Humanism Term Analysis

Humanism is a broad term that has been used to refer to a wide variety of different philosophical schools throughout history. However, all versions of humanism have generally argued for the superiority of reason to religious dogma and believed that humanity can define its values and future for itself. When Césaire writes about humanists, he specifically refers to 18th-20th century European (mostly French) philosophers who were optimistic about human progress in society and technology, which they connected to the rise of science and philosophy in public life. However, Césaire takes issue with the way these humanists, like the scholar Ernest Renan, saw the European colonization of the world and subjugation of “inferior or degenerate races” like “Negroes and Chinese” as integral to the progress of humanity. For Césaire, this shows that humanists were totally incapable of understanding the value they considered supreme: the absolute and equal value of all human beings. This shows how Europe used philosophy as a way to deny and justify the genocides, widespread enslavement, and mass dispossession of land and resources that it was busy committing overseas. In other words, instead of considering the moral consequences of their actions, Europeans took solace in theoretical ideas like humanism, without ever putting them into practice.