I also found use of the word humanists confusing The types of people listed preceding humanists are defined by what they do i e study teach do medical research which makes sense in the context of talking about the commonplace book as one of their tools Humanists defines people of a certain ethical ideologywhat does that have to do with the function of a commonplace book Is the use of a commonplace book particularly defined by one s world perspective To me this would be akin to writing many blogs are maintained by writers professors lawyers editorialists and Republicans Democrats in an article about blogs True though it may be it confuses the reader into thinking that the subject being written about is somehow ideologically specific when it is not