“So I think as a biologist I would like us to focus on this planet and finding solutions to sustaining humanity, to improving people’s lives globally, but doing our absolute utmost to preserve as much biodiversity as we can, knowing that we have already been responsible for the loss of thousands of species.”
– Alice Roberts.
The four characteristics of humanism are curiosity, a free mind, belief in good taste, and belief in the human race.” – EM Forster.
“Humanism is a way of thinking and living that emphasizes the agency of human beings. Humanism stresses the fact that we, human beings, are capable of changing the world.”
– Leo Igwe.
In my younger days, I was proud of my human rights activism and my achievements in that forum. One of my guiding principles came from what was attributed as being an old Chinese proverb: “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness”. Today, as we live through an era of increasing darkness and uncertainty, I believe that it is important to be fully mindful of the candle adage. In my experience, an optimal way of expressing that principle in practical terms cannot be found within an organised religion – which is usually exclusive and elitist – but through a recognition of our common humanity. This, to me, comprises humanism.
A fair definition of humanism – across time and culture – is that it is a philosophy which acknowledges the capacity and responsibility of human beings to think and act in ways that are reasoned, compassionate, humanitarian and responsible – especially in solving the world’s problems that we have caused. Placing humans at the centre of this focus does not, in any way, diminish the inherent value of other life on this planet, but commits us (as individuals and as a species) to respect and protect these other forms of life, and the biosphere upon which we co-exist.
As a collective, humanists have a lot of which they can be proud. From the abolition of slavery to the establishment of human rights; from gender and sexual and racial equality to international conventions on rights for children and refugees and people with disability; from anti-discrimination laws all the way to animal and environmental rights; humanism has changed the world. As a philosophy that has influenced religions across space and time, it has engendered “The Golden Rule” into cultures everywhere with such confidence that religious adherents often believe their dogmas are responsible for inculcating this principle of universal human fraternity.
It might also be noted that secular humanism is currently under attack. With the decline of mainstream religions and cultural adherence to conformity, we have seen the widespread rise and acceptance of a multitude of alternatives to address the adage that nature abhors a vacuum. We now see an epidemic of fringe individualism, religious fundamentalism, conspiracy theories, science denialism, sovereign citizenship, political populism and dog whistling, social media celebrity, and a return to ideas that were long discarded: flat earthism, racism, Nazism, warmongering, rejection of refugees, the ‘othering’ of foreigners and immigrants and those from other races and cultures. Anyone who subscribes to universal human rights and the philosophy that all people are equal in worth and dignity, must take battle against such attacks upon human egalitarianism, knowledge and dignity.
In order to most strongly advocate for a universal philosophy of equitability and social justice, we must have the courage and honesty to explore humanism’s current weaknesses in practice, as well as its strengths in principle. Please come with me as we go on a journey to explore this nuanced and multifaceted human adventure.
The History of Humanism
“Humanism is about the world, not about humanism.” – Harold Blackham
Humanism is often presented as a historical, academic and philosophical phenomenon that was inspired by writings from ancient Greece and Rome, reborn in Renaissance Europe, achieving its modern context late in the nineteenth century. Despite the reality that modern humanism is a more grassroots and less academic phenomenon, its practice is rooted in this Eurocentric perspective, which highlights western culture (from academia to entertainment) instead of nurturing and sponsoring local African or Asian or Latin American expressions of culture and perspective.
Humanist ideas were discussed in Ancient Greece, from Thales to Anaxagoras and Protagoras. The teachings of Zarathushtra and Lao Tzu had strong elements of humanism, and there are many other examples.
The writings of the ancient Greeks were studied in the 1400s during the Renaissance. However, in this period the term “humanism” came to mean educated in the humanities, a rather different kind of idea. Petrarch is often cited as the first modern humanist, but he pointed backwards to classical authors. The modern meaning of humanism is more to do with using science to make the world a better place. – Kiddle Encyclopedia
However, the history of humanism extends further back than that, and its reach is broader. Humanity emerged from Africa, so although much evidence of those past times has long been lost, our humanism clearly also emerged from that same source. Like humanity itself, humanism has spread across the globe, and its rudimentary philosophy can be found in cultures from long ago.
