Civic Humanism

By: Leandro Crespo Ruiz

 Humanism
To know what civic humanism is, first we
need to know what humanism is.
Humanism is a philosophical view that
emphasizes the individual and social
potential and actions of human beings. He
considered man as the starting point for
serious ethical and philosophical studies.
The meaning of the term "humanism" has
changed with successive intellectual
movements identifying with it. During the
Italian Renaissance, ancient writings
inspired scholars in various Italian cities, giving rise to what is now known as
Renaissance humanism. With the Age of Enlightenment, human values were
further reinforced by the advancement of science and technology, giving
people the confidence to explore the world.

Civic Humanism
Civic humanism describes a political culture and philosophy that arose in
Renaissance Italy in the 15th century but was influential in the American
Revolutionary War in the late 18th century and beyond. The term was first
introduced in the first half of the 20th century by the historian Hans Baron.
Although Bourgeois Humanism was published in an earlier work, Baron
codified the idea in his The Crisis of the Early Italian Renaissance in 1955,
then republished it in a revised form in 1966. For Baron, late medieval Italy
was divided into two basic political groups: republic and tyranny. Focusing on
the Florentine Republic in Italy, Baron believed that late medieval Florentines
idealized a contemplative life, focusing on an active life of study or prayer.
Emphasize Latin over dialects and trace their origins to becoming politically
subordinate to outside powers such as the Roman emperors. Everything
changed after the political crisis of 1402, claims the baron. He claims that in
that year the army of the tyrant of Milan threatened to conquer the Republic of
Florence, destroy its liberty, and put the city under the yoke of the master. The
tyrant's sudden death saved Florence, and according to Barron, the city's
tyranny ushered in a new outlook called bourgeois humanism. Baron drew on
the writings of humanists such as Leonardo Bruni and Matteo Palmieri to
show that the new civil humanist cities were characterized by devotion to
public affairs, an active life rather than a contemplative one. Willingness to
accept the meaning of folk and Latin writings; above all, a belief in the
absolute importance of political freedom and the superiority of republican
forms of politics over monarchical forms of politics. Baron suggests that this
civil humanism formed the cultural core of the Italian Renaissance and saved
Western civilization from a pre-modern world terrorized by the tyranny of
petty tyrants.

Differences
The civic humanism is a form of classical republicanism that involves
blending participatory political participation with classical Renaissance
learning. The humanism is Humanism is an opinion or system of thought that
places the greatest emphasis on the human rather than the divine or
supernatural. Humanistic views emphasize the potential value and goodness of
people, stress the common needs of people, and seek fully rational solutions to
human problem.

YouTube. (2013) What Was Civic Humanism? AP Euro Bit by Bit #4

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EHNE. (2020).
Civic Humanism. EHNE. Retrieved October 25, 2022, from
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