DESPITE SOME HIGH DEGREES OF SOPHISTICATION, THE ANGLO/SAXON HEGEMONY IS STILL IN THE MONKEY STAGE OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT... BY WISHING TO CONQUER THE WORLD BY WHATEVER MEANS, INCLUDING VIOLENCE AND DECEIT, THE AMERICANS AND THE ENGLISH HAVE FORGONE THEIR ESSENTIAL HUMANITY. IT IS HIGH TIME FOR THE WORLD TO SHIFT FROM ITS STILL INGRAINED PSEUDO-RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF SUPERIORITY TO A PEACEFUL UNDERSTANDING OF THE ELEVATED HUMAN NATURE, WHICH IN TURN HAS TO UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISMS OF THE NATURAL PLANET...

IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY, THE FRENCH UNIVERSITIES REDISCOVERED THE WORLD OF HUMANISM... IMPORTED FROM ITALY, WHICH HAD ITSELF REDISCOVERED IN THE 15 TH CENTURY, THE CONCEPT OF HUMANISM FROM ANTIQUITY... LEADING TO THE RENAISSANCE... GOING BACK TO THE ORIGINAL LATIN AND GREEK TEXT WAS AN ESSENTIAL STEP THEN, THOUGH NOT SO NECESSARY THESE DAYS, SINCE WE HAD THE "ENLIGHTENMENT" OF THE 18TH CENTURY.

UNFORTUNATELY, HUMANISM, RENAISSANCE AND ENLIGHTENMENT HAVE BEEN EXTINGUISHED BY THE DETERMINED EXCEPTIONAL STUPIDITY OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE... WE NEED TO REVIVE HUMANISM IF WE WANT TO SURVIVE BEYOND THE IMBECILES RUNNING THE SHOW... IN SOME WAY, DESPITE SOME FLAWS, THIS IS WHAT THE "AUTHORITARIAN" GOVERNMENTS OF RUSSIA AND CHINA ARE TRYING TO DO, AGAINST THE MONKEYS OF THE USA.

GL. CARTOONIST SINCE 1951

From some French Literary books:

Humanism, “re-born” in the 16th century

Le besoin d'idées nouvelles, l'appétit de savoir

sont d'autant plus vifs que l'enseignement des Universités s'est sclérosé, devenant une routine étroite et stérile. On enseigne aux jeunes gens, selon la méthode d’autorité, la philosophie scolastique, la logique formelle, et la rhétorique. On encombre leur memoire sans développer vraiment leur intelligence ni surtout leur sens critique. Le retour aux textes originaux est exceptionnel : on commente des commentaires, le latin d'école devient un jargon, et la formation intellectuelle dégénère trop souvent en vaines acrobaties qui n'ont plus rien à voir avec l'art, la pensée créatrice et la vie.

Des maîtres veulent réagir contre ces abus par la lecture des chefs-d’œuvre de la littérature latine. Le mot humanitas désignant en latin la culture, ils appellent leur enseignement lettres d'humanité, et bientôt on les nommera eux-mêmes humanistes. Mais ce beau terme d'humanitas évoque aussi une élégance morale, une politesse, une courtoisie, inséparables de toute culture accomplie, bref tout ce qui fait un être humain vraiment human ; ainsi le mot humanisme en viendra à désigner, outre la formation à l'école de la pensée gréco-latine, un idéal de sagesse et toute une philosophie de la vie. L'humanisme, c'est un acte de foi dans la nature humaine, et la conviction, pour reprendre la formule d'André Gide, qu’"il n'y a d'art qu'à l'échelle de l’homme".

Humanism, “re-born” in 16th century France...

The need for new ideas, the appetite for knowledge are all the more vivid as university teaching has become ossified, becoming a narrow and sterile routine. Young people are taught, according to the method of authority, scholastic philosophy, formal logic, and rhetoric. We clutter their memory without really developing their intelligence or especially their critical sense. The return to the original texts is exceptional: commentaries are commented on, school Latin becomes jargon, and intellectual training too often degenerates into vain acrobatics which no longer have anything to do with art, creative thought and life.

Masters want to react against these abuses by reading the masterpieces of Latin literature. The word humanitas designating culture in Latin, they call their teaching letters of humanity, and soon they will be called humanists themselves. But this beautiful term humanitas also evokes a moral elegance, a politeness, a courtesy, inseparable from any accomplished culture, in short everything that makes a human being truly human; thus the word humanism will come to designate, in addition to training in the school of Greco-Latin thought, an ideal of wisdom and a whole philosophy of life. Humanism is an act of faith in human nature, and the conviction, to use André Gide's formula, that "there is no art except on the human scale”.

----------------------

Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism or other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good.
– American Humanist Association

Humanism is a rational philosophy informed by science, inspired by art, and motivated by compassion. Affirming the dignity of each human being, it supports the maximization of individual liberty and opportunity consonant with social and planetary responsibility. It advocates the extension of participatory democracy and the expansion of the open society, standing for human rights and social justice. Free of supernaturalism, it recognizes human beings as a part of nature and holds that values-be they religious, ethical, social, or political-have their source in human experience and culture. Humanism thus derives the goals of life from human need and interest rather than from theological or ideological abstractions, and asserts that humanity must take responsibility for its own destiny.
– The Humanist Magazine

Humanism is a democratic and ethical lifestance which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethics based on human and other natural values in a spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality.
– Humanists International

Humanism is an approach to life based on reason and our common humanity, recognizing that moral values are properly founded on human nature and experience alone.
– The Bristol Humanist Group

