Civic Humanism (SEP)
Although widely and commonly confused with republicanism, civic humanism forms a separate and distinct phenomenon in the history of Western political thought. Republicanism is a political philosophy that defends a concept of freedom as non-domination, and identifies the institutions that protect it (Pettit 1999). In particular, republicanism stands against two alternative theories of politics. The first is despotism, especially as manifested in any form of one-man rule; a republic is self-governing, and so are its denizens. The second is liberalism, which posits the primacy of the autonomous individual vis-à-vis public order and government; the republican values civic engagement in order to realize a form of liberty achievable only in and through the community. Republican theorists sometimes refer to writings by historically antecedent authors, such as Aristotle or Machiavelli, but their concern is not primarily accurate interpretation. Rather, to the extent that they show an interest in the past, it is as a source of ideas that they find useful.
By contrast, civic humanism is a historiographical construct. As conventionally employed by scholars, the term refers to a group of thinkers who emerged during the period of the Italian Renaissance, especially in Florence, and who were committed to public engagement (in theory as well as practice) and whose values were fundamentally antithetical to the medieval past. The “invention” of civic humanism is primarily associated with Hans Baron (1900–1988), the famed German-American historian (Fubini 1992). Although he first used the phrase in its original German form (Bürgerhumanismus) as early as 1925, its popularity stems from the publication in 1955 of his classic book The Crisis of the Early Italian Renaissance: Civic Humanism and Republican Liberty in an Age of Classicism and Tyranny (revised 1966). In this volume, as well as in later writings that built upon it (many collected in Baron 1968 and 1988), he developed what has come to be called the “Baron thesis” (Witt 1996; Hankins 1995). Baron was not, however, the first scholar to propose that the form of humanism that emerged during the fifteenth century in the Italian cities mainly promoted the civic vita activa rather than the literary and philological pursuits ordinarily ascribed to the humanists. In two books from 1952 and 1954, written and published in Italian, Eugenio Garin defended a position almost identical to that of Baron’s: Renaissance humanism, especially as propounded in Florence, reflects a pronounced shift from the emphasis on contemplation typical of the Middle Ages to the priority of civil action to attain a common good (Garin 1947 [1965]). (If not for purely contingent reasons, the historiographical label for civic humanism might readily have been “the Garin thesis”.) In the present context, it should be noted that some advocates of civic humanism were disposed toward republicanism, but the latter is not entailed by the former.
Read the rest here: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/humanism-civic/
Le Chat
Civic Humanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement that emerged during the Renaissance, particularly in the Italian city-states of the 14th and 15th centuries. It emphasizes the role of individuals in shaping society, the importance of civic virtue, and the idea that active participation in public life is essential for both personal fulfillment and the well-being of the community.
Key Themes of Civic Humanism:
- Civic Virtue: The belief that citizens should cultivate moral and intellectual excellence to contribute to the common good. This includes qualities like wisdom, courage, justice, and moderation.
- Active Citizenship: Civic humanists argued that individuals should engage in public affairs, whether through politics, education, or community service, rather than withdrawing into private life.
- Human Potential: The movement was rooted in the Renaissance idea that humans have the capacity for greatness and can shape their own destinies through reason, education, and action.
- Classical Influence: Civic humanists drew heavily from ancient Greek and Roman thought, particularly the works of Aristotle, Cicero, and other classical philosophers who emphasized the importance of civic life.
Notable Figures:
- Leonardo Bruni: Often called the “father of civic humanism,” Bruni wrote extensively on the virtues of republicanism and the importance of civic engagement.
- Coluccio Salutati: A chancellor of Florence who promoted the idea that a life dedicated to public service was the highest calling.
- Niccolò Machiavelli: While often associated with political realism, Machiavelli’s works (like The Prince and Discourses on Livy) also reflect civic humanist concerns about the health of the republic and the role of citizens.
Legacy:
Civic humanism influenced the development of republicanism and democratic thought, shaping later movements like the Enlightenment and modern liberalism. It also inspired educational reforms, emphasizing the study of history, rhetoric, and moral philosophy to prepare citizens for public life.
Wikipedia
Classical republicanism, also known as civic republicanism or civic humanism, is a form of republicanism developed in the Renaissance inspired by the governmental forms and writings of classical antiquity, especially such classical writers as Aristotle, Polybius, and Cicero. Classical republicanism is built around concepts such as liberty as non-domination, self-government, rule of law, property-based personality, anti-corruption, abolition of monarchy, civics, civil society, common good, civic virtue, civic participation, popular sovereignty, patriotism and mixed government.
