Humanism in History of Western Philosophy

Juan Bernal, Ph.D. in philosophy and long-time humanist, will do a power point presentation on the appearance of humanism in western history. Mr. Bernal issued the following statement on this program:

We shall start with the rise of a humanistic perspective in some of the writings of the Pre-Socratic Greek philosophers. Then I'll remark on humanistic elements in the philosophies of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Following this, I shall briefly look humanistic aspects of the Hellenistic/Roman period, e.g., Epicurus, the Stoics, Cicero. I shall say a few things about the humanist element during the medieval Christian period, followed by noting the rise of humanism with the Italian Renaissance and its flourishing with the rise of 17th century natural science and Enlightenment. Finally, I'll say something about humanism in the 19th century philosophy, in modern philosophy, and the contemporary scene.
My presentation will focus on humanism as a philosophical perspective, and only peripherally on Humanism, as an organized movement (e.g. AHA). It will be a brief survey of humanism in Western intellectual history.

This survey could be an introduction to a more detailed look at humanism in each period, something I might pursue later in small discussion groups, if enough people are interested in participating such a group study.

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As usual our program allows for a Q&A period following the presentation.