in classical antiquity and a focus on human well-being.[67]
- Ethical humanism: a synonym of Ethical culture, was prominent in the US in the early 20th century and focused on relations between humans. [68]
- Scientific humanism: this emphasizes belief in the scientific method as a component of humanism as described in the works of John Dewey and Julian Huxley; scientific humanism is largely synonymous with secular humanism.[69]
- Secular humanism: coined in the mid-20th century, it was initially an attempt to denigrate humanism, but some humanist associations embraced the term.[70] Secular humanism is synonymous with the contemporary humanist movement.[71]
- Marxist humanism: one of several rival schools of Marxist thought that accepts basic humanistic tenets such as secularism and naturalism, but differs from other strands of humanism because of its vague stance on democracy and rejection of free will.[72]
- Digital humanism: an emerging philosophical and ethical framework that seeks to preserve and promote human values, dignity, and well-being in the context of rapid technological advancements, particularly in the digital realm.[73][74]
These varieties of humanism are now largely of historical interest only. Some ethical movements continue (e.g. New York Society for Ethical Culture) but in general humanism no longer needs any qualification "because the lifestance is by definition naturalistic, scientific, and secular".[75] However, according to Andrew Copson the view that there are still two types of humanism – religious and secular – "has begun to seriously muddy the conceptual water".[66]
Philosophy
Humanism is strongly linked to rationality.[76] For humanists, humans are reasonable beings, and reasoning and the scientific method are means of finding truth.[77] Humanists argue science and rationality have driven successful developments in various fields[78] while the invocation of supernatural phenomena fails to coherently explain the world. One form of irrational thinking is adducing. Humanists are skeptical of explanations of natural phenomena or diseases that rely on hidden agencies.[79]
Human autonomy is another hallmark of humanist philosophy.[80] For people to be autonomous, their beliefs and actions must be the result of their own reasoning.[80] For humanists, autonomy dignifies each individual; without autonomy, people's humanity is lessened.[81] Humanists also consider human essence to be universal, irrespective of race and social status, diminishing the importance of collective identities and signifying the importance of individuals.[82]
Immanuel Kant provided the modern philosophical basis of the humanist narrative. His theory of critical philosophy formed the basis of the world of knowledge, defending rationalism and grounding it in the empirical world.[83] He also supported the idea of the moral autonomy of the individual, which is fundamental to his philosophy. According to Kant, morality is the product of the way humans live and not a set of fixed values. Instead of a universal ethic code, Kant suggested a universal procedure that shapes the ethics that differ among groups of people.[84]
Philosopher and humanist advocate Corliss Lamont, in his book The Philosophy of Humanism (1997), states:
In the Humanist ethics the chief end of thought and action is to further this-earthly human interests on behalf of the greater glory of people. The watchword of Humanism is happiness for all humanity in this existence as contrasted with salvation for the individual soul in a future existence and the glorification of a supernatural Supreme Being ... It heartily welcomes all life-enhancing and healthy pleasures, from the vigorous enjoyments of youth to the contemplative delights of mellowed age, from the simple gratifications of food and drink, sunshine and sports, to the more complex appreciation of art and literature, friendship and social communion. [85]
Themes
Morality
The humanist attitude toward morality has changed since its beginning. Starting in the 18th century, humanists were oriented toward an objective and universalist stance on ethics. Both Utilitarian philosophy—which aims to increase human happiness and decrease suffering—and Kantian ethics—which states one should act in accordance with maxims one could will to become a universal law—shaped the humanist moral narrative until the early 20th century. Because the concepts of free will and reason are not based on scientific naturalism, their influence on humanists remained in the early 20th century but was reduced by social progressiveness and egalitarianism.[86] As part of social changes in the late 20th century, humanist ethics evolved to support secularism, civil rights, personal autonomy, religious toleration, multiculturalism, and cosmopolitanism.[87]
A naturalistic criticism of humanistic morality is the denial of the existence of morality. For naturalistic skeptics, morality was not hardwired within humans during their evolution; humans are primarily selfish and self-centered.[88] Defending humanist morality, humanist philosopher John R. Shook makes three observations that lead him to the acceptance of morality. According to Shook, homo sapiens has a concept of morality that must have been with the species since the beginning of human history, developing by recognizing and thinking upon behaviors. He adds morality is universal among human cultures and all cultures strive to improve their moral level. Shook concludes that while morality was initially generated by our genes, culture shaped human morals and continues to do so. He calls "moral naturalism" the view that morality is a natural phenomenon, can be scientifically studied, and is a tool rather than a set of doctrines that was used to develop human culture.[89]
Humanist philosopher Brian Ellis advocates a social humanist theory of morality called "social contractual utilitarianism", which is based on Hume's naturalism and empathy, Aristotelian virtue theory, and Kant's idealism. According to Ellis, morality should aim for eudaimonia, an Aristotelian concept that combines a satisfying life with virtue and happiness by improving societies worldwide.[90] Humanist Andrew Copson takes a consequentialist and utilitarian approach to morality; according to Copson, all humanist ethical traits aim at human welfare.[91] Philosopher Stephen Law emphasizes some principles of humanist ethics; respect for personal moral autonomy, rejection of god-given moral commands, an aim for human well-being, and "emphasiz[ing] the role of reason in making moral judgements".[92]
