Europe was a tumultuous region in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In particular, the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation both introduced radical intellectual and religious ideas that challenged centuries of established doctrine. This period corresponded with a great surge in philosophical, political, and religious writing. Among the most influential thinkers of the time were the Italian humanist Leon Battista Alberti, the Florentine politician Niccolò Machiavelli, and the German monk Martin Luther. Alberti wrote in a time of humanist thought and economic prosperity, Machiavelli in a time of growing political instability and economic uncertainty in Italy, and Luther in a time dominated by an increasingly corrupt Catholic church. While Alberti’s good fortune is reflected in On the Family’s optimism, Machiavelli’s The Prince and Luther’s On Christian Liberty are direct reactions to the perceived crises the authors were witnessing, and both works were written with an obvious sense of urgency.
These writers all put forward strongly worded and drastically different views of the fundamental nature of man. Alberti saw man as an active being seeking a classical education and a good family in which to raise children, Machiavelli perceived man as craving power and impossible to satisfy, and for Luther man was eternally sinful searching only for faith in God. More significant than their visions of human nature is the physical focus of that nature—body or soul—and how the origin of such a attitude was related to the period in which they were living. While Alberti’s vision of human nature focused on a man’s outward actions shaping his inner soul, Luther saw just the opposite, a man’s soul struggling to achieve what...
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...lberti saw a great potential for man and wanted to outline his vision for others. Machiavelli saw man’s flaws and what it caused, and sought only a cold, practical solution without the nuisance of morals. Luther, devastated by the corruption of the ruling religious authority, wished to save Europe’s Christians from a way of life that would seal their fate as sinners.
Works Cited
Alberti. On the Family. Readings in Western Civilization 5: The Renaissance. Ed. Eric Cochrane and Julius Kirshner. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1986.
The Making of the West, Volume B: 1320-1830. Ed. Lynn Hunt, et al. Bedford/St. Martin's: New York, 2001.
Luther, Martin. On Christian Liberty. Trans. W. A. Lambert. Fortress Press: Minneapolis, 2003.
Machiavelli, Niccolò. The Prince. Trans. Harvey C. Mansfield. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1998.
Fiero, G. K. (2011). The humanistic tradition, Book 3: The European renaissance, the Reformation, and the Global Encounter (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
...ent value system possessed by their clients. The nurse identified her own values in this situation and ensured that it did not impact the decision of the mother; her solution to the problem was soundly based on the CNO ethical values. The nurse worked with her team to ensure the best possible solution to the situation, one which would benefit the mother and child equally. The mother indicated her decision to not care for her baby and so the nurse aided her in choosing the best possible alternative. In the end the mother chose to put her baby up for adoption.
Charter schools are public schools of choice, meaning that families choose them for their children. They operate with freedom from some of the regulations that are imposed upon school districts. Charter schools are accountable for academic results and upholding the promises made in their charters.
Wilson, Steven F., and Research American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy. Success At Scale In Charter Schooling. Education Outlook. No. 3. American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 2009. ERIC. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.
The Protestant Reformation and Catholic Reformation included various individuals who each had an impact throughout the 16th and 17th century. Such figures included Machiavelli, Pope Leo X, Henry VII, Martin Luther, and others contributed at this time also. Machiavelli wrote The Prince, a novel on political power on how a prince should use his authority. He dedicated his work of literature to the Medici family, specifically to the Magnificent Lorenzo de Medici . Machiavelli wrote The Prince at the time he was exiled from Italy which proves he took advantage of the time which made him an effective writer. In Machiavelli’s work he presents his beliefs of what an ideal prince should have as traits. Some qualities Machiavelli states are that man is flawed, a prince needs to be prepared for any circumstance, and a prince must be respected . Pope Leo X was a controversial figure at the time for his decision of selling indulgences. This action caused various consequences including the Protestant Reformation. Using Machiavelli’s theories, the statement “The Catholic Reformation was outwardly Machiavellian in its response to the Protestant Reformation while the actions of Protestants was implicitly Machiavellian” is valid when viewing Martin Luther, Henry VIII, and the Council of Trent.
