Universities and Humanism: Class 11 History Notes

Universities and Humanism is a topic under the chapter of History of class 11 – Changing Cultural and Traditions. Humanism is all about learning and growing as a person.

Universities provide a space to study all sorts of subjects from history and literature to science and philosophy. Back in the Renaissance (a fancy historical period), universities played a big role in starting Humanism. Scholars rediscovered old Greek and Roman ideas that focused on human potential and achievements.

In this article, You will get to know about the Universities and Humanism, the Humanist View of History and much more about it.

Universities and Humanism: Class 11 History Notes

What is Humanism?

Humanism can be thought of as a way of thinking that puts humans at the centre.  It emphasizes human potential, reason, and our ability to live good and ethical lives.

• Humanism doesn’t rely on supernatural beliefs or gods to understand the world. Humanists think we can figure things out using science, logic, and compassion.

• Humanist ideas like reason, individual rights and questioning things are important even today.

• Thinkers in ancient Greece like Socrates and Plato who emphasized reason and human potential planted the early seeds of Humanism.

• Fast forward to 14th-16th century Europe during the Renaissance. Scholars rediscovered classical Greek and Roman works that celebrated human achievement and potential. This is often seen as the main birthplace of Humanism.

• Petrarch, Erasmus and Pico della Mirandola are some of the leaders of Humanism .

Universities and Humanism

The earliest universities in Europe had been set up in Italian towns. The universities of Padua and Bologna have been centres of legal studies since the eleventh century.

Commerce being the chief activity in the city there was an increasing demand for lawyers and notaries (a combination of solicitor and record-keeper) to write and interpret rules and written agreements without which trade on a large scale was not possible.

• Law was therefore a popular subject of study but there was now a shift in emphasis.

• It was studied in the context of earlier Roman culture. Francesco Petrarch (1304-78) represented this change.

• To Petrarch, antiquity was a distinctive civilisation that could be best understood through the actual words of the ancient Greeks and Romans. He therefore stressed the importance of a close reading of ancient authors.

• This educational programme implied that there was much to be learnt which religious teaching alone could not give. This was the culture that historians in the nineteenth century were to label ‘humanism’.

• By the early fifteenth century the term ‘humanist’ was used for masters who taught grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history and moral philosophy.

• Law and humanism were the most popular subjects of interest in European countries but the emphasis was shifted from Roman culture to humanism discipline.

• These subjects were not drawn from or connected with religion and emphasised skills developed by individuals through discussion and debate.

• The Latin word humanitas from which ‘humanities’ was derived, had been used many centuries ago by the Roman lawyer and essayist Cicero (106-43 BCE) a contemporary of Julius Caesar to mean culture.

• These revolutionary ideas attracted the attention of many other universities particularly the newly established university in Petrarch’s hometown of Florence.

Humanist View of History

Humanists thought that they were restoring ‘true civilisation’ after centuries of darkness for they believed that a ‘dark age’ had set in after the collapse of the Roman Empire.

• Following them later scholars unquestioningly assumed that a ‘new age’ had begun in Europe in the fourteenth century.

• The term ‘Middle Ages’/‘medieval period’ was used for the millennium (thousand years) after the fall of Rome.

• It was also believed that during the Middle Ages Churches had full control over the thoughts and actions of all individuals so, that the teachings of Romans and Greeks were completely washed out.

• The humanists used the word ‘modern’ for the period from the fifteenth century.

Name of the Periods as Declared by Humanists

Period	Name of the Period
5th – 14th Century	The Middle Ages
5th – 9th Century	The Dark Ages
9th – 11th Century	The Early Middle Ages
11th – 14th Century	The Late Middle Ages
15th Century Onwards	The Modern Age

Science and Philosophy: The Arab’s Contribution

• Monks and Clergymen’s writings were very familiar to the Greeks and Romans through the ‘Middle Ages’ but they had not made these widely known.

• In the fourteenth century, many scholars began to read translated works of Greek writers like Plato and Aristotle.
• For this, they were indebted not to their scholars but to Arab translators who had carefully preserved and translated ancient manuscripts (Plato was Aflatun and Aristotle Aristu in Arabic).

• While some European scholars read Greek in Arabic translation, the Greeks translated works of Arabic and Persian scholars for further transmission to other Europeans.

• These were works on natural science, mathematics, astronomy, medicine and chemistry.

• Ptolemy’s Almagest (a work on astronomy, written in Greek before 140 CE and later translated into Arabic) carries the Arabic definite article ‘al’, which brings out the Arabic connection.

• Among the Muslim writers who were regarded as men of wisdom in the Italian world were Ibn Sina (‘Avicenna’ in Latin, 980-1037) an Arab physician and philosopher of Bukhara in Central Asia, and al-Razi (‘Rhazes’), author of a medical encyclopaedia.

• Ibn Rushd (‘Averroes’ in Latin, 1126-98), an Arab philosopher of Spain, tried to resolve the tension between philosophical knowledge (faylasuf) and religious beliefs. His method was adopted by Christian thinkers.

• Humanists reached out to people in a variety of ways. Though the curricula in universities continued to be dominated by law, medicine and theology, humanist subjects slowly began to be introduced in schools, not just in Italy but in other European countries as well.

Universities and Humanism Class 11 Notes – FAQs

What are universities and humanism?

Universities played a crucial role in the rise and growth of humanism during the Renaissance period .Humanism a cultural and intellectual movement , emphasized the importance of human values acheivements and potential .

What was the role of universities in spreading humanism class 11?

This education programme implied that there was much to be learnt which religious teachers alone could not give. This was the culture which historians in the 19th century were to label ‘humanism’. These teaching caught the attention of other universities and started spreading all through Italy.

What is the concept of humanism in class 11?

Humanism is a philosophy or a way of thinking about the world . Humanism is a set of ethics or ideas about how people should live and act. People who hold this set of ethics are called humanists. Humanists prefer critical thinking and evidence (rationalism and empiricism) over acceptance of dogma or superstition.

Who was the father of Humanism?

Petrarch was the father of Humanism and he laid the foundation of Renaissance humanism through his writings and came to be known as the father of Humanism. Petrarch was an Italian poet who was prominent during 1304-1374 CE.

When was Humanism adopted in the curriculum of universities in Italy?

Humanism was adopted in the curriculum of universities in Italy .