Humanism's godless approach to morality has driven criticism from religious commentators. The necessity for a divine being delivering sets of doctrines for morals to exist is a common argument; according to Dostoevsky's character Ivan Karamázov in The Brothers Karamazov, "if God does not exist, then everything is permitted".[93] This argument suggests chaos will ensue if religious belief disappears.[93] For humanists, theism is an obstacle to morality rather than a prerequisite for it.[94] According to humanists, acting only out of fear, adherence to dogma, and expectation of a reward is a selfish motivation rather than morality.[95] Humanists point to the subjectivity of the supposedly objective divine commands by referring to the Euthyphro dilemma, originally posed by Socrates: "does God command something because it is good or is something good because God commands it?" If goodness is independent from God, humans can reach goodness without religion but relativism is elicited if God creates goodness.[96] Another argument against this religious criticism is the human-made nature of morality, even through religious means. The interpretation of holy scriptures almost always includes human reasoning; different interpreters reach contradictory theories.[97]
Religion
Humanism has widely been seen as antithetical to religion.[98] Philosopher of religion David Kline, traces the roots of this animosity since the Renaissance, when humanistic views deconstructed the previous religiously defined order. Kline describes several ways this antithesis has evolved. Kline notes the emergence of a confident human-made knowledge, which was a new way of epistemology, repelled the church from its authoritative position. Kline uses the paradigm of non-humanists Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo to illustrate how scientific discoveries added to the deconstruction of the religious narrative in favor of human-generated knowledge. This ultimately uncoupled the fate of humans from the divine will, prompting social and political shifts.[99] The relation of state and citizens changed as civic humanistic principles emerged; people were no longer to be servile to religiously grounded monarchies but could pursue their own destinies.[100] Kline also points at the aspects of personal belief that added to the hostility between humanism and religion. Humanism was linked with prominent thinkers who advocated against the existence of God using rationalistic arguments. Critique of theism continued through the humanistic revolutions in Europe, challenging religious worldviews, attitudes and superstitions on a rational basis—a tendency that continued to the 20th century.[101]
According to Stephen Law, humanist adherence to secularism placed humans at odds with religion, especially nationally dominant religions striving to retain privileges gained in the last centuries. Worth notes religious persons can be secularists. Law notes secularism is criticized for suppressing freedom of expression of religious persons but firmly denies such accusation; instead, he says, secularism protects this kind of freedom but opposes the privileged status of religious views.[102]
According to Andrew Copson, humanism is not incompatible with some aspects of religion. He observes that components like belief, practice, identity, and culture can coexist, allowing an individual who subscribes to only a few religious doctrines to also identify as a humanist.[103] Copson adds that religious critics usually frame humanism as an enemy of religion but most humanists are proponents of religious tolerance or exhibit a curiosity about religion's effects in society and politics, commenting: "Only a few are regularly outraged by other people's false beliefs per se".[104]
The meaning of life
In the 19th century, along with the decline of religion and its accompanied teleology, the question of the meaning of life became more prominent.[105] Unlike religions, humanism does not have a definite view on the meaning of life.[106] Humanists commonly say people create rather than discover meaning. While philosophers such as Nietzsche and Sartre wrote on the meaning of life in a godless world, the work of Albert Camus has echoed and shaped humanism. In Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus, he quotes a Greek myth in which the absurd hero Sisyphus is destined to push a heavy rock up a hill; the rock slips back and he must repeat the task. Sisyphus is negating Gods and preset meanings of life, but argues that life has value and significance, and that each individual is able to create their meanings of life. Camus thus highlights the importance of personal agency and self-determination that lie at the centre of humanism.[107]
Personal humanist interpretations of the meaning of life vary from the pursuit of happiness without recklessness and excesses to participation in human history, and connection with loved ones, living animals, and plants.[106][c] Some answers are close to those of religious discourse if the appeal to divinity is overlooked.[109] According to humanist professor Peter Derks, elements that contribute to the meaning of life are a morally worthy purpose in life, positive self-evaluation, an understanding of one's environment, being seen and understood by others, the ability to emotionally connect with others, and a desire to have a meaning in life.[110] Humanist professor Anthony B. Pinn places the meaning of life in the quest of what he calls "complex subjectivity". Pinn, who is advocating for a non-theistic, humanistic religion inspired by African cultures, says seeking the never-reaching meaning of life contributes to well-being, and that rituals and ceremonies, which are occasions for reflection, provide an opportunity to assess the meaning of life, improving well-being.[111]
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Organizations like Humanists International use the "Happy Human" symbol. -
Home of Giordano Bruno Foundation in Germany. -
Humanists, Atheists, & Agnostics of Manitoba (HAAM) booth in 2012. -
Humanists UK in London Pride 2023.
