Author: M. Asem Ismail Zahi
Humanism (Part Three)
Background
In the West and in westernized societies, when people experienced emptiness in life, they adopted a theory to satisfy their inner longing—a theory that gave primacy to the human being and denied God-oriented Ness, imagining that through this they could elevate human dignity and virtue.
The group that sees devotion to God as contradictory to human primacy in the West are the founders of the Humanism school. The root of this issue lies in the fact that, after rejecting the spiritual realms, the West felt a strange sense of spiritual poverty within itself. The denial of God and the interpretation of the world and humanity purely through rigid natural laws eliminated every form of compassion from society, reducing the human being to a mechanical entity.
This caused some Western thinkers—seeking to compensate for the lack of spirituality and emotion—to introduce the principle of “human primacy” in order, as they believed, to soften the harshness and rigidity of human life. Thus emerged a school of thought that gave primacy to the created being and stripped it from the Creator.
However, these two forms of primacy are not parallel to one another so that a contradiction may be assumed between them, as in the phrase “either God or man.” Rather, the two are sequential: the human being, through connection with that infinite ocean, receives support and strives to draw closer to the center of perfection. In reality, the perfection of the human being is but a drop from that ocean—and once it joins the ocean, it is no longer a drop:
A drop becomes the sea when united with it;
Otherwise, the drop remains a drop, and the sea remains the sea.
Although Humanism in its specific sense is a foundational element of the Renaissance movement, its earlier roots trace back to ancient Greek culture.
Idol-worshipers created human-like traits and even human forms for their gods, and the human body became the central subject in the arts of painting and sculpture. After the rise of Christianity and its establishment in the Roman Empire by Constantine’s decree, political-cultural authority—alongside religious leadership—fell under the power of the Church.
The excesses of the Church in the Middle Ages regarding human value and dignity triggered extreme reactions in defense of human worth and led to the rise of Humanism. Some of the anti-human teachings and practices promoted by the Church included:
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The belief that humans are inherently sinful.
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The belief that humans have no free will.
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The notion that human intellect and knowledge contradict religion, and that scientific inquiry is satanic interference and opposed to servitude to God.
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The belief that religion and worldly life, spiritual and physical pleasures, are mutually exclusive and cannot coexist.
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The stance that people have no right to hold independent beliefs or thoughts contrary to the Church.
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The claims that the Church had authority over entry into heaven, forgiveness of sins, and even the selling of heavenly lands.
As a result of these extremes and the disregard for human dignity, the first oppositions to the Church, the Empire, and the feudal lords began in southern Italy, spreading throughout Italy and then into Germany, France, Spain, and England between the 14th and 16th centuries. Opponents claimed they were reviving human dignity and attempted to restore lost freedom by reviving the classical literature of Rome and Greece. Leaning on rational freedom and opposing religious asceticism, they sought to elevate physical pleasures—neglected by the Church—as the ultimate goal of human existence, considering asceticism and piety as obstacles to pleasure and benefit.
Gradually, religion came to be seen as incompatible with human freedom and was eventually interpreted merely as a tool to serve human desires. The unseen realm was forgotten, materialism became the foundation, and finally, with the perceived conflict between religion and worldly life, worldly pleasures were given precedence. [1]
The word “Humanism” is derived from the Latin term humanitas. This term entered the English lexicon in the nineteenth century. Historians agree that although the term became formalized later, its underlying concepts—connected to humanitas—have existed for a very long time. These meanings involve mutual benevolence among people and the values that arise from human nature or human learning.
In 1808, Friedrich Immanuel Niethammer, the Bavarian educational commissioner, coined the term Humanismus to refer to Humanism and used it to describe his new curriculum for secondary schools in Germany. [2]
In 1836, the word “Humanism” entered the English language. After its introduction, the term quickly gained universal acceptance by 1856. In the same year, German historian and philosopher Georg Voigt used this word to describe Renaissance Humanism—a movement flourishing in the Italian Renaissance that sought to revive classical learning. This usage was soon adopted by historians in many countries, especially Germany.
However, in the mid-eighteenth century, during the French Enlightenment, a new usage of the term emerged that was more ideological. In 1765, an anonymous French Enlightenment writer described “human love… a mysterious space between us,” and suggested naming it “Humanism,” implying that it was time to establish a proper term for this beautiful and essential concept.
The latter half of the eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century witnessed the rise of multiple societies known as “benevolent societies” and humanitarian organizations, which aimed to improve human welfare and expand knowledge. (Some included Christian members as well). [3]
Continues…
Previous Part
References:
[1] Barbour, Ian, Science and Religion, p. 37, trans. Bahauddin Karamshahi, Islamic Culture and Thought Research Institute, 1401 AH, Tehran.
[2] Marie, Pierre, Humanism and the Renaissance, p. 154, trans. Abdolwahab Ahmadi, Agah Publications, Iran.
[3] Pinker, Steven, Enlightenment Now, p. 12, trans. Sheenidar Translators Group, Sheenidar Negar Novin, Tehran.
