ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the view of the human can be traced by studying the concept of humanism. It provides the humanistic influence on the field of educational relations. The chapter develops an understanding based on anthropocentrism and subject-centrism in direct relation to various humanist directions. It discusses the phrase "Western humanism" in the Swedish curriculum in order to show the presence of humanism in educational discourse. The chapter distinguishes between four different humanistic stances that delivered various emphases concerning what or who the human is and should be with regard to education: Renaissance humanism, Enlightenment humanism, Bildung humanism, and liberal humanistic education. Enlightenment-era thinking has had a strong influence on the concept of humanism from Kant, especially in education. The human who was at the center of Enlightenment thought was a particular kind of human, chiefly male, European, and socioeconomically well off.