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In public life
In politics
The hallmark of contemporary humanism in politics is the demand for secularism.[112] Philosopher Alan Haworth said secularism delivers fair treatment to all citizens of a nation-state since all are treated without discrimination; religion is a private issue and the state should have no power over it.[113] He also argues that secularism helps plurality and diversity, which are fundamental aspects of our modern world.[114] While barbarism and violence can be found in most civilizations, Haworth notes religion usually fuels rhetoric and enables these actions. He also said the values of hard work, honesty, and charity are found in other civilizations. [115] According to Haworth, humanism opposes the irrationality of nationalism and totalitarianism, whether these are part of fascism or Marxist–Leninist communism.[116]
According to professor Joseph O. Baker, in political theory, contemporary humanism is formed by two main tendencies; the first is individualistic and the second inclines to collectivism. The trajectory of each tendency can lead to libertarianism and socialism respectively, but a range of combinations exists. Individualistic humanists often have a philosophical perspective of humanism; in politics, these are inclined to libertarianism and in ethics tend to follow a scientistic approach. Collectivists have a more-applied view of humanism, lean toward socialism, and have a humanitarian approach to ethics.[117] The second group has connections with the thought of young Marx, especially his anthropological views rejecting his political practices.[118] A factor that repels many humanists from the libertarian view is the neoliberal or capitalistic consequences they feel it entails.[119]
Humanism has been a part of both major 20th-century ideological currents—liberalism and Marxism. Early 19th-century socialism was connected to humanism. In the 20th century, a humanistic interpretation of Marxism focused on Marx's early writings, viewing Marxism not as "scientific socialism" but as a philosophical critique aimed at the overcoming of "alienation". In the US, liberalism is associated mostly with humanistic principles, which is distinct from the European use of the same word, which has economical connotations.[120] In the post-1945 era, Jean-Paul Sartre and other French existentialists advocated for humanism, linking it to socialism while trying to stay neutral during the Cold War.[121]
In psychology and counseling
Humanist counseling is humanism-inspired applied psychology, which is a major current of counseling. There are various approaches such as discussion and critical thinking, replying to existential anxiety, and focusing on social and political dimensions of problems.[122] Humanist counseling focuses on respecting the client's worldview and placing it in the correct cultural context. The approach emphasizes an individual's inherent drive towards self-actualization and creativity. It also recognizes the importance of moral questions about one's interactions with people according to one's worldview. This is examined using a process of dialogue.[123] Humanist counseling originated in post-World War II Netherlands.[124]
Humanistic counseling is based on the works of psychologists Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. It introduced a positive, humanistic psychology in response to what Rogers and Maslow viewed as the over-pessimistic view of psychoanalysis in the early 1960s. Other sources include the philosophies of existentialism and phenomenology.[124]
Some modern counseling organizations have humanist origins, like the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, which was founded by Harold Blackham, which he developed alongside the British Humanist Association's Humanist Counselling Service.[125] Modern-day humanist pastoral care in the UK and the Netherlands draws on elements of humanistic psychology.[126]
Demographics
Demographic data about humanists is sparse. Scholar Yasmin Trejo examined the results of Pew Research Center's 2014 Religious Landscape Study.[127] Trejo did not use self-identification to measure humanists but combined the answers of two questions: "Do you believe in God or a universal spirit?" (she chose those who answered 'no') and "when it comes to questions of right or wrong, which of the following do you look to most for guidance?" (picking answers 'scientific information' and 'philosophy and reason'). According to Trejo, most humanists identify as atheist or agnostic (37% and 18%), 29% as "nothing in particular", while 16% of humanists identify as religious.[128] She also found most humanists (80%) were raised in a religious background. [129] Sixty percent of humanists are married to non-religious spouses, while one quarter are married to a Christian.[130] There is a gender divide among humanists: 67 percent are male. Trejo says this can be explained by the fact that more males self-identify as atheist, while women have stronger connections to religion because of socialization, community influence, and stereotypes; some women, especially Catholic Latinas, are expected to be religious and many of them abide by their community expectations.[131] Other findings note the high level of education of most humanists, indicating a higher socioeconomic status.[132] The population of humanists is overwhelming non-Hispanic white; according to Trejo, this is because minority groups are usually very religious.[133]
