“Humanism” arose in the Italian
Renaissance, which recovered classical texts and artifacts, and revivified such
pagan ideals as the creative and self-assertive individual. Later, humanism fed
into other early modern conversations demanding individual liberty and
representative government. Humanism has also been used in a variety of other
ways, for instance, to encourage appreciation of Greek and Roman classics,
written in an age allegedly superior to our own; to foster a love for what is
specifically human; and to describe a virtuous way of life without reference to
the supernatural. To be “humane” also came to mean caring not only for people
in distress, but for animals as well.
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