Renaissance

Chapter Three:

The Humanist Approach

The Rebirth of Ideas

• The new way of thinking began in the northern Italian states

• The new way of thinking is where scholars known as humanists looked back to the ancient classical civilizations of Greece and Rome

• They applied these classical ideas into their own lives and work

Classical Writings

• People studied the work of Aristotle and Plato from a Christian perspective

• People were interested in their writings about society, politics, history, and the arts

• This is a good example of a shift in Worldview due to intercultural contact with earlier civilizations

• Humanist ideas began to spread mainly among the wealthy

• Reading and discussing ancient writers became the cool thing to do

Humanism

• The belief in the dignity and potential of the individual was the most important concept to Renaissance thinkers

• They believed that people could shape their beliefs through their own efforts and talents

• This went hand in hand with the believe in God because it was God who gave you your talent

Humanism

• Humanists saw their time as glorious because the ideas and values of ancient Rome were being “reborn”

• Scholars started to translate the manuscripts of ancient Rome for people to study

• These scholars believed that a person had to read good books and look at great works of art if they wanted to be considered truly cultured

• Renaissance humanists were often the intellectual leaders of their communities

• Different types of humanist included: humanist scholars, philosophers, teachers, public officials, writers, scientists, architects, artists, and musicians

Civic Humanism

• Interested in what classical authors had written about good government

• Studies Cicero (a famous lawyer from ancient Rome)

• Civic humanists believed that being a responsible citizen meant educating yourself about history and political issues

• They also believed in working to improve society

Humanists

• Humanists influenced the Renaissance by the way the put on emphasis on education

• A true humanist would never waste time…any free time they had would be used to study Greek and Latin

• Many humanists were teachers who ran their own schools where they believed it was important to train both the body and mind (same as we do in modern times)

Humanism and Religion

• The text that were studied and admired by Renaissance scholars were written before the beginning of Christianity

• They valued individual achievement and the important of history and the arts

• Even during the time of humanism, Christianity played a big role in the peoples lives

• Desiderius Erasmus edited a new Greek version of the New Testament– He was a humanist who was also a devout Christian

Literature

• Writers focused on translating the works of Roman and Greek writers

• Books and texts were starting to be written in the vernacular (the common language…ours is English)

• This allowed writings to be more accessible to everyone

• Humanism influenced people to focus on expressing their thoughts and emotions