Criticisms
Western and Christian
Criticism of humanism focus on its adherence to human rights, which some critics have called "Western". Critics say humanist values have become a tool of Western moral dominance, which is a form of neo-colonialism that leads to oppression and a lack of ethical diversity.[134] Other critics, namely feminists, black activists, postcolonial critics, and gay and lesbian advocates, say humanism is an oppressive philosophy because it is not free from the biases of the white, heterosexual males who shaped it.[135] History professor Samuel Moyn attacks humanism for its connection to human rights. According to Moyn, the concept of human rights in the 1960s was a declaration of anti-colonial struggle, but that idea was later transformed into an impossible utopian vision, replacing the failing utopias of the 20th century. The humanist use of human rights rhetoric thus turns human rights into a moral tool that is impractical and ultimately non-political. He also notes a commonality between humanism and the Catholic discourse on human dignity.[136]
Anthropology professor Talal Asad argues humanism is a project of modernity and a secularized continuation of Western Christian theology. According to Asad, just as the Catholic Church passed the Christian doctrine of love to Africa and Asia while assisting in the enslavement of large parts of their population, humanist values have at times been a pretext for Western countries to expand their influence to other parts of the world to humanize "barbarians".[137] Asad has also said humanism is not a purely secular phenomenon but takes the idea of the essence of humanity from Christianity.[138] According to Asad, Western humanism cannot incorporate other humanistic traditions, such as those from India and China, without subsuming and ultimately eliminating them.[139]
Sociology professor Didier Fassin has stated that humanism's focus on empathy and compassion, rather than goodness and justice, is a problem.[140] According to Fassin, humanism originated in the Christian tradition, particularly the Parable of the Good Samaritan, in which empathy is universalized. Fassin has also argued that humanism's central essence, the sanctity of human life, is a religious victory hidden in a secular wrapper.[140]
Amoral and materialistic
The main criticism from evangelical Christians, such as Tim LaHaye, is that humanism destroys traditional family and moral values.[141] According to Corliss Lamont, this criticism is a malicious campaign by religious fanatics, the so-called Moral Majority, who need a demonic scapegoat to rally its followers.[142] Other religious opponents scorn humanism by stating it is materialistic thereby diminishing humanity because it denies the spiritual nature and needs of man. Also, because the goal in life is the acquisition of material goods, humanism produces greed and selfishness.[143] In response to this criticism Norman states that there is absolutely no reason why humanists should be committed to the view that the only things worth living for are 'material goods'. Such an accusation, he says, is based on a "sloppy" understanding of materialism. However, he does acknowledge a "tension" in humanism that because of its championing of scientific knowledge, it appears to be committed to a materialistic conception of human beings as physical systems and therefore as not much different from anything else in the universe.[144]
Vague and indefinable
Humanism has frequently been criticised for its vagueness and the difficulty of defining the term. According to Paul Kurtz, “Humanism is so charged with levels of emotion and rhetoric that its meaning is often vague and ambiguous”.[145] For Giustiniani, “the meaning of ‘humanism’ has so many shades that to analyze all of them is hardly feasible”.[146] Nicolas Walter points out that most of the people in the past who have called themselves or been called humanists would reject many of today's tenets. The origins of humanism, he writes, “are so contradictory and confusing that it is often meaningless on its own”.[147] Andrew Copson notes that the suggestion that there are two types of humanism – religious and secular – “has begun to seriously muddy the conceptual water”.[148] According to Tony Davies, “the meaning of ‘humanism’ is the semantic tangle, or grapple, that makes its meaning so difficult to grasp”. [149] For Sarah Bakewell, humanism “is a semantic cloud of meanings and implications, none attachable to any particular theorist or practitioner”.[150]
Yet, the difficulty of defining humanism is not necessarily a problem. Davies avoids offering a definition, choosing instead “to stress the plurality, complexity and fluidity of meanings”.[151] Jeaneane Fowler argues that humanism is indefinable precisely because of its “particular dynamism” and the acknowledged vagueness of the term “far from being a disadvantage, is an asset”.[152]