Humanism is: A joyous alternative to religions that believe in a supernatural god and life in a hereafter. Humanists believe that this is the only life of which we have certain knowledge and that we owe it to ourselves and others to make it the best life possible for ourselves and all with whom we share this fragile planet. A belief that when people are free to think for themselves, using reason and knowledge as their tools, they are best able to solve this world’s problems. An appreciation of the art, literature, music and crafts that are our heritage from the past and of the creativity that, if nourished, can continuously enrich our lives. Humanism is, in sum, a philosophy of those in love with life. Humanists take responsibility for their own lives and relish the adventure of being part of new discoveries, seeking new knowledge, exploring new options. Instead of finding solace in prefabricated answers to the great questions of life, humanists enjoy the open-endedness of a quest and the freedom of discovery that this entails.
– The Humanist Society of Western New York

Humanism is the light of my life and the fire in my soul. It is the deep felt conviction, in every fiber of my being that human love is a power far transcending the relentless, onward rush of our largely deterministic cosmos. All human life must seek a reason for existence within the bounds of an uncaring physical world, and it is love coupled with empathy, democracy, and a commitment to selfless service which undergirds the faith of a humanist.
– Bette Chambers, former president of the AHA

Humanism is a philosophy, world view, or lifestance based on naturalism-the conviction that the universe or nature is all that exists or is real. Humanism serves, for many humanists, some of the psychological and social functions of a religion, but without belief in deities, transcendental entities, miracles, life after death, and the supernatural. Humanists seek to understand the universe by using science and its methods of critical inquiry-logical reasoning, empirical evidence, and skeptical evaluation of conjectures and conclusions-to obtain reliable knowledge. Humanists affirm that humans have the freedom to give meaning, value, and purpose to their lives by their own independent thought, free inquiry, and responsible, creative activity. Humanists stand for the building of a more humane, just, compassionate, and democratic society using a pragmatic ethics based on human reason, experience, and reliable knowledge-an ethics that judges the consequences of human actions by the well-being of all life on Earth.
– Steven Schafersman

Humanism is a philosophy of life that considers the welfare of humankind – rather than the welfare of a supposed God or gods – to be of paramount importance. Humanism maintains there is no evidence a supernatural power ever needed or wanted anything from people, ever communicated to them, or ever interfered with the laws of nature to assist or harm anyone. Humanism’s focus, then, is on using human efforts to meet human needs and wants in this world. History shows that those efforts are most effective when they involve both compassion and the scientific method – which includes reliance on reason, evidence, and free inquiry. Humanism says people can find purpose in life and maximize their long-term happiness by developing their talents and using those talents for the service of humanity. Humanists believe that this approach to life is more productive and leads to a deeper and longer-lasting satisfaction than a hedonistic pursuit of material or sensual pleasures that soon fade. While service to others is a major focus of Humanism, recreation and relaxation are not ignored, for these too are necessary for long-term health and happiness. The key is moderation in all things. Humanism considers the universe to be the result of an extremely long and complex evolution under immutable laws of nature. Humanists view this natural world as wondrous and precious, and as offering limitless opportunities for exploration, fascination, creativity, companionship, and joy. Because science cannot now and probably never will be able to explain the ultimate origin or destiny of the universe, I think Humanism can include more than atheists and agnostics. The lack of definite answers to these ultimate questions leaves room for reasonable people to hypothesize about the origin of the natural universe, and even to hope for some form of life beyond this one. In fact, two of Humanism’s greatest luminaries, Thomas Paine and Robert Ingersoll, maintained a hope for an afterlife. On the issue of whether God exists, Ingersoll was agnostic, and Paine believed in a deistic God who established the laws of nature but then stepped away and never intervenes in the world. Those beliefs did not interfere with their ability to lead outstanding humanistic lives. Thus, in my opinion, people holding such views can be Humanists if they believe that humanity is on its own in this world, and the lack of any evidence for an afterlife means this life should be lived as though it’s the only one we have.
– Joseph C. Sommer

https://americanhumanist.org/what-is-humanism/definition-of-humanism/

---------------------

The history of the term humanism is complex but enlightening. It was first employed (as humanismus) by 19th-century German scholars to designate the Renaissance emphasis on Classical studies in education. These studies were pursued and endorsed by educators known, as early as the late 15th century, as umanisti—that is, professors or students of Classical literature. The word umanisti derives from the studia humanitatis, a course of Classical studies that, in the early 15th century, consisted of grammar, poetry, rhetoric, history, and moral philosophy. The studia humanitatis were held to be the equivalent of the Greek paideia. Their name was itself based on the Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero’s concept of humanitas, an educational and political ideal that was the intellectual basis of the entire movement. Renaissance humanism in all its forms defined itself in its straining toward this ideal. No discussion of humanism, therefore, can have validity without an understanding of humanitas.

Humanitas meant the development of human virtue, in all its forms, to its fullest extent. The term thus implied not only such qualities as are associated with the modern word humanity—understanding, benevolence, compassion, mercy—but also such more assertive characteristics as fortitude, judgment, prudence, eloquence, and even love of honour. Consequently, the possessor of humanitas could not be merely a sedentary and isolated philosopher or man of letters but was of necessity a participant in active life. Just as action without insight was held to be aimless and barbaric, insight without action was rejected as barren and imperfect. Humanitas called for a fine balance of action and contemplation, a balance born not of compromise but of complementarity.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/humanism