Chirag Patel and Rishabh Prasad clarify the protracted history regarding the origins of humanism:
The principle origins of humanist thinking are in India, Iran and China. In India around the 8th Century BCE, there was the emergence of Lokayata philosophy, which was itself a development of ideas in the Vedas, the core Hindu holy texts, written in around 1000 BCE. Lokayata philosophy is a system that is explicitly materialist, rejecting the concept of the soul and taking on philosophical scepticism…
Earlier still are the Gathas of Zoroaster, or Zarathustra, between 1000 and 600 BCE. The Gathas focus on the notion of individual choice and agency (Schmid, 1979). In China, there is the Tao Te Ching in the 6th century BCE, which combines elements of spiritualist abstraction with a clear focus on the mutable world and away from metaphysical rules and authoritarian approaches. This is contemporaneous with Buddhism, which begins with a rejection of the Gods while retaining the valuable aspects of religious behaviour within a human-centred frame.
In each of these cases, models of thought and behaviour are developed that focus around the human self and supreme wisdom as an ideal, rather than authoritarian theologies. In each case, there is also a vision of the ideal person, such as the enlightened Buddha (‘awakened one’), and the defining characteristic of this person is their focus upon the human and personal rather than metaphysical and hierarchical. (Patel and Prasad, n.d., 7)
Humanism is documented as contributing to a medieval renaissance within Islam as well as Christianity:
“It was during the Renaissance of Islam that humanism unfolded in its luxuriant expression. This branch of humanism was essentially the offspring of the humanitas ideal which germinated in the period of Hellenism and Graeco-Roman antiquity. The primary features of this humanism are: a conception of the common kinship and unity of mankind; the adoption of the ancient classics as an educational and cultural ideal in the formation of mind and character (paideia); and humaneness, or love of mankind (philanthrōpia).” – Kraemer, pp. 135 & 136.
The American Humanist Association Centre for Education notes:
The Confucians tried to replace traditional religious beliefs with an ethical system focused on responsibility to family and society. Confucianism emphasizes benevolence, respect for others, and reciprocity as the foundations of social order. An early expression of the Golden Rule of ethics is found in The Analects (the collected sayings) of Confucius: “Do not do to others what you would not like for yourself.”
Morimichi Kato notes that Ogyū Sorai (1666–1728) established a Japanese version of Confucian humanism.
Meanwhile, the African philosophy of Ubuntu epitomises the universal nature of humanist tenets: “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”— or “a person is a person through other people.” (see Felix).
Modern Humanism Around the World
Humanism has been used as the basis for exploring socialism and post-colonial politics across Africa, as demonstrated by the experiences of President Kenneth Kaunda from Zambia:
“He developed a left nationalist-socialist ideology, called Zambian Humanism. This was based on a combination of mid-20th-century ideas of central planning/state control and what he considered basic African values: mutual aid, trust, and loyalty to the community. Similar forms of African socialism were introduced inter alia in Ghana by Kwame Nkrumah (“Consciencism”) and Tanzania by Julius Nyerere (“Ujamaa” – Wikipedia).
One modern Humanist in Ghana, writes about human priorities, particularly the universal human need for family:
“Family to me is anyone who loves me almost unconditionally and wants the best for me. I grew up thinking that family is blood and I’m sure a lot of us have as well…
“I broadened my definition of family when life snatched my wig and came for my edges. I was a hot mess. Life said “you’re too cute or whatever, lemme throw in some trauma and spices”.
His biological family being unavailable to offer meaningful support, he found love and help from a friend:
“One day, we were sitting and chatting in a library and I jokingly told him that he’s been adopted as my brother and he smiled and said “you’ve been my brother from the time you opened your heart to me”.
“Since then my adopted family has increased. The most recent adopted members were the humanist family and I’m glad I have. Sometimes I wish we’d stop fighting on how bad religion is and just love humanity as is.” – The Boy Behind the Flowers, Ghana Humanists.
In the Philippines, Humanists explore diversity:
“Empathy’s a Superpower… diversity can work if a society insistently treats it as the default setting instead of a glitch.” – Shane Haro, HAPI.
