Towards the middle of the 14th century , a new philosophical trend appeared in Europe - humanism, which marked a new era in the development of human society called the Renaissance. Medieval Europe in those days was under a heavy burden of church prejudice, all free thought was brutally suppressed. It was at that time in Florence that philosophical doctrine arose, which made us take a fresh look at the crown of God's creation.
The humanism of the Renaissance is a set of teachings representing a thinking person who knows how to not only go with the flow, but also able to resist and act independently. Its main direction is interest in each individual, faith in his spiritual and physical capabilities. It was humanism of the Renaissance that proclaimed other principles of personality formation. A man in this teaching is presented as a creator, he is individual and not passive in his thoughts and actions.
The new philosophical trend took as a basis the ancient culture, art and literature, focusing on the spiritual essence of man. In the Middle Ages, science and culture were the prerogative of the church, which was very reluctant to share its accumulated knowledge and achievements. Renaissance humanism has unveiled this veil. First, in Italy, and then gradually and throughout Europe, universities began to form, in which, along with the Theosophical sciences, secular subjects began to be studied: mathematics, anatomy, music and humanitarian subjects.
The most famous humanists of the Italian Renaissance are: Pico della Mirandola, Dante Alighieri, Giovanni Boccaccio, Francesco Petrarch, Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael Santi and Michelangelo Buanarotti. England gave the world such giants as William Shakespeare, Francis Bacon. France gave Michel de Montaigne and Francois Rabelais, Spain - Miguel de Cervantes, and Germany - Erasmus of Rotterdam, Albrecht Dürer and Ulrich von Gutten. All these great scientists, enlighteners, artists forever turned the worldview and consciousness of people and showed a rational, beautiful soul and thinker. All subsequent generations owe it to them for the given opportunity to look at the world differently.
Humanism in the Renaissance at the head of everything put the virtues that a person possesses, and demonstrated the possibility of their development in a person (independently or with the participation of mentors).
Anthropocentrism differs from humanism in that man, according to this current, is the center of the universe, and everything that is located around should serve him. Many Christians, armed with this teaching, proclaimed man to be the supreme creature, and at the same time put on him the greatest burden of responsibility. Anthropocentrism and humanism of the Renaissance vary greatly, so you need to be able to clearly distinguish between these concepts. An anthropocentric is a person who is a consumer. He believes that everyone owes him something, he justifies exploitation and does not think about the destruction of wildlife. Its main principle is the following: a person has the right to live as he wants, and the rest of the world is obliged to serve him.
Anthropocentrism and Renaissance humanism were later used by many philosophers and scientists, such as Descartes, Leibniz, Locke, Hobbes and others. These two definitions were repeatedly taken as a basis in various schools and movements. The most significant, of course, for all subsequent generations was humanism, which in the Renaissance sowed the seeds of goodness, enlightenment and reason, which we today, after several centuries, consider the most important for reasonable people. We, the descendants, today enjoy the great achievements of the literature and art of the Renaissance, and modern science is based on many teachings and discoveries that originated in the XIV century and still exist. The humanism of the Renaissance tried to make man better, to teach him to respect himself and others, and our task is to be able to preserve and increase his best principles.