Definition and scope

Humanism designates a cluster of traditions that place distinctive emphasis on human agency, rational inquiry, and the cultivation of virtue and learning. In the Renaissance it named an educational program of the studia humanitatis; in the 19th–21st centuries it broadened to a naturalistic ethical outlook and organized movement. Encyclopaedias commonly trace its historical core to late medieval and Renaissance Italy and its modern forms to declarations and manifestos adopted by humanist organizations. According to Britannica, the term broadly covers “a system of education and a mode of inquiry,” while in contemporary practice it extends to life‑stances articulated in statements such as the Amsterdam Declaration 2022 of Humanists International. (britannica.com)

Etymology and conceptual uses

The word humanism (German Humanismus) entered scholarly usage in the early 19th century, notably through Friedrich Immanuel Niethammer (1808), to describe a Classical, language‑centered education; it retrospectively labeled the Renaissance studia humanitatis derived from Ciceronian humanitas. Standard references summarize this trajectory and its link to the humanities curriculum. See Britannica and a concise account in the Journal of Classics Teaching noting Niethammer’s coinage and context (Cambridge Core). (britannica.com)

Classical antecedents and the studia humanitatis

Renaissance writers drew on Roman and Greek sources—above all Cicero’s humanitas—to frame an education aimed at eloquence and moral formation. The studia humanitatis typically comprised grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, and moral philosophy. Authoritative treatments highlight this curriculum’s transmission from antiquity and its distinctiveness from scholastic dialectic (Britannica; Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy). (britannica.com)

Renaissance humanism

Renaissance humanism originated in Italy in the 14th century and spread across Europe in the 15th–16th centuries. Figures such as Francesco Petrarch, Lorenzo Valla, and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola advanced philology, textual criticism, and moral philosophy; their work combined the recovery of ancient letters with a program of educational and civic renewal. Lorenzo Valla exposed the Donation of Constantine as a forgery and pioneered critical biblical philology (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Pico’s famous Oration emphasizes human self‑fashioning and dignity; reliable English excerpts are available via Fordham’s Internet Medieval Sourcebook (Oration on the Dignity of Man). Overviews stress that humanism interacted with, rather than simply replaced, scholastic traditions (Britannica). (plato.stanford.edu)

Civic humanism and education

The label “civic humanism” has been used by modern historians to describe Florentine humanists’ emphasis on active citizenship and republican liberty. The concept—shaped by the work of Hans Baron and later debated—features in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and refers to the humanist fusion of classical ideals with public engagement. Humanists reformed curricula toward rhetoric and moral exempla, preparing citizens for eloquent participation in communal life. (plato.stanford.edu)

Northern humanism

In northern Europe, Erasmus exemplified Christian (or biblical) humanism, uniting philology and theology. His annotated Latin‑Greek New Testament (first printed 1516) advanced the humanist ad fontes ideal and influenced both Protestant and Catholic scholarship; primary‑source context is summarized in entries on the Novum Instrumentum and Erasmus’s textual work (overview; Textus Receptus, background). His satirical In Praise of Folly is accessible in full at Project Gutenberg. (en.wikipedia.org)

From early modernity to organized humanisms

The intellectual legacy of humanism fed into early modern scholarship, the Enlightenment, and subsequent movements. In the 19th century, Auguste Comte proposed a “Religion of Humanity,” a consciously secular ritual and ethical system; encyclopaedic summaries and academic surveys introduce its content and influence (Britannica video overview; general reference: Religion of Humanity). (britannica.com)

Modern humanism as life‑stance

Contemporary humanism is articulated in widely cited manifestos and declarations. The American Humanist Association preserves three programmatic statements: Humanist Manifesto I (1933); Humanist Manifesto II (1973); and Humanism and Its Aspirations (2003). Internationally, Humanists International (founded 1952) adopted the Amsterdam Declaration 2022 as the “Declaration of Modern Humanism,” emphasizing ethical naturalism, human rights, and scientific inquiry (policy text; background on the Amsterdam Declarations: overview). (americanhumanist.org)

Organizations and networks

Humanist associations emerged in the 20th century, notably the American Humanist Association (1941) and Humanists International (1952). Their own histories outline founding dates and aims (AHA: history; activities: what we do. HI: about). (americanhumanist.org)

Philosophical varieties

Modern humanisms include secular humanism (a non‑theistic ethical outlook), religious humanism (e.g., strands within Unitarian Universalism), existentialist humanism (famously articulated in Jean‑Paul Sartre’s 1945 lecture “Existentialism Is a Humanism”), and others. For Sartre’s formulation and modern editions, see publisher and library listings (e.g., OverDrive/Yale University Press edition). Scholarly syntheses surveying regional and thematic varieties include The Oxford Handbook of Humanism (Oxford Academic). (overdrive.com)

Key themes and practices

• –Ad fontes: the return “to the sources” (classical and scriptural), embodied in philology, textual criticism, and historical method (e.g., Valla; Erasmus) (SEP: Valla; Novum Instrumentum).
• –Education: centrality of the studia humanitatis in schools and courts; rhetoric as civic tool (Britannica).
• –Ethics without supernaturalism in modern humanism, emphasizing human rights, dignity, and responsibility (Humanists International, 2022 Declaration; AHA, Manifesto III). (plato.stanford.edu)

Critiques and counter‑currents

Humanism has been criticized from several directions. Theological critics dispute its naturalism; some modern philosophers develop “antihumanist” or post‑humanist perspectives that question human exceptionalism and the centered subject. Overviews discuss these debates, for example in studies of civic/Republican vs. liberal traditions, and in accounts of structuralist and post‑structuralist critiques (e.g., Althusser and Foucault) and contemporary posthumanism. See SEP on civic humanism’s historiography, an APSR analysis of Althusser, and surveys of posthumanism (Cambridge Core article; general reference). (SEP, Civic Humanism; APSR article abstract; Humanities journal discussion; Posthumanism overview). (plato.stanford.edu)

Influence on scholarship, religion, and public life

Renaissance humanism reshaped education, the writing of history, and biblical studies; northern humanists helped reform Christian learning and piety through philological methods (Britannica). Modern humanism has influenced civic life through advocacy for secular governance, freedom of conscience, and human rights—commitments made explicit in the Amsterdam Declaration and in national organizations’ programs (Humanists International; AHA). (britannica.com)

Primary texts and accessible sources

• –Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Oration on the Dignity of Man: English excerpts in the Internet Medieval Sourcebook (Fordham University); book editions include Caponigri’s translation (book://Giovanni Pico della Mirandola|Oration on the Dignity of Man|Gateway/Regnery|1996).
• –Desiderius Erasmus, In Praise of Folly: full text at Project Gutenberg; critical discussions in Britannica. (sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu)

Francesco Petrarch • Giovanni Pico della Mirandola • Erasmus • Renaissance • Enlightenment • Secular humanism • Humanists International