Humanism

Definitions

1. The study of the humanities or the liberal arts; literary (especially classical) scholarship.
   uncountable, usually
2. Specifically, a cultural and intellectual movement in 14th-16th century Europe characterised by attention to classical culture and a promotion of vernacular texts, notably during the Renaissance.
   capitalized, historical, often, uncountable, usually
3. An ethical system that centers on humans and their values, needs, interests, abilities, dignity and freedom; especially used for a secular one which rejects theistic religion and superstition.
   uncountable, usually
4. Humanitarianism.
   uncountable, usually

Equivalents

Examples

“There were good reasons for humanism and the Renaissance to take⟳ their origins from fourteenth-century Italy.”

“The idea of a universal human nature brings us to a third theme, humanism. The thinkers of the Age of Reason⟳ and the Enlightenment saw⟳ an urgent need⟳ for a secular foundation for morality, because they were haunted by a historical memory of centuries of religious carnage: the Crusades, the Inquisition, witch hunts, the European wars of religion. They laid that foundation in what we now call⟳ humanism, which privileges the well-being of individual men, women, and children over the glory of the tribe, race⟳, nation, or religion. It is individuals, not groups, who are sentient—who feel⟳ pleasure and pain, fulfillment and anguish. Whether it is framed as the goal of providing the greatest happiness for the greatest number⟳ or as a categorical imperative to treat⟳ people as ends rather than means, it was the universal capacity of a person to suffer⟳ and flourish, they said, that called on our moral concern⟳.”

“Near-synonyms: solidarity, philanthropy, generosity”

CEFR level