kind Of Humanism And What We Could Learn.
Humanism is one of those difficult concepts to be enclosed in a single definition. In principle, it is a current of thought centered on man. However, that essential component has had different approaches and emphases throughout history. Therefore, perhaps the most appropriate is to speak of humanisms in the plural.
The word humanism was used for the first time in 1808. It is considered that the pedagogue Friedrich Immanuel Niethammer was the one who created it. He coined the term to refer to teaching programs that were focused on the study of the Greek and Latin classics. He came up with that word because in the Italian universities it was common that since the 16th century the professors who taught related to these cultures were called "humanists".
"A well-ordered humanism does not begin by itself, but places the world before life, life before man, respect for others before self-love"
-Claude Lévi Strauss-
However, before creating the word, the humanist tradition already existed as a specific way of seeing the world. It had been installed since the fifteenth century with the Italian Renaissance and its eagerness to get out of the obscurantism in which the cultures of the West were submerged, inherited from the Middle Ages. Religion had been imposing a way of seeing reality for nearly 10 centuries.
Humanism: one word, many meanings
The humanists emerged with the Renaissance, which was a stage of transition between the Middle Ages and the Modern Age. What characterized them was the fact of placing man as a center of interest, attention, study and reflection. They broke with the idea that everything should revolve around God and theological issues. That's why they found a certain identity with the Greek and Roman cultures, which in turn had also turned their eyes towards the human.
In the end, the humanists first recovered the role of man as the maker of their reality. That is why they stopped assuming that nature was an expression of God's greatness and they made it an object of study. They also put an end to the idea that fate is written by a superior force. This fueled the idea that men and societies could mobilize in search of change.
Currently, the most basic meaning of the term humanism is that which associates it with the disciplines or sciences that study the human. There are branches such as anthropology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, etc. These fields of knowledge are generically called "Human Sciences" and are one of the most visible fruits of humanism as a current of thought.
However, what truly falls within the humanist thinking is all current, exercise of thought or action that fits these basic characteristics:
- Humanists exalt the value of the word, both in terms of discourse and dialogue.
- They give value to argumentation as a source of agreements.
- They disdain the claim to universality. They are sensitive to the particularities of people and societies.
- They feed on the historical perspective of the facts and practical evidence.
- They give special importance to human values
such as freedom, solidarity and self-determination. Humanism is also an ethics. - Broadly speaking, these are the conceptual axes of the different types of humanism.
Types of humanism
As already warned, humanism is not a stream of homogeneous thought. Its basic principles have been adopted by different schools of the human sciences and have been born in different historical contexts. That's why today there are different types of humanism. The most visible are the following.
Religious humanism
It corresponds to the adoption of humanistic principles by different religions. In principle, religion and humanism are excluded or at least placed in two separate ends of a continuum, because in the first the center of everything is God while in the second the human being is the axis of reality.
However, in various Christian creeds, as well as in Islamism and other religions, concepts have been introduced that give a margin of action and freedom to the human being, independently of the divine. In this way, they have adapted humanism to their beliefs.
Secular humanism
It is where ethical and life principles are inculcated and practiced independently of religion. They promote an altruistic morality, a distributive justice and the rejection of the existence of superior powers that govern human life.
Basically it has become a philosophy of life, rather than a stream of formal thought. Even so, there exists the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), a group of humanist organizations, which pretend to be the official voice of this approach.
Marxist humanism
Marxist humanism rejects the concept of the individual as such. It assumes that the human being is only and is made according to a human group. Unlike other humanisms, think that subjects always depend on social and historical forces, which are superior to them.
From the ethical point of view, it promotes solidarity as a maximum value. They indicate that man appropriates his destiny collectively. The great changes, personal and social, are the result of a group action and not individual.
Existentialist humanism
In existentialist humanism the maximum value of the human being is freedom. That is why he rejects any form of totalitarianism, whether intellectual or material. They do not believe in absolute causes or ideals, nor do they accept that someone claims the owner of the truth.
The existentialist philosophers have promoted the idea that it is each individual who must build their destiny. To achieve this, he must resist external influences and not allow them to interfere with his capacity for self-determination.
"Each one constructs the meaning of his own life. It is in this current where most of the humanistic psychological schools are located."
Empirical humanism
In this current of thought, more value is given to actions than to concepts. That is why they do not intend to become a doctrine, but rather highlight the actions that must be accepted or rejected by individuals.
In essence, the empirical humanists reject any action that limits freedom of thought and expression. They also condemn any form of violence and exalt all the rights of minorities, which must be respected in all circumstances.
As can be seen, all forms of humanism highlight the ability of man to take responsibility for his destiny. Also, in one way or another, promote fraternity and freedom as the highest human values. That makes this current of thought a valuable reference for the current world.
Humanism is one of the most important concepts in modern era... With this we now have our basic rights as human being...
Thanks to Enlightenment and all the thinkers in it which have found this indipensable concept...❤
Have a great day, dear my friend @joelgonz1982...☕🤗❤
[PS:
Would you please also read my quality content about Art And Literature below...:
https://steemit.com/philosophy/@zaimrofiqi/the-labyrinth-of-benjamin-thoughts-walter-benjamin-on-arts-and-literature
Your comments & upvote are really appreciated... Thank you....☕❤]