Antihumanism
Antihumanism is a philosophical theory that rejects humanism as a pre-scientific ideology.[153] This argument developed during the 19th and 20th centuries in parallel with the advancement of humanism. Prominent thinkers questioned the metaphysics of humanism and the human nature of its concept of freedom.[135] Nietzsche, while departing from a humanistic, pro-Enlightenment viewpoint, criticized humanism for illusions on a number of topics, especially the nature of truth. According to Nietzsche, objective truth is an anthropomorphic illusion and humanism is meaningless,[154] and replacing theism with reason and science simply replaces one religion with another.[155]
According to Karl Marx, humanism is a bourgeois project that inaccurately attempts to present itself as radical.[156] After the atrocities of World War II, questions about human nature and the concept of humanity were renewed.[157] During the Cold War, influential Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser introduced the term "theoretical antihumanism" to attack both humanism and humanist-like socialist currents, eschewing more structural and formal interpretations of Marx. According to Althusser, Marx's early writings resonate with the humanistic idealism of Hegel, Kant, and Feuerbach, but Marx radically moved toward scientific socialism in 1845, rejecting concepts such as the essence of man.[158]
Humanist organizations
Humanist organizations exist in several countries. Humanists International is a global organization.[159] The three countries with the highest numbers of Humanist International member organisations are the UK, India, and the US. The largest humanist organisation is the Norwegian Humanist Association.[160] Humanists UK – formerly the British Humanist Association – and the American Humanist Association are two of the oldest humanist organizations.
In 2015, London-based Humanists UK had around 28,000 members. Its membership includes some high-profile people such as Richard Dawkins, Brian Cox, Salman Rushdie, Polly Toynbee, and Stephen Fry, who are known for their participation in public debate, promoting secularism, and objecting to state funding for faith-based institutions.[161] Humanists UK organizes and conducts non-religious[162] ceremonies for weddings, namings, comings of age, and funerals.
The American Humanist Association (AHA) was formed in 1941 from previous humanist associations. Its journal The Humanist is the continuation of a previous publication The Humanist Bulletin.[61] In 1953, the AHA established the "Humanist of the Year" award to honor individuals who promote science.[163] By the 1970s, it became a well-recognized organization, initiating campaigns for abortion rights and opposing discriminatory policies. This resulted in the organization becoming a target of the religious right by the 1980s.[164]
See also
- Alternatives to the Ten Commandments – secular and humanist alternatives
- Amsterdam Declaration
- Anthropocentrism
- Community organizing
- Extropianism
- Existentialism Is a Humanism, by Jean-Paul Sartre
- John N. Gray
- Human dignity
- Humanist celebrant
- Humanistic Buddhism
- Humanistic economics
- Humanist International
- Humanist Movement
- Humanistic psychology
- Humanitas
- HumanLight
- Index of humanism articles
- Letter on Humanism by Martin Heidegger
- List of humanists
- Materialism
- Misanthropy
- Natural rights
- Objectivity (philosophy)
- Paideia
- Pluralistic Rationalism
- Post-theism
- Religious humanism
- Secular humanism
- Sentientism
- Unitarian Universalism
- Ubuntu
Notes
- ^ The word Humanism is not included in the dictionary.
- ^ The etymological link of the word humanism to the humanity or human nature of Christ has often been repeated, but typically the association is to Coleridge to whom is attributed its earliest use in 1812.[7][8][9][10]
- ^ To illustrate the importance of pursuing happiness without excesses, Andrew Copson quotes Epicurus: "When I say that pleasure is the goal of living I do not mean the pleasures of libertines ... I mean, on the contrary, the pleasure that consists of freedom from bodily pain and mental agitation. Pleasant life is not the product of one drinking party after another or sexual intercourse with women and young men or of the seafood and other delicacies afforded by the serious table. On the contrary, it is the result of sober thinking ... " Copson is citing 66 Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus, in The Art of Happiness, trans. Strodach, p. 159.[108]
References
- ^ Kristeller 1978, p. 3.
- ^ a b Harper.
- ^ Mann 1996; Copson 2015, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Johnson, Samuel (1785) A Dictionary of the English language. Sixth Edition, Volume 1, p. 981.
- ^ Chandler, D. (2001) A Bibliographical History of Thomas Howes' "Critical Observations" (1776–1807) and His Dispute with Joseph Priestley. Studies in Bibliography, Vol. 54, pp. 285–295.
- ^ Howes, T. (1776–1800) Critical Observations on Books, Antient and Modern. Vol IV., pp. 17–18.
