Renaissance Humanism

1. Renaissance Humanism

2. Renaissance Humanism • The term "Renaissance" means "re-birth" and refers to Europe's "cultural rebirth" in approximately 1350-1550. • Cultural and artistic developments that began in Italy in the late 1300s, and then spread to Northern Europe in the late 1400s and early 1500s.

3. Renaissance Humanism • Renaissance world view—the set of beliefs and attitudes about the structure of the universe and humans’ place within it that was shared by most educated people. • Appreciation of worldly pleasures. • Personal independence and individual expression. • Break from religious orthodoxy.

4. Renaissance Humanism • Inspire free inquiry and criticism. • Inspire confidence in the possibilities of human thought. • Human affairs are rationally comprehensible rather than manipulated by supernatural means • Faith in the benefits in science and technology. • Interest in art as a means of human creativity.

5. Renaissance Humanism • The main centers of humanism were Florence and Naples in Italy. • The overwhelming concern of the Middle Ages was God. Restricted individual expression. • The overwhelming concern of the Renaissance is Man. • Rebirth of individualism. • Renaissance Humanists regarded the Middle Ages as a 'barbaric' time and tended to idealize the classical period– Rome and Greece. • Secular and human interests became more popular.

6. Renaissance Humanism • Humanism is a contrast to the medieval Christian view of humans as sinful and depraved. • The focus on the individual and the natural world would result in persons questioning their personal destinies and roles in the world. • Reliance upon faith and God weakened. • Focus on individual experience in the here and now. • Unconcerned about the supernatural world and the eternal destiny of the soul.

7. Renaissance Humanism • The philosophy that people are rational beings became popular during the Renaissance. • The dignity and worth of the individual was emphasized. • Humanists had great confidence in the potential of humankind to better itself through knowledge • The movement originated with the study of classical culture and a group of subjects known collectively as the “studiahumanitatis”, or the humanities.

8. Renaissance Humanism • Humanities disciplines included studies in speaking, grammar, poetry, ethics and history. • Preference was to study them as much as possible in their original classical texts (mostly Latin). • Humanism placed importance in the individual’s responsibilities of citizenship and leadership, including the participation in the political process in the community. • Emphasized the virtues of intellectual freedom and individual expression.

9. Renaissance Humanism • Francesco Petrarch , born in 1304 near Florence, is known as the first great humanist. • Traveled widely collecting ancient texts. • Emphasized the experiences of daily life like climbing mountains or traveling. • Believed he could learn to make the world a better place by studying classical literature. • Imitated classical texts in Latin writings of his own.

10. Renaissance Humanism • Humanism philosophy spread first through into other parts of Europe. • City of Florence became a center of humanistic learning. • The study of texts was expanded to include Greek. This lead to a more precise understanding of Greek philosophy.

11. Renaissance Humanism • Humanism in Northern Europe coincided with the Reformation. • Northern humanism is identified with Christian humanism. • Christian humanism attempted to use the scholarly techniques of humanism and apply them to the study of the Bible while ignoring prior medieval interpretations. • Spirit of individualism incited the Protestant revolt. • Individualism in religion.

12. Renaissance Humanism • Humanists read biblical texts in their original Greek and Hebrew. • Questioned the Catholic Church’s policies and practices. • Questioned several doctrines of the church based on their study of the Greek New Testament. • These questions evoked more support for the reform movement. • The best known Christian humanist was Desiderius Erasmus.

13. Renaissance Humanism • Erasmus favored flexibility and tolerance and condemned overly rigid belief systems. • Credited with making Renaissance humanism an international movement. • Attacked clerical abuses • Argued that true religion does not depend on dogma, ritual, or clerical power

14. Renaissance Humanism • The effect of Humanism was to • help men break free from religious orthodoxy, • inspire free inquiry and criticism, • inspire a new confidence in the possibilities of human thought • Humanism emphasizes human freedom and responsibility. • Humanism did not have an antireligious or anti-Christian character.

15. Renaissance Humanism • Humanists did not doubt the existence of God, but emphasized human capabilities and celebrated individual achievement and genius. • In Shakespeare's Hamlet (written just after the Renaissance), Hamlet describes mankind in terms that steeped in humanism: • "What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form, in moving, how express and admirable! In action how like an angel!“