The Cinema of Humanism

“Of all things the measure is Man, of the things that are, that they are, and of the things that are not, that they are not.” This line from Protagoras of Abdera is arguably the beginning of humanism in Western thought. It appears at first glance to be an extraordinarily self-aggrandizing assertion: that my individual perception is the sole determinant of reality. But it can also be read—and more fruitfully, I think—as a humble recognition of human limits. I cannot, by myself, apprehend the Truth with a capital T. I can only apprehend my truth, the truth of my perception, which is inherently constrained by my own perceptual limits.