Sarah Bakewell traces the lineage of humanism from the rediscovery of classical literature in the fourteenth century to modern secular movements. She documents how thinkers like Erasmus, Montaigne, and Voltaire prioritized human agency, logic, and physical well-being over religious dogma. The narrative moves through the Enlightenment and the development of the scientific method, concluding with twentieth-century existentialism and the rise of international human rights. Bakewell connects these historical eras through specific habits of mind, including intellectual humility, neighborly affection, and the rejection of absolute certainties.
Readers of intellectual history and philosophy choose this book to understand the origins of secular ethics and individual liberty. It appeals to those seeking a historical foundation for morality that does not rely on supernatural authority. The reader gains a clear timeline of how free inquiry replaced blind obedience in the Western tradition. By the end, they possess a detailed vocabulary of humanistic values and a better understanding of how past literary and scientific breakthroughs continue to shape contemporary social justice and democratic ideals.
- Published
- 2023
- Language
- EN