After review, I have chosen the philosopher, Nicolo Machiavelli, an Italian political philosopher, statesman, and historian during the Renaissance Era which is “a period in European civilization immediately following the middle ages and conventionally held to have been characterized by a surge of interest in Classical scholarship and values”. Machiavelli was born May 3, 1469 and passed away on June 21, 1527. His place of birth was Florence, Italy. (1) He was the third child and first son of Bernardo di Niccolo Machiavelli. Machiavelli’s mother, Bartolomeo di Stefano Nelli. Machiavelli was born during social unrest and violent times. The Machiavelli family was wealthy and prominent. In the past, the Machiavelli had held prominent offices
An outspoken person of his time, Nicolo Machiavelli struck an influential chord on politics. His experience began when he served as an advisor to the Medicis, a wealthy family who had total reign over Tuscany. Over the years, Machiavelli observed the rights and wrongs of ruling, and eventually concluded his opinions when he published his book, The Prince. His writings significantly affected the ruling style of powerful leaders, providing a more secular approach to ruling - a daring suggestion of Machiavelli to make, especially in a society dominated by the Church. In one of his points, Machiavelli endorsed the idea that a ruler shouldn’t be concerned with the needs of his people; rather, he should turn his attention to his own survival. He
Although The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” has caused some major controversy, it is not a racist book. The major stem of the racial controversy in the novel comes from the “n” word. In the new edition of Huckleberry Finn, a book published in 1885 by Mark Twain, the word “nigger” will be replaced with “slave” over 219 times (Moore, Martha T.). Taking this word out of the book and replacing it is like taking out a part of our culture. As Moore states, “The word is ‘used for a reason’, this can be used to teach younger readers how to deal with more complex readings. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not a racist novel because of Mark Twain’s intentions, the time period in which it was written, and the relationship between Huck and Jim.
Charter schools improve education by offering students more creative approaches to learning and by giving parents more choices. In states with charter laws, students don’t have to go to their assigned school in their local school district and can enroll in any charter school. That means a student is not stuck in their zone school. They allow students from any other area the ability to enroll, but not everyone gets in because there is only a limited amount of seats. Since charter schools are granted more flexibility, they can develop more innovative programs. Effective school leadership, which includes instructional leadership, team goal-setting and distributed leadership, is one of the most important factors influencing teacher behavior and student outcomes (Wei, Patel, and Young 5). So the teachers are free to try different ways of thinking outside the box to help students learn and achieve at higher levels. Most charter schools are small in size where they know and care about each
Huck Finn has “vision” and the ability to see the world as it truly is. Twain emphasises the abilities of Huck’s character to “not judge [the real world]” but to “allow it to judge itself” (T.S. Eliot). By presenting Huck in such a way, Twain leaves room for the audience to form their own views and opinions on the critical moral issues presented in the novel. Seeing the world Twain creates with an objective lens, the reader is able to witness the harsh realities and racism of the South and condemn it on their own merit. This freedom given to the reader is a critical element in Twain’s writing, as one can view the elements of the novel critics immediately label as racist and form their own conclusion on it. The “greatness” of the novel lies in its “power of telling the truth, because no one...sets a higher value on the truth than a boy” (Lionel Trilling). Twain’s literary decision of presenting the novel through a boy’s eyes allows the novel to reach a higher degree of truth unattainable if narrated by an adult. Employing the voice of innocence as the narrator and highlighting the qualities of a young boy: his moral
Niccolo Machiavelli’s dissertation The Prince (1513) is a guide to become a successful leader. This political handbook includes how to conquer principalies and maintain power; therefore consisting of mostly didactic language and simple syntax. Aspects of this book have been represented in my flyer through layout, colour scheme, visual imagery and symbolism to provoke interest within the audience.
In the Christian Reformation Era several theological debates arise, ranging from sacramental theology and justification to ecclesiology and biblical authority. One prominent proponent of these debates that comes to the forefront is the extensive debate of authority, most specifically the spiritual authority as compared to the secular sanction. Though this debate is influential during the Reformation Era, it is still prevalent in our society today, with the increased emphasis placed on the separation of church and state in recent years, which was prominently underscored in the school districts across the United States.
...Claudia Durst. “Unfit for Children: Censorship and Race.” Huck Finn in Context: A Teaching Guide. Excerpt from Understanding Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1996.
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