humanism

Noun

humanism (usually uncountable, plural humanisms)

1. (usually) The study of the humanities or the liberal arts; literary (especially classical) scholarship.
   • The distrust of specialization within the domain of humanism, which even today makes itself felt in Italian culture and the Italian university system, was enhanced in the nineteenth century by the Hegelian tendency to think in global terms and relate every specific problem to some large, panoramic...1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume II: The Golden Age, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozwój (in...
2. (capitalized, historical, often, usually) 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.
   • There were good reasons for humanism and the Renaissance to take their origins from fourteenth-century Italy.2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 575
3. (usually) 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.
   • 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...2018, Steven Pinker, “Chapter 1: Dare to Understand!”, in Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress, Penguin, →ISBN
4. (usually) Humanitarianism.
   • Near-synonyms: solidarity, philanthropy, generosity

   Synonyms:

   solidarity, philanthropy, generosity