What is humanism?

Humanism is a concept defined from the philosophy and it's an attitude that tries to place special emphasis on the dignity and worth of the human person, considering it as a rational being able to practice good and find the truth. It is also a concept used to define cultural and literary movements present in the Europe of the century XIV and XV, where he is reborn the study of Rome and classical Greece, which highlights the value of classic and above its importance in the Christian context.

Humanism comply as a whole movement, and originated in Italy at the end of the middle ages, when such important figures as Dante and Francesco de Tetrarch, among others, made great contributions to the discovery and conservation of the classics. Other large contributed to the formation of this movement as it was Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola, who, through his work, "Prayer" was able to capture the ideal humanists focused on human dignity.

The expansion of this movement took even stronger thanks to the diffusion of classical texts, what was possible by the novel use of printing in the 15th century, once part of the nobility and the high clergy has contributed significantly in the compilation and translation of the classic texts in question.

Humanism had a strong impact on literature and art, however, was expanding and entering countries like England where his influences came to take part in education and theology, settling as one of the main causes of the Reformation. It was in this country where the spread of the humanist movement was in charge of large educational institutions as the famous universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Translated for educational purposes.