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Lexicon.

humanism

noun [ˈhjuməˌnɪzəm]
pronunciation CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, open source

Humanism is an outlook that puts human beings, their reason, dignity and well-being at the centre of thought, and also the Renaissance movement that revived classical learning.

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Definitions

  1. In history and culture: the intellectual movement of the Renaissance that returned to ancient Greek and Roman writers and treated their languages, literature and ideas as the core of education.
    source Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)
  2. In philosophy and ethics: a view of life that starts from human experience and human reason, and judges what is right by its effect on human welfare rather than by an appeal to the supernatural.
    source Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)
  3. In general use: concern for people and respect for their worth, especially when this attitude shapes art, science, politics or medicine.
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Examples

Usage

Humanism is a word with several layers, and the context usually tells you which one is meant. In a history lecture it points to the Renaissance scholars who went back to classical texts. In a debate about religion it usually means secular humanism, an ethical outlook without belief in God. In a review of a novel or a film it simply praises warmth and attention to real people. An adjective in front of it narrows the meaning: Renaissance, classical, Christian, secular, scientific or civic humanism.

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Webster (1913) gives humanism two senses: first, human nature or disposition, the same as humanity, and second, the study of the humanities, which the dictionary calls polite learning. For the first sense it quotes Thomas Hardy, who writes of a woman who seemed to rise above sex to the loftier quality of abstract humanism. The modern sense of a philosophy of life is not yet among the definitions there, which shows how the word widened later.

source Editorial team; facts: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913, open source

The related noun humanist is older and more specific. Webster (1913) explains it first as one of the scholars who represented the Renaissance movement in literature and who, early in the 16th century, took the name Humanist as their own title. Further senses are a person devoted to the humanities and a person who knows human nature well. The same dictionary lists humanistic as an adjective and records humanitarian, which at that time had several senses, including a person concerned with the welfare of others.

source Editorial team; facts: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913, open source

The noun often goes with secular, Renaissance, Christian, liberal and deep, and people embrace, defend, reject or criticise it. A follower is a humanist, and the adjective is humanistic. Keep humanism apart from humanitarianism. Humanism is a way of thinking about what matters, while humanitarianism today usually means practical help for people in need, as in humanitarian aid. Opposite positions include antihumanism and, in some debates, theocentrism, the view that God rather than humanity stands at the centre.

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Word forms

Regular English noun, usually uncountable; the plural humanisms is rare and refers to different kinds or versions of the outlook.

word forms

przypadek forma
singular humanism
plural humanisms

Word forms: Editorial team

Collocations

Synonyms · Antonyms

Synonyms humanitarianism (in the loose sense), human-centredness, secularism (in some contexts)
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Antonyms antihumanism, theocentrism, inhumanity
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Etymology

Humanism adds the suffix -ism to human. Skeat derives human through Middle French humain from Latin humanus, human, which he connects with Latin homo, a man, and notes that the word was formerly spelt humaine before being conformed to the Latin spelling. Webster (1913) likewise traces human to Latin humanus, akin to homo, and humanity to Latin humanitas.
source W. W. Skeat, An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed., Oxford 1910, open source
also Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913, open source

Related words

Related entries

Questions and answers

What does humanism mean?

Humanism is an outlook that places people, their reason and their well-being at the centre; historians also use the word for the Renaissance movement that revived classical learning.

source Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)

How did older dictionaries define humanism?

Webster (1913) gives two senses: human nature or disposition, and the study of the humanities, described as polite learning. The idea of humanism as a philosophy of life is not yet listed there.

source Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913, open source

Where does the word humanism come from?

The word rests on human, which Skeat derives through French humain from Latin humanus and connects with Latin homo, a man. Skeat also notes that humane comes from the same Latin word and was later set apart from human by its stress.

source W. W. Skeat, An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed., Oxford 1910, open source

Is humanism the same as humanitarianism?

No. Humanism is a view about what matters most in life and thought, while humanitarianism today usually means active help for people who suffer, for example in war or disaster.

source Editorial team (in-house source, no external address)