- ^ a b Gibbs, Robert (2015). "Of Time and Pages". College Literature. 42 (2): 259–260. ISSN 0093-3139. JSTOR 24544107. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ Schafer, R. (1930) What is Humanism?. The Virginia Quarterly Review, vol. 6, no. 2, p. 198. JSTOR.
- ^ Giustiniani 1985, p. 173.
- ^ Adams, Hazard; Behler, Ernst; Birus, Hendrik; Derrida, Jacques; Iser, Wolfgang; Krieger, Murray; Miller, Hillis; Pfeiffer, Ludwig; Readings, Bill; Wang, Ching-Hsien; Yu, Pauline (2019). "Hendrik Birus's "The Archeology of 'Humanism'"". Surfaces. 6. doi:10.7202/1064841ar. S2CID 233039844.
- ^ Copson 2015, pp. 1–2; Fowler 1999, pp. 18–19.
- ^ Davies 1997, p. 9.
- ^ Davies 1997, pp. 9–10.
- ^ a b Copson 2015, pp. 3–4.
- ^ Davies 1997, p. 3–5.
- ^ Hook 1974, pp. 31–33.
- ^ Blackham 1974, pp. 35–37.
- ^ Fowler 1999, p. 9.
- ^ Copson 2015, pp. 6–24.
- ^ IHEU (1996) IHEU Minimum Statement on Humanism. Humanists International, General Assembly.
- ^ Cherry 2009, p. 26.
- ^ Law 2011, chapter History of Humanism, #Ancient Greece; Freeman 2015See also Foreword of the book, p xi; Lamont 1997, p. 68; Davies 1997, p. 9.
- ^ Law 2011, chapter History of Humanism, #Ancient Greece:According to Law "Three early Greek philosophers – Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes – are of particular interest. The manner in which these Milesian philosophers thought critically and independently, largely putting aside mythological and religious explanations and instead attempting to develop their own ideas and theories grounded in observation and reason, obviously makes them particularly important from a humanist point of view. They collectively exhibit several of the key ideas and values of humanism." In the next paragraph, he also mentions presocratic philosopher, Protagoras.; Lamont 1997, p. 41–42:Lamont cites Thales, Anaximander and Heraclitus for leaning towards materialism and naturalism but, for Lamont, the first solid materialist philosopher was Democritus with his atomic theory; Barnes 1987, pp. 17–18; Curd 2020:Scholar Jonothan Banres writes: "First, and most simply, the Presocratics invented the very idea of science and philosophy. They hit upon that special way of looking at the world which is the scientific or rational way. They saw the world as something ordered and intelligible, its history following an explicable course and its different parts arranged in some comprehensible system. The world was not a random collection of bits, its history was not an arbitrary series of events. Still less was it a series of events determined by the will- or the caprice – of the gods." See whole subchapter "First philosophy" pp 17–25
- ^ Law 2011, chapter History of Humanism, #Ancient Greece ":fragment (80B4 DK)"
- ^ Lamont 1997, pp. 34–35; Freeman 2015, pp. 124–125.
- ^ Lamont 1997, pp. 34–35.
- ^ a b Law 2011, chapter History of Humanism, #Ancient Greece.
- ^ Grayling 2015, p. 87; Crosson 2020, p. 4.
- ^ Bingming, Xiong (April 1991). "At peace with the past". Perceptions of Time. UNESCO. p. 20. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- ^ Goodman 2003, p. 155; Ljamai 2015, pp. 153–56.
- ^ Monfasani 2020, p. 1.
- ^ Monfasani 2020, p. 4; Nederman 2020.
- ^ Mann 1996, pp. 14–15.
- ^ Mann 1996, p. 8.
- ^ Mann 1996, p. 8; Monfasani 2020, p. 1.
- ^ Mann 1996, pp. 8–14:Mann writes "This enthusiasm is reflected in his search for new texts, first manifested in a journey to the north in 1333, when he found a manuscript of Cicero's forgotten Pro Archia in Liege, and one of Propertius in Paris, stemming from the 13th-century scholar Richard of Fournival. Both these texts he studied assiduously and transmitted to posterity with his annotations and emendations, as he did also with De chorographia of Pomponius Mel"; Monfasani 2020, pp. 8–10:Both Mann and Monfasani note that Petrarch failed his attempt to learn Greek, he was not the actual translator of ancient texts.
- ^ Mann 1996, pp. 8–14.
- ^ Monfasani 2020, p. 8: That was the reason Cicero was named as the grandfather of humanism by classicist scholar Berthold Ullman.
