humanism

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hu·man·ism

(hyo͞o′mə-nĭz′əm)

a. A system of thought that focuses on humans and their values, capacities, and worth.

b. Humanism A cultural and intellectual movement of the Renaissance that emphasized human potential to attain excellence and promoted direct study of the literature, art, and civilization of classical Greece and Rome.

c. The study of the humanities; learning in the liberal arts.

d. Secular humanism.

2. Concern with the interests, needs, and welfare of humans: "the newest flower on the vine of corporate humanism" (Savvy).

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

humanism

(ˈhjuːməˌnɪzəm)

1. (Philosophy) the denial of any power or moral value superior to that of humanity; the rejection of religion in favour of a belief in the advancement of humanity by its own efforts

2. (Philosophy) a philosophical position that stresses the autonomy of human reason in contradistinction to the authority of the Church

3. (Literary & Literary Critical Movements) (often capital) a cultural movement of the Renaissance, based on classical studies

4. interest in the welfare of people

ˈhumanist n

ˌhumanˈistic adj

ˌhumanˈistically adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

hu•man•ism

(ˈhyu məˌnɪz əm; often ˈyu-)

n.

1. (often cap.) any system of thought or action in which human interests, values, and dignity predominate, esp. an ethical theory that often rejects the importance of a belief in God.

2. devotion to or study of the humanities.

3. (sometimes cap.) the studies, principles, or culture of the Renaissance humanists.

[1805–15]

humanism

1. any system or mode of thought or action in which human interests, values, and dignity are taken to be of primary importance, as in moral judgments.
2. a devotion to or study of the humanities.
3. a theory of the life of man as a responsible being behaving independently of a revelation or deity. Also called naturalistic, scientific, or philosophical humanism. — humanist, n. — humanistic, adj.

humanism

A view originating in the Renaissance that reason must be autonomous from authorities such as the Church.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	humanism - the doctrine that people's duty is to promote human welfare humanitarianism doctrine, ism, philosophical system, philosophy, school of thought - a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school
	2.	humanism - the doctrine emphasizing a person's capacity for self-realization through reason; rejects religion and the supernatural secular humanism doctrine, ism, philosophical system, philosophy, school of thought - a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school
	3.	humanism - the cultural movement of the Renaissance; based on classical studies cultural movement - a group of people working together to advance certain cultural goals

Translations

humanismushumanizmus

humanizam

humanisme

humanism

[ˈhjuːmənɪzəm] N → humanismo m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

humanism

[ˈhjuːmənɪz^əm] n → humanisme m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

humanism

n → Humanismus m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

humanism

[ˈhjuːməˌnɪz/əm] n → umanesimo

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

A member of the Oxford group in its second generation, a close friend of Erasmus, his house a center of humanism, he became even more conspicuous in public life.

View in context

To prove his point, he refers to Hellenistic Greece, pre and post imperial Rome, fourteenth century Italy, sixteenth century England, northern Europe for its Renaissance Humanism, Enlightenment Europe for establishing sciences of different sorts, the reformist England and France of the nineteenth centuries, New Humanism of the twentieth century, and secular and liberal humanisms.

In the current academic as well as non-academic circles humanism in its different shapes seems to have been acquiring a considerable currency because man appears to have become the center of attention in his own eyes and the eyes of others.

Exploring Perspectives of Humanism

The issue is whether and how well these functions can be handled by humanisms.

Becoming More Fully Human: Religious Humanism as a Way of Life

Are we witnessing a post-humanistic turn or simply a transition to emerging, a-territorial humanisms that dispense with the arrogance of the past?

Introduction

(21.) Paul Kurtz, "The Two Humanisms in Conflict: Religious vs.

A secular humanist setting the record straight definition

Chapter 3 takes us beyond the Alps and narrates the Italian influences on the development of humanism in Germany, France, Spain, and England, and the actual development of various humanisms in those countries.

Humanism and the Culture of Renaissance Europe

The contrast between the two humanisms, as we now understand, is a contrast that has to do, not with mankind, but with the direction of education, in other words what must be done with human beings so that they become human.

'Human, still human!'

In "What Is Humanism?" Edwords delineates a broad array of what we might call "hyphenated humanisms" that have arisen since the Renaissance (e.g., classical, modern, secular, etc.).

'Religious humanism' and the dangers of semantic distortion

Ironically, given humanisms commitment to inquiry and social democracy, these requirements are directly antithetical to humanist values.

Dialectic or disarray: do humanists really want a humanist movement?

Yet, as I have attempted to describe, both Eastern and Western humanisms have been and still are undoubtedly given their due in one or another situation.

Humanism in China

Tony Davies's small book on the vagaries of the concept of humanism does not open promisingly.