Humanism is the belief that man has beauty, worth, and dignity. During the Middle Ages between 3rd to the 13th century, the life and culture are primarily focused on the church and religion. However, towards the beginning of the 14th century, the power of the church began to greatly decline. This decline was the main reason for the development of humanism. As people become less interested about God, the afterlife, and the saints. They become more interested about themselves, their natural world and here in now.
Many historians believe there are two main causes of this decline. The first one was the bubonic plague. It was the Black Death in Europe that killed almost half of the population. As the plague devastated and destroyed, the church was helpless to stop it. People then began to question spiritual
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Prior of the 14th century, much of Europe practice the feudal system and which wealth was based on land ownership. Generally speaking, under this system, people were seen as part of the collective hole to keep feudal system society and the manner system intact. Peasants or the poor workers are the tools used by wealthy to work on their land holding and keep their wealth intact. Adding to this imprisonment of a sort, the church led that to be concerned with yourselves and your rights, there’s nothing more than arrogant, rebellion and sin. One should only be concerned with obeying the rules and following them without a question. However, because of the plaque and the rise of trade the power of the church and feudalism strength, and the important of the individual grew. Men in human nature were no longer seen as totally sinful and need of punishment but instead, an independent beautiful creation of God. This is partly seen in the writings of Petrarch the father of humanism, and which he states “sameness in the mother of disgust, variety the cure!”, or in the other word, go on and express
Before the early thirteen hundreds, there was a time called the Midieval era, where life was devoted and owned by the church. People were lied to by the thought of paying and working to go to heaven. When the thirteen hundreds came, alongwith it cam the renaissance that lasted until the late sixteen hundreds. The renaissance had a very important movement that changed all of Europe. Many new cultures and ways of life had changed because of this era, and one of the bigger ones is called Humanism. Humanism caused a very large impact on a person’s thoughts, actions, and art.
Arguably the greatest and longest impacting movement brought about by the forward thinkers of the Renaissance was humanism. Humanism was a cultural and intellectual movement that emphasized the human potential to attain excellence through direct study of the literature, art, and civilization of the classical Greek and Roman societies (Merriam-Webster). The scholars and believers in humanism sought to change the course of society away from the narrow pedantry of medieval scholasticism and utilitarianism. Humanism was a basic desire for every citizen to be able to speak with eloquence and read and write with clarity, so that common citizens were capable of engaging in the civic life of their communities (Gray). The movement also emphasized the value of a human being as well as the importance of rational thought rather than blind faith in spiritualism or superstition. It also pushed people to explore human desires and pleasures while also enriching their minds. The influential nature of humanism was far reaching and most notable for its effects on Renaissance art, literature, and philosophy.
When the plague began its reign of terror, everyone turned to the church for answers and a cure. When the church couldn’t produce, people became skeptical. Then to add on top of that, “perhaps a third of the Catholic clergy died. ”(source 2; paragraph 3). And with the catholic leadership depleted and their inability to control the plague, many began to question the power and authenticity of the church.
The plague opened the eyes of the many people that followed the church. Since the followers believed in God, they thought that if they prayed, and made amends they would be spared from the sickness. Bishops and higher members of the church were supposed to be closer with god. But when the Bishops and members fell ill, a lot of the followers disbanded from the church and didn't believe in god because “he didn't help”. They didn’t want anyone else getting the plague so they didn't allow visitors to come in, leave, or enter other places..
At first, humanism was actually thought by some to be a way of validating and supporting the Church. With man being viewed as the measure of all things, and man being created in the image of God, it would be shown how God is perfect in every way. Pico della Mirandola's literary work Oration on the Dignity of Man is a clear example of how the early goal of humanism was to create a better understanding of God, stating how humanity is the apex of creation, creating a link with the world of God and of the creation (Cunningham 24).
Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary gives several definitions for humanism, a word which made its appearance in 1832. The first is "a devotion to the humanities or the revival of class, individualistic and critical spirit, and emphasis on secular concerns characteristic of the Renaissance." Renaissance is capitalized. Another definition reads as follows: "a doctrine, attitude, or
Humanism is a way of life that revolves around the interests of people. It stresses human worth and building up self-realization. Humanism was developed in Greece and Rome, and is generally due to philosophy and current literary works during 1400-1650. It is termed "Classical Humanism" because it was born during that time period. Classical Humanism had an impact during the Renaissance Era.
Throughout time an individual’s role in which he fits into society has changed. One of the most noticeable changes in an individual’s role in society occurred during the Italian Renaissance during the 14th and 15th centuries with the introduction of Humanism. Humanism gave birth to the concept of individuality a notion which is still alive today. It said that humans mattered and that now mattered, that one should not be part of a whole but rather someone that is unique. Before Humanism people only thought of the after life, of whether they were going to heaven or hell, but with the introduction of Humanism people became more involved in the present, rather then just thinking of what happened after you died. Humanism transformed
Humanism; the study of classical texts and ideas led to a movement. This happened in the 1200’s, because people once again wanted to gain knowledge, also due to the fact that war and political instability had disrupted society. Humanism stressed many subjects but mostly classical subjects as history and literature. The whole purpose of humanism was to create well-rounded individuals and to encourage people to achieve all they could in life. The effect of the stressing of the importance of the individuals caused medieval thinking.
Art, science, and religion build the fundamentals for education. The Renaissance burned with a fiery passion for new and innovative ideas. The people of Europe strayed from the bleak Medieval ages full of depression and instead, they saw light in a new beginning. In the 1400s.Not only was there a cultural change, but there was also a religious change. When the Roman Empire fell, so did the Roman Catholic Church. With the fast-moving technological growth and decreasing religious reinforcing, the idea of humanism symbolically represent the Renaissance as a whole. Humanism is the cultural stress on human nature instead of religious matters or anything supernatural. Three men who symbolized the ideals of humanism include Michelangelo, Nicolaus Copernicus,and Martin Luther. Each man questioned his worth and reconstructed himself in his own image, reflected the impacts of the Renaissance through his works, and strived to accomplish a goal like no other.
The medieval era of Europe considered the ancient Greeks and Roman worlds as pagan societies and should be considered immoral. Humanists viewed the ancient Greek and Latin works as a lost world to rediscovered, preserved and to change the way they produced literature and art. This challenged medieval scholars’ view on history and of art.
By the mid-sixteenth century, Humanism had lost much of its power. Europe became centered in a war of words, ideas and weapons. Peaceful ideology of Humanism was overtaken by the opposing dogmas, became semi-independent discipline. Today the perception of the Humanism has some common points with the Renaissance Humanism but in total it is different. For instance modern Humanism’s subtitles:
You may wonder about, "The Renaissance" and its relationship to another term, "humanism" which fits into the same time period. If you check the dictionary, you will find that both terms can be used in a broad sense or more specifically. Humanism refers generally to a "devotion to the humanities: literary culture." (My definitions come from Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary). According to that definition we should all be humanists.
Encarta Dictionary says that Humanism is a system of thought that centers on human beings and their values, capacities and worth. Encarta also goes on the say that, in philosophy, humanism is an attitude that emphasizes the dignity and worth of an individual. A basic premise of humanism is that people are rational beings who possess within themselves the capacity for truth and goodness. I see myself as a being a humanist through everyday life. I always try to see the good in a person when he/she makes me angry or sad, and say I to myself that maybe that person has had a bad day and living life is difficult at the moment. Socrates was even an early humanist of sorts. He can be quoted as saying, "to know the good is to do the
Many diverse ideas flourished during the European Renaissance which had a lasting impact on the world. Humanism is a worldview and a moral philosophy that considers humans to be of primary importance. The aspect of humanism first thrived in 14th century Italy, and later spread north in the 15th century. Initially humanistic ideas about education were quickly adopted by the Italian upper class. The Italian ideas and attitudes towards life and learning impacted nobility in other parts of Europe. They were able to accept and adapt to this new lifestyle. Humanism during the Renaissance helped to spread ideas about the basic nature of human beings, how people should be educated to become well rounded individuals, and how education impacts an