Throughout my high school education, I have been introduced to numerous ideas that fascinate and engage my mind. From exploring Descartes’ “cogito ergo sum” to pondering Adam Smith’s “invisible hand,” my insatiable curiosity drives me to seek out the ideas that changed the world, while creating some ideas of my own. While taking AP European History in my sophomore year, my class learned about the birth of Humanism during the Renaissance. Before Humanism, the ideas and values dominating society painted ideal humans as passive, obedient, and largely unconcerned with celebrating life and the accomplishments of the individual. Greatness was reserved for a select few. Society emphasized working towards life after death and the idea of fate, but humanists challenged these notions. Instead, …show more content…
Humanism argued that humans are not simply to be subjected to the gamble of life. Humans can determine their own destiny. Humanists gifted the world a new philosophy on life that would redefine what it means to be human. As an ambitious student that hopes to one day change the world, this idea fundamentally reshaped my perspective of the world. This idea allowed me to put into words that ideas I held to be true about humans, their capabilities, and their role in the world.
This single shift in thinking set off a chain reaction. A rediscovery of classic texts and the study of of languages like Greek and Hebrew spread. Many humanists believed learning other languages was the best way to connect to another culture or even a civilization in the past. Like the humanists, I value languages as a bridge to understanding other cultures and people. After studying Humanism, my passion for language learning only grew, as I continued to learn French and Russian. Additionally, humanists scholars of the Renaissance
The noble class no longer held a monopoly on the valued positions in society. Rather, one was able to pursue wealth and fame through various endeavors ranging from artist to soldier. The most empowering change of this era was the dominance of a secular attitude and the decline of church absolutism. This secular viewpoint altered man’s reason for existence from an otherworldly quest to an intimate, immediate appreciation for that which exists on earth. Humanism is a primary source of individualism.
Established in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries to counter the limited ideals of medieval scholasticism, Renaissance Humanism were educational and social reform ideals that sought to emphasize individualism as a central value in contrast to religious beliefs. Humanists revered the dignity of human kind and called for a life of virtuous action. The writings of Petrarch and Pico exemplify humanist thought by displaying the values of self-knowledge, individualism, and studying lessons from the past; appealing to the authorities of the Greek and Latin classics by Cicero, Vergil, Horace, Plato and Livy. Petrarch and Pico’s thinking can be constituted as a marked departure from medieval attitudes and beliefs, due to the origins of humanist resources being classical and biblical rather stemmed from medieval philosophers and theologians.
Humanism was a revival of the ancient Greek and Roman thought. It was a way of praising humans rather than divine beings. Some famous humanists include Petrarch and Niccolo Machiavelli. Their goal was to expand the teachings of liberal arts like the Greek and Roman.The humanists did achieve their goal in the Renaissance.
During the renaissance, there was a renewed interest in the arts, and the traditional views of society came into question. People began to explore the power of the human mind. A term often used to describe the increasing interest in the powers of the human mind is humanism. Generally, humanism stresses the individual's creative, reasoning, and aesthetic powers. However, during the Renaissance, individual ideas about humanism differed.
Humans...We as humans have invented many things including Humanism which I will explain in a bit.You see we made religion which has a big impact on humans and what we think and also invention to do what we can not.As you see humans had invented humanism,art,anatomy,and astronomy.Today we will talk about how humanism affects all of this.
I believe the humanistic theory does a great job simplifying the positive nature of humankind as well as the association of free will with change. Humanistic theory also fits well with other approaches. This theory also is well incorporated into the different views on human change.
The humanism view can cause us to only focus on what is important in our lives here and now. There will be a future, and Ammons makes it apparent that we need to stop being so focused on ourselves because in the end it will save not only human beings, but the planet.
Humanism is a literary and linguistic movement cultivated during the Renaissance that was founded on revising classical Latin and Greek texts, styles, and values. Humanists encouraged looking to the past to discover what is good and how people should act including leaders. Many humanist wrote about how they believe a prince should act and what he should do to be successful in his rule. Most humanists believed that princes should be virtuous in order to be successful rulers as many ancient leaders were. However, Machiavelli in his work The Prince uses history as a part of his argument to undermine some humanist ideals such as being purely virtuous and morality being the key to good government but also uses it to promote humanist ideals such as looking to the past to discover how a leader should behave.
...olarly endeavors, rather than strictly practical ones. Humanists also believed that the entirety of society should be well versed and able to speak articulately. The focus also changed during this time period to the “here and now” rather than the afterlife. The worth of individuals began to become more important, rather than just their worth in relation to society as a whole. Renaissance Humanism was the first time in history that people began to question authority and the teachings they had learned, it was the first time in history that individual expression was commonly accepted.
A central focus of the Renaissance was humanism. Humanism was an intellectual movement that claimed the heart of the Renaissance. Humanists studied the classical cultures of Greece and Rome. They used their newly acquired knowledge to develop a better understand of their own times. Humanists, although they were mostly Christian, did not focus of religion. Instead they were fixated on worldly subjects. It was believed that education should stimulate one’s creative mind. Humanists emphasized humanities, which are classic subjects such as grammar and poetry.
Humanism is the idea that a higher power is not superior. People who believe in humanism reject religion and instead believe that the church does not hold all the power, but people and humanity do. Humanism started during the Renaissance Period around the 14th century.
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 good." He believed that nobody voluntarily commits an evil act because evil comes from ignorance, ignorance being not stupidity, but having a lack of knowledge. If all people thought as humanists, would peace be spread across the globe?
M. H. Abram's A Glossary of Literary Terms defines Renaissance Humanism, stating that some of the key concepts of the philosophy centered around "the dignity and central position of human beings in the universe" as reasoning creatures, as well as downplaying the "'animal' passions" of the individual. The mode of the thought also "stressed the need for a rounded development of and individual's diverse powers... as opposed to merely technical or specialized training." Finally, all of this was synthesized into and perhaps defined by their tendency to minimize the prevalent Christian ideal of innate corruption and withdrawal from the present, flawed world in anticipation of heaven. (p. 83)
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 individual’s life.
The third perspective is humanistic, which is primarily focused on making oneself and the world innately better. In a journal by E.M Robertis, says, “Humanism is being accused of having con- tributed to selfishness in American culture”. This statement I disagree with however. I think that could be a valid argument saying that the approach creates us to focus too much on ourselves causing us to be selfish. My argument to this would be that this approach is to, yes, help us become better, but to also help the world around us become better as well. The fact that we can help ourselves become better and help the world do the same makes this not become so internalized and selfish. I connect with this approach because of this. I always have strived