Final answer:
Humanism, closely linked to Renaissance and Romanticism eras, prioritizes individual emotions and experiences, advocating for a more contemplative society. It celebrates human potential and creativity while recognizing the deep connection between humans and nature. Humanism marks a departure from utilitarian education, promoting comprehensive human development and expression through creative pursuits.
Step-by-step explanation:
Humanism and the Appreciation of Nature and Creativity
Humanism is often associated with the Renaissance period, where there was a cultural reawakening to the idea that humans are not only products and part of nature but also reliant on natural processes for their well-being. This movement encouraged increased expression in creative pursuits such as music, poetry, and philosophy. It favored a holistic education focusing on the rhetorical skills needed to become eloquent citizens capable of contributing to civic life.
Attributed to the works of Italian scholar Francesco Petrarca, humanism emphasized humanity's potential for achievement. It was not simply a revival of classical antiquity's cultural legacy but also an embracing of the imaginative response to nature. In expressing thought and feeling, humanism recognized the importance of emotions and individual experience over conformist logic.
Humanism also marks a rejection of mechanistic views of humans as personality-less beings reacting passively to the environment. Instead, it aims to comprehend the human experience in its full depth while recognizing inherent capacity for self-directed change. It aligns with views held during the Romanticism era, which celebrated the imagination as a potent form of personal power and liberty.
The emphasis on the individual's authentic response to nature and creativity is why during this period craftspeople could support themselves with their art, and society began contemplating more leisure-related and thoughtful activities, heralding it as the 'dawn of civilization'. This was supported by the views of psychologists like Abraham Maslow, who approached humans as being in need of both fulfillment and growth, capable of achieving the highest expression of themselves through self-actualization.