Humanism: What It Is, Types And Philosophical Characteristics
The word humanism is often mentioned in contexts as apparently different as the Renaissance, modern philosophy and psychology. Because of its name it has something to do with the human being, but what?
Humanism has many meanings if we focus on the historical moment and the branch of knowledge with which we want to relate it, although all of them are very related beyond sharing the same adjective. Next We are going to talk about what humanism is, its history and what can be understood by being a humanist person
Defining what exactly humanism is is not easy, since its definition varies greatly depending on what we associate it with. In a broad and general sense, it is understood that Being humanist means valuing the human being and the human condition
Thus, this term is related to generosity, compassion and concern for valuing human traits and attributes, relationships between people and their well-being.
The Renaissance Humanist
The historical context that has been most related to humanism is, without a doubt, the Renaissance. It is at this time that humanism emerges as a philosophical, intellectual and cultural movement, whose place of origin is Italy in the 14th century and which, throughout that century and the next, would spread throughout Europe, breaking with the theocentrism that had characterized the Catholic mentality of the Middle Ages
It should be said that Renaissance humanism would not have had such strength if an event had not occurred that would mark a before and after in the history of the West: the creation of the printing press. In 1450 Johannes Gutenberg created his machine which, although it was not the first printing press invented in history (there are older cases in Asia), it was the one that gave strength to the very powerful cultural phenomenon that was the Renaissance.
With the printing press, hundreds of books, banners and pamphlets could be manufactured at a speed never seen before, also allowing texts with critical messages to be printed that spread faster than the censors of the time could prevent. Thanks to this invention, The humanist thoughts with which the Renaissance came fragmented the medieval theses and allowed the progress of culture
It was from that time on that European society began to stop putting God at the center of everything to give way to anthropocentrism, that is, giving greater importance to the human being and erecting it as the measure of all things. Thus, Renaissance humanism exalts the qualities of human nature as aspects of high value that serve to establish the cultural parameters of a society.
The humanistic philosophy It offered new perspectives when it came to reflecting and thinking about art, science and politics, something that brought with it a true revolution in the cultural and social spheres That is why the Renaissance is considered to be the intermediate step between the Middle Ages and Modernity, deeper into the latter period with regard to the conception of man.
Renaissance humanism recovers the classic works of Greco-Roman authors, considering them models of truth, beauty and perfection. Humanist artists and intellectuals wanted to explore the origins of Western culture, bring it to more modern times and learn about it. The names and surnames of many humanists of this time have passed down to posterity, such as Erasmus of Rotterdam, William of Ockham, Francesco Petrarch, Thomas More, Vincenç Vives and Michel de la Montaigne.
There was also a secularization of scientific knowledge, freeing it from the monopoly of the Church and bringing it to the population. Science gained strength and acquired a functional character but satisfying curiosity. Physics, mathematics, engineering and medicine increase their corpus of knowledge and things that were previously unthinkable such as dissecting corpses become a more common action, focused on knowing in depth both the human body and soul and enhancing the value of human being.
The Renaissance humanists, in addition to expanding their level of knowledge, investigated and experimented in order to improve people’s lives, with the clear objective of providing happiness and freedom to the human race. It is for this reason that they also had such interest in classical works, such as those of Aristotle and Plato, with the intention of providing the population with knowledge and making them more cultured and independent and, therefore, less gullible and abuseable by those in power.
Without ceasing to focus attention on the humanism that emerged in the Renaissance, we can highlight some fundamental characteristics of it to further understand how transcendental it has been for the history of the West.
Secular humanism
In more recent times the word “humanism” has been increasingly heard. Although it has a certain relationship with Renaissance humanism, secular or secular humanism is an expression that can be related to a system of thought developed at the end of the 20th century, in which social justice, ethics and human reason take on a very important role
Secular humanists are usually followers of naturalism and also opt for atheistic or agnostic positions, rejecting traditional religious doctrines, pseudosciences, superstition and any explanation of a supernatural nature to explain natural phenomena. Within this current Morality and decision making is based on reason, science, personal experience and deep reflection on historical events which serve to develop an ethical and moral system to give meaning to life.
Closely related to secular humanism, a current that has called itself humanist also emerged in the field of psychology. It is about humanistic psychology; This has its origins in the 1950s, gaining much importance in the 1960s and 1970s. This current became a new position on psychotherapy, emerging as a reaction to the tendency to analyze only visible behavior radical behaviorist based.
Based on secular humanism, phenomenology, existentialism and functional autonomy, this psychological current intends to provide people with the necessary tools to be able to find their potential for self-realization within themselves, and use it in the way that best suits them. suits them.
