Humanism

Conceptual Overview

Opinions about the emergence and meaning of the term humanism and about when and why it should be relied upon versus when, how, and why it should be qualified by other terms are manifold and interlinked. These differences of opinion can be productively approached if we consider the extent to which different notions of humanism distance themselves from the natural and the divine. For example, one of the senses one can discern in humanism's historical usage is that of a belief in the existence and humanity of Christ, but not in his divinity, a usage whose initiation is attributed to the English poet and philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge and one that is closely associated with the development of our contemporary understanding of the philanthropic notion of humanitarianism. Development of a system of thought and action as akin to that of a theist religion from a strictly human origin is a project most associated with August Comte, who both coined the term sociology and developed the philosophy of positivism. This “religion of humanity,” in its development from Comte's positivism (as seen by the reliance on his term altruism), encapsulated much of the heart of the Enlightenment and was particularly influential on the writing of the English philosopher and political economist John Stuart Mill. Mill's utilitarianism, developed in the context of Comte, was in turn a key contributor to the secular liberalism that enabled the deep embedding of humanism in the common sense we currently inhabit.

Humanism's status as a quasi-religion continues to be a matter of debate today, with the capitalized form of the term being adopted by those who would choose it as self-descriptor. In this way, Humanism conveys adherence to an explicit, overarching nontheistic stance toward life (see, for example, the International Humanist and Ethical Union, the umbrella organization for Humanist groups worldwide).

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