Edward Said on Humanism

"My idea in Orientalism is to use humanistic critique to open up the fields of struggle, to introduce a longer sequence of thought and analysis to replace the short bursts of polemical, thought-stopping fury that so imprison us in labels and antagonistic debate whose goal is a belligerent and collective identity rather than understanding and intellectual exchange. I have called what I try to do 'humanism,' a word I continue to use stubbornly despite the scornful dismissal of the term by sophisticated post-modern critics. By humanism, I mean first of all attempting to dissolve Blake's mind-forg'd manacles so as to be able to use one's mind historically and rationally for the purposes of reflective understanding and genuine disclosure. Moreover, humanism is sustained by a sense of community with other interpreters and other societies and periods: strictly speaking, therefore, there is no such thing as an isolated humanist."

Edward Said