Humanism was a term coined in the 16th century which denotes a period in which values were subject to a significant shift from the medieval understanding of Christianity. The religious prerogative of this period changed drastically in the way individuals were supposed to interact with others and their understanding of the outside world. During this period, the religious constraint of the medieval era was left behind, leaving room for secular values to step into.
As the name implies, Humanism is fundamentally a worldview that places emphasis on the autonomy of the individual and its relationship to the environment and those around it. As opposed to the medieval period, in which Christianity held a controlling position in culture and religion, Humanism allows individuals to explore their own choices and values to find truth, allowing different people to contribute to an unbiased opinion.
Historian Stephen Greenblatt argues that “Humanists abandoned the blind obedience to the Church” and repudiated any ecclesiastical authority. This was done in an effort to reinstate the individual’s control and ability to think independently and to accept authority only when it was found to be reasonable and logical. Consequently, Humanism was about placing individual thought over any external religious or cultural belief.
The main break that Humanism had from the medieval Christian belief is rooted in its rejection of faith as the main determinant of truth and the surrender to corruptive authority. Instead of accepting the Church as the only source of knowledge and the ultimate author of all morality, Humanists valued knowledge and expertise in critical thinking. To that extent, we can trace Humanism back to the Renaissance, during which there was a growing rejection to the idea of the Catholic Church being the only trusted authority.
Another major element of Humanism lies in its reinterpretation of morality. During the medieval period morality and Christianity were synonymous, but Humanism allowed individuals to define their own code of conduct that was not inherently tied to any religious doctrine or faith. This meant that the teachings of the Bible were no longer valid as a source of ultimate authority in the moral code of humans. This allowed new interpretive codes to manifest which were rooted in philosophy, rather than theology.
Such interpretive shift benefitted society in a large extent, as the individual had full autonomy in determining the values of their life. This in turn allowed a whole new wave of thought and reasoning that was free from religious bindings and allowed to grow independently.
Relation to Science
Humanism and its break from Christianity had a direct impact on the rise of science and empirical evidence as the leading source of knowledge. Up until the period of Humanism, knowledge and wisdom were perceived as divine properties. But Humanism allowed individuals to break the shackles of divine wisdom and reason towards empirical evidence and observation.
Throughout history, Humanism manifested itself in opposition to elements of the Church doctrine, such as church-appointed authority, Papal infallibility and the use of Latin, and soon enough such forces of opposition allowed for science and knowledge to take the spotlight as the main sources of authority.
This attitude of scepticism towards faith and divine knowledge significantly allowed for empirical science to become the leading method of understanding the world. With that, the authority of the church began to hold less weight in the eyes of those who studied the natural world.
Relation to Art
The cultural and artistic forces of the Humanist era were possibly the most evident, both in terms of the structure of artwork and its content. During the Humanist period, art shifted its focus to classical patterns, painting ancient figures and stories, as opposed to solely religious themes that dominated the medieval period.
This shift in engagement with ancient figures and stories is evident in the works of Sandro Botticelli and his painting The Birth of Venus. In it, he utilizes classical figures with a symbolic remembrance to the old Greek myths. This is a clear embodiment of the Humanist era, as it incorporates classical bodies with a remembrance to the ancient past, devoid of any religious symbolism.
Such shift in the structure of art and its content is another direct result of the hostility towards the ‘divine’ during the Humanist period.
Relation to Philosophy
With the rise of Humanism, the religious bindings on past philosophies were no longer valid and a whole new wave of thinking began to emerge. These ideas and thought processes were foundationally different as they themselves began to be distinct from the inhibiting doctrines of church and religion.
This once again manifests itself in the works of the French philosopher Rene Descartes, who in his works slowly moves away from the religious and metaphysical sources of the past and towards the natural world and a thoroughly empirical approach. Thus, his ‘Discourse on Method’ departs from religious speculation and represents instead a humanist rationalist approach to philosophical knowledge.
Relation to Education
The Humanist period was marked by its shift of focus from theology to the classical humanities, such as grammar, history, rhetoric, and poetry. The belief behind this shift was that Humanistic disciplines emulate the wisdom of the classical world and allow for an alternative base of knowledge in which individuals could search for truth.
As a result, classical works of Homer, Livy, and Cicero were all studied intensely, allowing the Renaissance humanists to revive ancient wisdom. In this sense, the Humanist period accepted the notion of progress and the notion to learn from the works of the past, as opposed to suppressing of knowledge, as it was in the medieval period.
In addition to the focus on classical studies, the Humanist period also encouraged the use of native languages over Latin as the main vehicles of knowledge. Eventually, the establishment of private academies and humanist schools allowed students to pursue the humanities and made learning available to a much wider audience.
Relation to Social Hierarchy
The role of Humanism towards the status quo and the pre-existing social structures of the past is best understood by looking into the Medici family and their instrumental role in pushing Humanist values. This was done in an effort to challenge the strictly hierarchical values that existed in the period, specifically the tight religious structure exhibited by the clergy.
For this reason, the Medici family founded the Platonic academy, which allowed them to advance the Humanist cause further by introducing new ideas into the established structure and questioning it. Nevertheless, this endeavor of their was only available to the most educated and wealthy level of society, with the rest of the population bound to and limited by the constraints of the existing religious and hierarchical structure.
Though no noteworthy changes were made to the existing social structures during the period of Humanism, its influence was profound in its ability to challenge the existing religious structures and its policies towards morality and authority.
Relation to Gender
Though less is known about the activities of women and their relationship to Humanism, what can be said is that amidst such changes many women began to acquire a more prominent role in society. This was specifically done through the patronage of wealthy women, who utilized their wealth to push Humanist causes, philosophies, artwork and many more.
An example of such wealthy patrons was Alfonsina Orsini, who put her resources and expertise towards the growth of Humanist values. She acquired a vast library of important ancient texts, studied and translated them, initiated the invention of encyclopediae of cinema and rhetoric, and even, towards the end of her life, ordained her last wish to become a nun into a Humanistic text.
Consequentially, we can argue that Humanism provided the world with an example of how individuals had the potential of autonomy in their abilities and thrusts, a belief which had a direct influence on the marginalization of gender roles.
