From HomoExcelsior

1. A philosophy that is primarily concerned with humans and their values, worth, needs and abilities.

2. A philosophical movement of the European Renaissance that emphasized secular concerns as a result of the rediscovery of knowledge that had been lost during the Middle (Dark) Ages.

N.B.: Humanism is associated with the rebirth of the Republic as a form of government, and has always been deeply involved with the encouragement and maintenance of the highly educated populace which makes it possible. As such it emphasizes the study of the literature, art, and civilization of ancient Greece and Rome where such populations first came about.

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