Humanist history: from radical ideas to common sense

In this animation, narrated by artist, producer, Humanists UK patron Hannah Peel, we trace the evolution of humanist thinking from its ancient and diverse philosophical roots, right through to the Renaissance, Darwin, and the early history of Humanists UK itself.

The narrative spans ancient China, India, and Roman Britain, where religious and non-religious schools coexisted, through challenging centuries when expressing humanist ideas was perilous due to the dominance of mediaeval Christianity. The Renaissance and Enlightenment eras ushered in a period in which human reason was celebrated for discovering natural laws, establishing human rights, and driving societal progress…

By the Victorian age, scientific discoveries led to increased scepticism towards traditional religious ideas, giving rise to movements based on rational thinking, social change, and equality. The late 19th century saw a surge in UK individuals embracing humanist beliefs, leading to the formation of various humanist community organisations.

Today, humanist values have become 'common sense' for the majority of the UK population, with over half identifying as non-religious. Discover how this came to be!

Art direction: xmx Luo
Storyboard & Design: Galuh Wiyarti, Ilaria Antolini, xmx Luo
Animation: xmx Luo , Ilaria Antolini
Voiceover: Hannah Peel
Music: Evolve Audio FX

[timothyhowson]

Excellent video. We owe much gratitude to those who came before us in their proclamations of human decency and the need to work together, often in the face of death or discrimination. Well done Humanists UK, more power to your elbow.

[Neilhuny]

Superb description and portrayal of humanism

[rchardfrancs]

Who can argue against this? (Although some may try!!) Wonderful! Thank you.

[SteveSmith-enud]

Richard Dawkins, in his book: The Selfish gene, explained how our genes, blindly acting in their own interest, could still lead to altruism. Nichola Raihani's book: The Social instinct, explains very well, how societies evolved and we became social animals. (NB: I have no link to either author)
Although, we are animals, driven, on one level by our 'selfish' genes, we also possess the cerebral cortex. This massive processing machine, has allowed our species to think beyond those constraints, which is beautifully demonstrated in this video.

[diracio]

Great video, nicely put together, straight forward and focussed, loved it! Another good argument against idea some promulgate that western values = christian values..! 🤦‍♂️

[DV-dtsq]

Bravo! This reminded me of another humanist and philosopher who questioned economical system that promised to bring equality, liberty and brotherhood to the society. That catastrophically failed system is called capitalism. Karl Marx found many reasons why this system is not human and found that people could do better. He named that better system socialism, which has lots and lots in common with humanism - and it is known as humanism in practice.

[PublicDomainArchive]

Parts of the video remind of the later chapters of Kropotkin's Mutual Aid a factor of evolution