Humanism means dissolving mental fetters through historical, rational understanding.

Evidence

With the first dawn of humanism, there began to be a sense that the events of classical history and legend and also those of the Bible were not separated from the present simply by an extent of time but also by completely different conditions of life. Humanism with its program of renewal of antique forms of life and expression creates a historical perspective in depth such as no previous epoch known to us possessed: the humanists see antiquity in historical depth, and, against that background, the dark epochs of the intervening Middle Ages. — Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities, 286 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Liberal humanism retards the enlargement of meaning that true understanding requires; Humanism created a consciousness of historical depth that earlier epochs lacked. — Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on…, 286

Related

• Humanism created a consciousness of historical depth that earlier epochs lacked. (similarity 0.91)

Broader Connections

• Humanism created a consciousness of historical depth that earlier epochs lacked. #expands (0.85) — Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities, 286