- ^ Monfasani 2020, pp. 9–10:Other notable humanists were Poggio Bracciolini and Niccolò Niccoli
- ^ Monfasani 2020:"The two most fundamental aspects of the victory of Renaissance Humanism was its conquest of pre-university education and its concomitant success in changing the consciousness of educated Western society".
- ^ a b Monfasani 2020, p. 10.
- ^ Monfasani 2020, pp. 10–11.
- ^ Monfasani 2020, pp. 12–13.
- ^ Kristeller 2008, p. 114.
- ^ Fowler 1999, p. 16.
- ^ Fowler 1999, pp. 16–18.
- ^ Fowler 1999, p. 18.
- ^ Lamont 1997, p. 74.
- ^ a b Lamont 1997, p. 45.
- ^ Davies 1997, p. 25.
- ^ Davies 1997, pp. 108–09.
- ^ Crosson 2020, pp. 1–3.
- ^ Crosson 2020, pp. 5–6.
- ^ Davies 1997, pp. 26–30.
- ^ a b c Hardie 2000, 19th Century.
- ^ a b Law 2011, p. 36.
- ^ Lamont 1997, p. 75.
- ^ Law 2011, p. 37.
- ^ Law 2011, p. 39.
- ^ a b Hardie 2000, 20th Century.
- ^ a b Morain & Morain 1998, p. 100.
- ^ Wilson 1974, p. 15; Copson 2015, pp. 3–4.
- ^ Fowler 1999, p. 20.
- ^ Mann 1996, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Norman 2004, p. 14.
- ^ a b Copson 2015, pp. 2–3.
- ^ Wilson 1974, p. 15.
- ^ Wilson 1974, pp. 15–16.
- ^ Wilson 1974, p. 16.
- ^ Copson 2015, p. 2.
- ^ Fowler 1999, pp. 21–22.
- ^ Lamont 1997, pp. 28–29; Davies 1997, pp. 56–57.
- ^ Schmölz, Alexander (13 November 2020). "Die Conditio Humana im digitalen Zeitalter: Zur Grundlegung des Digitalen Humanismus und des Wiener Manifests". MedienPädagogik: Zeitschrift für Theorie und Praxis der Medienbildung (in German): 208–234. doi:10.21240/mpaed/00/2020.11.13.X. ISSN 1424-3636.
- ^ Werthner, Hannes; Prem, Erich; Lee, Edward A.; Ghezzi, Carlo (2022). Werthner, Hannes; Prem, Erich; Lee, Edward A.; Ghezzi, Carlo (eds.). Perspectives on Digital Humanism. Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-86144-5. ISBN 978-3-030-86144-5. S2CID 244480204. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ Doerr, Ed (1 November 2022). "Humanism unmodified". The Humanist. Washington, DC: American Humanist Association. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
- ^ Law 2015, p. 55.
- ^ Law 2015, p. 58.
- ^ Law 2015, p. 57.
- ^ Law 2015, pp. 57–61.
- ^ a b Nida-Rümelin 2009, p. 17.
- ^ Norman 2004, p. 104.
- ^ Nida-Rümelin 2009, pp. 16–17.
- ^ Walker 2020, pp. 4–6.
- ^ Dierksmeier 2011, p. 79; Rohlf 2020, Morality and freedom.
- ^ Lamont 1997, p. 248.
- ^ Norman 2004, pp. 98–105; Shook 2015, p. 406.
- ^ Shook 2015, pp. 421–422.
- ^ Shook 2015, pp. 407–408.
- ^ Shook 2015, pp. 407–410 & 421.
- ^ Ellis 2010, pp. 135–37.
- ^ Copson 2015, pp. 21–22.
- ^ Law 2011, Humanism and morality.
- ^ a b Norman 2004, p. 86.
- ^ Norman 2004, p. 86; Shook 2015, pp. 404–05.
- ^ Norman 2004, pp. 89–90.
- ^ Norman 2004, pp. 88–89; Shook 2015, p. 405.
- ^ Norman 2004, pp. 87–88; Shook 2015, p. 405.
- ^ Kline 2020, pp. 224–225.
- ^ Kline 2020, pp. 225–232.
- ^ Kline 2020, pp. 230–236.
- ^ Kline 2020, pp. 236–240.
- ^ Law 2015, Humanism and secularism.
- ^ Copson 2015, p. 25.
- ^ Copson 2015, pp. 25–28: Stephen Law makes a similar argument in Humanism, a Very Short Introduction (2011) at page 23
- ^ Norman 2015, pp. 326–28.
- ^ a b Norman 2015, p. 341.
