Humanism is a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasizes the value and agency of human beings, individually and collectively, and generally prefers critical thinking and evidence (rationalism, empiricism) over acceptance of dogma or superstition. The meaning of the term humanism has fluctuated according to the successive intellectual movements which have identified with it. Generally, however, humanism refers to a perspective that affirms some notion of human freedom and progress. In modern times, humanist movements are typically aligned with secularism, and today humanism typically refers to a non-theistic life stance centred on human agency and looking to science rather than revelation from a supernatural source to understand the world.

Gellius says that in his day humanitas is commonly used as a synonym for philanthropy or kindness and benevolence toward one's fellow human being. Gellius maintains that this common usage is wrong, and that model writers of Latin, such as Cicero and others, used the word only to mean what we might call "humane" or "polite" learning, or the Greek equivalent Paideia. Gellius became a favorite author in the Italian Renaissance, and, in fifteenth-century Italy, teachers and scholars of philosophy, poetry, and rhetoric were called and called themselves "humanists". Modern scholars, however, point out that Cicero (106 43 BCE), who was most responsible for defining and popularizing the term humanitas, in fact frequently used the word in both senses, as did his near contemporaries. For Cicero, a lawyer, what most distinguished humans from brutes was speech, which, allied to reason, could (and should) enable them to settle disputes and live together in concord and harmony under the rule of law. Thus humanitas included two meanings from the outset and these continue in the modern derivative, humanism, which even today can refer to both humanitarian benevolence and to scholarship.

Now, provide a numbered list of answers to these questions:

1. In Italy, who called themselves humanists?
2. What years was Cicero alive?
3. What was his occupation?
4. What did he say was the difference between man and beasts?
5. What did he say the benefit of that was?
6. What was Gellius attitude?
7. What did he term as being nice to people?
8. What did Gellius become?
9. When?
10. How many different definitions did we end up with on the topic of discussion?
11. Does the topic include God or not?
12. Was what uneducated people's opinions included?
1. teachers and scholars of philosophy, poetry, and rhetoric
2. (106 43 BCE)
3. a lawyer
4. speech
5. it enabled them to settle disputes and live together
6. unknown
7. humanitas
8. a favorite author in the Italian Renaissance
9. The fifteenth century
10. Two
11. no
12. unknown