Overview
In the classical period itself the term republicanism did not exist, but the Latin term res publica, which translates literally as “the public thing” or “the public affair”, was in usage. There were a number of theorists who wrote on political philosophy during that period such as Aristotle (Politics), Polybius (Histories) and Cicero (De re publica and De Officiis), and their ideas became the essential core of classical republicanism. The ideology of republicanism blossomed during the Italian Renaissance, most notably in Florence, when a number of authors looked back to the classical period and used its examples to formulate ideas about ideal governance. In the late 13th century the Italian Dominican Bartholomew of Lucca, when completing Thomas Aquinas’s De regno, defended republicanism against monarchy and the autonomy of the Tuscan communes, and reconfirmed, against Augustine, Roman republican values such as patriotism. One of the first to reintroduce classical republicanism was said to have been Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527) in his later reflections.
It has been argued that Machiavelli was not a classical republican, since he described mostly medieval political relations. Indeed, Machiavelli’s innovation, addition, or transformation of classical republicanism more likely marks a turning point and the dawn of modern republicanism; Machiavelli’s particular brand of republicanism has been dubbed “rapacious republicanism” by a collection of scholars. At any rate, that classical republicanism actually refers to a philosophy developed primarily in the early modern period is acknowledged by many scholars to be confusing; therefore, some now use the term early modern republicanism to cover this branch of political thought. To be sure, the conceptual, historical, and philosophical debate continues.
One variant of classical republicanism is known as “civic humanism”, a term first employed by the German scholar of late medieval and early modern Italian history, Hans Baron. Although in certain cases and with certain scholars there is a subtle distinction between the two, they are for all intents and purposes interchangeable. Civic humanism is slightly wider in scope and stresses the central role of civic virtue in the preservation of the classically Roman/Florentine ideal of political liberty. Leading exponents of this dual concept are Hannah Arendt, J. G. A. Pocock, Quentin Skinner, and Philip Pettit.
Thomas Pangle (a student of Leo Strauss) has critiqued the inaccuracy of the “civic humanist” reconstruction, regarding it as a distortion of classical republicanism on the one hand and of Machiavelli’s political science on the other hand. Pangle writes, “both Pocock and Arendt (the latter more self-consciously) obscure the imperialism, the ruthlessness, the warring hierarchy, and the glacial rationalism that truly characterize Machiavelli; over these elements they throw a veil of softened, egalitarian, ‘civic humanism.'”
According to Baron, for many years the foremost expert on the development of classical republicanism,[citation needed] the ideology was a product of the long conflict between Florence and Milan. Florence was ruled by its commercial elites while Milan was a monarchy controlled by its landed aristocracy. The Florentines asserted that their form of government was superior on the basis that it was more similar to that of the Greeks and the Roman Republic. Moreover, Leonardo Bruni (1370–1444) asserted, based on Tacitus’s pronouncements in the introduction to the Histories, that republican government made better men, whereas monarchy was inimical to human virtue (see Tacitean studies). The Florentine ideal developed into the ideology of civic humanism, as per Baron.
Since Thomas Hobbes, at the core of republicanism is the concept of the social contract. Although modern republicanism rejected monarchy (whether hereditary or otherwise autocratic) in favour of rule by the people, classical republicanism treated monarchy as one form of government among others. Classical republicanism was rather aimed against any form of tyranny, whether monarchic, aristocratic, or democratic (tyranny of the majority). The notions of what constituted an ideal republic to classical republicans themselves depended on personal view. However, the most ideal republic featured a form of mixed government and was based on the pursuit of civility.
Most controversial is the classical republican view of liberty and how, or if, this view differed from that later developed by liberalism. Previously, many scholars accepted the stance of Isaiah Berlin that republicanism was tilted more toward positive liberty rather than the negative liberty characterizing liberalism. In recent years, this thesis has been challenged, and Philip Pettit argues that republican liberty is based upon “non-domination” while liberal freedom is based upon “non-interference.” Another view is that liberalism views liberty as pre-social while classical republicans saw true liberty as a product of society. Because liberty was an important part of republican thought, many republican thinkers were appropriated by the theory of classical liberalism.
Classical republicanism became extremely popular in Classicism and during the Enlightenment, playing a central role in the thought of political philosophy since Hobbes, through John Locke, Giambattista Vico, Montesquieu, Rousseau, until Kant. Some historians have seen classical republican ideas influencing early American political thought.
Read the rest here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_republicanism
Nochrisis 