- ^ Norman 2015, pp. 334–35.
- ^ Copson 2015, p. 15.
- ^ Law 2011, Chapter: The meaning of life, part: Humanism and the meaning of life.
- ^ Butler 2020, pp. 2–3.
- ^ Butler 2020, pp. 3–4.
- ^ Haworth 2015, pp. 255–256.
- ^ Haworth 2015, pp. 259–261.
- ^ Haworth 2015, pp. 261–262.
- ^ Haworth 2015, pp. 263–66.
- ^ Haworth 2015, pp. 263–77.
- ^ Baker 2020, pp. 1–7.
- ^ Baker 2020, pp. 8–9.
- ^ Baker 2020, pp. 10–11.
- ^ Nida-Rümelin 2009, pp. 17–18.
- ^ Soper 1986, pp. 79–81.
- ^ Schuhmann 2015, pp. 173–82.
- ^ Schuhmann 2015, pp. 182–88.
- ^ a b Schuhmann 2015, pp. 173–74.
- ^ "Harold John Blackham". Humanist Heritage. Humanists UK. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ Savage 2021.
- ^ Trejo 2020, pp. 1–3.
- ^ Trejo 2020, p. 8.
- ^ Trejo 2020, pp. 11–12.
- ^ Trejo 2020, p. 14.
- ^ Trejo 2020, p. 16.
- ^ Trejo 2020, p. 18.
- ^ Trejo 2020, p. 19.
- ^ Jakelić 2020, p. 2.
- ^ a b Childers & Hentzi 1995, pp. 140–41.
- ^ Jakelić 2020, pp. 12–14.
- ^ Jakelić 2020, pp. 3–6.
- ^ Jakelić 2020, p. 6.
- ^ Jakelić 2020, pp. 6–7.
- ^ a b Jakelić 2020, pp. 7–8.
- ^ Lahaye, Tim (1980). Battle for the Mind. Baker Book House. ISBN 978-0-8007-5043-5.
- ^ Lamont, C. (1982) Introduction to the Sixth Edition. Exposing the Moral Majority. In, The Philosophy of Humanism, Eighth Edition, Revised. pp.xiii-xv. Humanist Press.
- ^ Waggoner, R.L. (1988) The Material Face of Humanism. TheBible.net.
- ^ Norman 2012, pp. 55–56.
- ^ Kurtz 1973, p. 176.
- ^ Giustiniani 1985, p. 165.
- ^ Walter, Nicolas (1998) Humanism: Finding Meaning in the Word. Prometheus Books, p.15.
- ^ Copson 2015, p. 3.
- ^ Davies 1997, p. 128.
- ^ Bakewell, Sarah (2023) Humanly Possible: Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking, Inquiry, and Hope. Penguin Press, New York, p.11.
- ^ Davies 1997, p. 125.
- ^ Fowler 1999, p. 7.
- ^ Soper 1986, pp. 11–12.
- ^ Davies 1997, pp. 36–37.
- ^ Soper 1986, pp. 12–13.
- ^ Davies 1997, p. 40.
- ^ Davies 1997, pp. 50–52.
- ^ Davies 1997, pp. 57–60.
- ^ Norman 2004, p. 160.
- ^ "The global picture". FutureLearn. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- ^ Engelke 2015, pp. 216–18.
- ^ Engelke 2015, pp. 216–21.
- ^ Morain & Morain 1998, pp. 105–12.
- ^ Morain & Morain 1998, pp. 100–05.
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Further reading
- Cummings, Dolan (2018). Debating Humanism. Andrews UK Limited. ISBN 978-1-84540-690-5.
- Dacey, Austin (2003). The Case for Humanism An Introduction. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7425-1393-8.
- Gay, Peter (1964). The Party of Humanity: Essays in the French Enlightenment. Borzoi book. Knopf. ISBN 978-90-10-04434-1. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
- Levi, Albert William (1969). Humanism & Politics: Studies in the Relationship of Power and Value in the Western Tradition. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-13900-9. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- Proctor, Robert E. (1998). Defining the Humanities: How Rediscovering a Tradition Can Improve Our Schools : with a Curriculum for Today's Students. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-33421-3.
- Ranisch, Robert (2014). Post- and transhumanism: an introduction. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. ISBN 9783631606629.
- Rockmore, Tom (1995). Heidegger and French Philosophy: Humanism, Antihumanism, and Being. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-11181-2.
- Wernick, A. (2001). Auguste Comte and the Religion of Humanity: The Post-theistic Program of French Social Theory. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-66272-7. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
External links
Look up humanism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Humanism.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Humanism.
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