3000 years of humanists: a timeline of humanist thought

For as long as there have been human beings thinking about the big questions of where we come from, where we’re going, and what life is all about, there have been people giving humanist answers to these questions. So humanist ideas have probably been around as long as our species has existed. The thread of humanist thinking runs throughout human history.

Pre-1500 BCE

Humanism in early cultures

Humanist thought is found in so many ancient texts around the world that we can reasonably conclude that it was present in the early oral traditions of many cultures too.

1500–900 BCE

Ancient Indian philosophy described atheism and materialism

Writings from India’s Vedic era outlined theories that nothing exists besides physical matter and questioned the need for religion. But texts like this weren’t just limited to India. Many of the oldest philosophies of the world – from Scandinavia, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Africa – described humanist principles.

Goðlauss: ancient Scandinavian humanism

Charvaka: ancient Indian humanism

Confucianism: ancient Chinese humanism

Ubuntu: traditional African humanism

551–479 BCE

Painting of Confucius, seated, in dark robes — Confucius, Chinese painting, 1770. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Confucius encouraged morality

The Chinese philosopher and politician sought to use moral values over religion as the basis for social and political order.

460–270 BCE

Painting of Democritus laughing, in a dark cap — Democritus, the ‘laughing philosopher’, by Hendrick ter Brugghen. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In Greece, Democritus taught that what we can sense is all there is

Meanwhile Epicurus, another Greek philosopher, told people not to fear death. ‘There is nothing to fear from Gods, nothing awaiting us in death,’ he said. He famously coined an epitaph still popular at humanist funerals today: ‘I was not; I have been; I am not; I do not mind.’ Humanist culture was widespread throughout the Mediterranean world, and was a huge influence on people’s lives for almost a thousand years, until the coming of Christianity.

121–180 CE

Marble bust of Marcus Aurelius, bearded and curly-haired, wearing a draped cloak — Marcus Aurelius, Glyptothek, Munich. Photo: Bibi Saint-Pol, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Marcus Aurelius wrote that we are all moral beings

The Roman Emperor said that happiness, rationality, love, altruism, and strength come from within.

400s–1400s CE

The thread of humanism was almost lost

Europe turned in a different direction during the Middle Ages and a lot of Greek and Roman humanist thinking was lost during the period.

An open medieval book: faint Greek writing and geometric diagrams show beneath later handwriting — The Archimedes Palimpsest. In 1229 a copy of Archimedes’ mathematics was scraped off and written over with prayers. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

1400s–1600s CE

Red chalk drawing of an old bearded man, thought to be Leonardo da Vinci — Leonardo da Vinci, probable self-portrait. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Renaissance was built on humanism

As Europe emerged from the Middle Ages, green shoots of humanist thought sprang up across the continent. There was an influx of scientific and mathematical ideas from the Middle East and people bravely began to stand up to religious institutions. Together, this led to renewed interest in the ideas of the ancient world. Knowledge itself was regarded as a virtue, as epitomised by the great, Italian Renaissance masters Leonardo da Vinci and Leon Battista Alberti.

1700s CE

Portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft in a white dress — Mary Wollstonecraft by John Opie, c. 1797. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The age of reason

The 18th century was a period of great intellectual discovery. Radical campaigner Thomas Paine influenced the French and American revolutions whilst Mary Wollstonecraft pioneered feminist ideas in her writings.

1859

Black and white photograph of Charles Darwin, seated — Charles Darwin, photographed by Maull and Polyblank. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Charles Darwin published Origin of Species

His theory of evolution by natural selection is still generally accepted as the best explanation for how humans and other life on Earth developed. In disproving creation stories, Darwin inspired many to adopt a more humanist view.

1900s CE

Black and white photograph of Marie Curie — Marie Curie, around 1920, photographed by Henri Manuel. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Humanists transformed the world

Scientists like Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Linus Pauling, Richard Feynman, Paul Dirac, Francis Crick, Marie Curie, Murray Gell-Mann, Erwin Schrödinger and Roger Penrose – all humanists – gave us astonishing developments that affect all of our lives to this day. Through music and activism, John Lennon and his contemporaries promoted tolerance and compassion. Meanwhile, the words of James Baldwin, whether written on the page or delivered from the lectern, were a powerful force in the American civil rights movement.

2000s CE

Humanists continue to lead the way

And today 25% of the UK hold humanist ideas – and for many of them it’s just obvious, and not something that even needs a label. Humanists lead political parties and nations. Figures such as Margaret Atwood, David Attenborough, Stephen Fry and Sandi Toksvig are beloved celebrities who embody and espouse humanism in their work.

A core humanist idea is the ‘golden rule’: treat others as you would wish to be treated.

This idea is found in almost every tradition: it cuts across time, space, culture, religion and ethnicity. There is no better example of the success of humanist thought.

Explore teaching resources on humanist ethics →