Humanism: Philolog In The Middle Ages

Humanism was a cultural movement emerging in thirteenth century Florence, which advocated classical learning and argued for the active participation of the individual in civic affairs. It was an ethical life stance, which affirmed humanities right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives and renewed confidence in the ability of human beings to distinguish the truth from falsehoods through knowledge and observation. Humanism was also the thought that fueled the Renaissance, where, through artistic and literary expression, human interests, values, emotions, and dignity became predominate.

Humanism emerged with the rediscovery of classical texts, these texts had been copied down by various monasteries and in some private collections, however, they all had different versions with the original versions being hidden behind centuries worth of mistakes, the early humanists were philologist people who compared various versions of the name text, to look for its true meaning. The goal of

Humanists were not trying to look for a greater understanding of God, like earlier intellectuals, but rather, they wanted to fully understand the human experience. Humanists from all over Europe were able to discuss with each other in the lingua franca of Latin, developing their own political and philosophical theories on where humanity lies and the best way for humans to co-exist. The ‘Humanist Man’ was somebody who could discuss in this lingua franca and engage in intellectual conversions about these topics, often writing their thought down to share it with