1. a. A system of thought that focuses on humans and their values, capacities, and worth. b. Humanism A cultural and intellectual movement of the Renaissance that emphasized human potential to attain excellence and promoted direct study of the literature, art, and civilization of classical Greece and Rome.. a. A system of thought that focuses on humans and their values, capacities, and worth. b. Humanism A cultural and intellectual movement of the Renaissance that emphasized human potential to attain excellence and promoted direct study of the literature, art, and civilization of classical Greece and Rome.