The Social Background of Humanism in Western Philosophy

Humanism is a new trend of thought in the Renaissance when Western Europe was in transition from feudal society to capitalist society. Its basic view is that "human freedom is inviolable, that is, the theory of free will". During and after the Renaissance, people needed science and new culture because of the high development of production economy and the rapid change of social life, and humanism developed rapidly.

Humanistic psychology originated from the existential philosophy in western Europe, which is a combination of existential psychology and American traditional humanism. According to the humanistic psychology school, all organisms have an inherent tendency to develop their potential in a way that helps to maintain and enhance the organism. This potential includes general biological potential and psychological potential. Humanism opposes the tendency to vulgarize and animalize people's psychology, and advocates that psychology adopts phenomenological methods to study psychological phenomena, focusing on healthy people or self-actualizers.