Humanism
The dignity, potential, and centrality of the human being as the measure of knowledge and value.
Overview
Renaissance humanism was not a philosophical system but an intellectual movement that placed human experience, human achievement, and human potential at the center of thought. Humanists turned from the abstract logic of the medieval schools to the literary, historical, and moral writings of ancient Greece and Rome — the studia humanitatis. They believed that reading the classics directly (in the original Greek and Latin, not in scholastic commentaries) would cultivate eloquence, moral judgment, and civic virtue. The goal was not to abandon Christianity but to enrich it with the wisdom of antiquity and to produce well-rounded individuals capable of active participation in public life.
Origins
Humanism began in 14th-century Italy with Petrarch, who championed the recovery of classical Latin literature and attacked the Scholastics for their barbarous style and narrow focus. Erasmus brought humanism to Northern Europe, combining classical learning with biblical scholarship and gentle satire of Church corruption. Thomas More's Utopia imagined a society governed by humanist principles of reason and tolerance. The movement's insistence on returning to original sources (ad fontes) fueled both the Renaissance and the Reformation, and its faith in education as the path to human flourishing remains the foundation of liberal arts education today.
Key Thinkers (4)
Erasmus
1469 CE – 1536 CE
True wisdom combines classical learning with Christian virtue; peace and tolerance surpass dogma.
Thomas More
1478 CE – 1535 CE
An ideal society requires communal property, religious tolerance, and universal education.
Michel de Montaigne
1533 CE – 1592 CE
What do I know? Self-examination reveals the limits of human knowledge and the diversity of human experience.
Giordano Bruno
1548 CE – 1600 CE
The universe is infinite, containing innumerable worlds: and God is present in all of them.