Humanism
Etymology
From Latin “humanus” (“human”), by way of the Renaissance “studia humanitatis,” the study of classical grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, and moral philosophy. The word “humanism” itself is a 19th-century coinage (German “Humanismus”) applied back to those Renaissance scholars already called “humanists.” Its meaning later broadened into a modern non-religious philosophy of life.
noun · /HYOO-muh-nizm/
An outlook centering human dignity, reason, and potential — first as a Renaissance revival of classical learning, later as a secular ethical stance.
What it names
The recurring conviction that human beings, not gods or dogma, are the proper measure and center of concern.
Example
Her commencement speech was a plea for old-fashioned humanism: study people, and treat them as ends in themselves.
Related idea
Distinguish it from secularism — humanism is a positive affirmation of human worth and reason, while secularism specifically concerns keeping public and religious life apart.