African American Humanism has its own challenges regarding survival and welfare:
“Black humanism originates from the lived experiences of African Americans in a white hegemonic society. Viewed from this perspective, black humanist cultural expressions are a continuous push to imagine and make room for alternative life options in a racist society.” – Alexandra Hartmann (summary)
Humanism in Latin America has not only influenced Brazilian and Mexican cultures (Mexican humanism, for example, employs the motto: “por el bien de todos, primero los pobres.” “For the good of all; first, the poor”) but also contributed to women’s rights being included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Australia’s most significant humanist cultural contribution may be within its long tradition of storytelling from authors including Marcus Clarke, Steele Rudd, Henry Lawson, Katharine Prichard and Patrick White. Given that this literary tradition is based upon the white colonialist perspective, the Australian convict and digger and ANZAC perspectives of egalitarianism and mateship have their challenges in being inclusive of First Australian and more recent immigrant perspectives, but our nation has a strong cultural claim to humanist equality upon which we should build.
Humanism for the Future
Humanism underlies our lives, existence, and commonalities. It therefore has the potential to grow and evolve along with the human species.
However, in a world facing global crisis, I do feel it is time for western humanists to reconsider their opportunities. For example, if humanists were to lead a challenge to the current withdrawal of US overseas aid and lifesaving medicine as an immediate, short-term goal; and if they were to adopt and promote the eradication of global poverty as some of their long-term goals; they could literally help to save millions of lives and lead the world by ethical example. This would also do more than their current local patchwork efforts to confront theism and religiosity, and ultimately achieve the same ends on a more geographically and historically global scale.
Western humanists are among the world’s most affluent people, and are able to spend more personal time in hobbies and study, versus others who spend more time just doing what they need to do in order to survive and who have relatively little time available for self-reflective introspection. Hence the history and practice of modern humanism appears to be encased in a Eurocentric shell of predominantly affluent western philosophical culture that largely excludes other voices and perspectives, attracts adherents predominantly from similar backgrounds, and leans heavily towards introspection rather than encouraging pragmatic activism.
Modern humanism in the western sphere needs to use its influence to literally change the world instead of comprising the ‘Ladies Who Lunch‘ syndrome. By definition, humanists are people who are good at heart, so I challenge them to make the change.
Let’s see the next generation of humanists adopt the life experiences and wisdom of Opeyemi and Zola and Moussa and Feng alongside our current/past mentors Carl and Richard and Christopher and Madalyn.
Secular humanism has the potential – and the opportunity – to adopt a more inclusive, celebratory and pragmatic approach to its own underpinnings. Many younger non-believers are not currently attracted to secular humanism, but to sentientism, which they perceive as being a more broadly inclusive philosophy and the next evolutionary step of humanism as a philosophy. Do we ignore them – or join them?
Where to From Here? As humanist Gene Roddenberry asserted: The Human Adventure is Just Beginning. The journey promises to be exciting, but like Neil Armstrong and the other Apollo Moon walkers who made history, we must have the courage to step out of our safety zone and into the unknown.
References/See also:
Felix, Ubuntu: The Philosophy of Shared Humanity, The Pan African, 23 September 2024.
Robert Grudin, 2023. “humanism“. Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 December.
Alexandra Hartmann, 2023. “The Black humanist tradition in anti-racist literature: a fragile hope”, summary from University of Southern Indiana, USA.
Harry Heseltine (ed.), Introduction in “The Penguin Book of Australian Short Stories”, Ringwood: Penguin Books Australia, 1976 (reprinted 1981), pp. 9 – 31.
Joel L. Kramer, 1984. “Humanism in the Renaissance of Islam: A Preliminary Study”, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 104, No. 1, Studies in Islam and the Ancient Near East, Dedicated to Franz Rosenthal (January – March), pp. 135-164.
Chirag Patel & Rishabh B Prasad, n.d. “The Hidden History of Humanism Part 1: The Real History of Humanism”. [Academia.edu].
©2025 Geoff Allshorn
Originally published: 2 March 2025.
Edited and republished: 3 and 31 March 2025 in order to streamline and rework some material. Final editing on 1 April 2025.
With thanks to a humanist friend for his advice.
