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History
3. CULTURAL CHANGES
Humanist philosophy
Prosperity resulted in transformations in theways of thinking. A new intellectual movement,
called
humanism
, emerged in Italy and spread throughout Europe. Its main characteristics
were:
❚
A renewed interest in classical culture
:
Classical Greek and Roman culture and
philosophy became the point of reference for intellectual and artistic activity.
❚
Anthropocentrism
: human beings became the centre of philosophical reflection and
artistic creation. Although the humanists continued to be Christians, they abandoned
theocentrism
4
of the Middle Ages. They tried to explain reality without religion.
❚
Optimism
and
creativity
: religious beliefs that caused fear (the concept of sin) were
replaced by the belief in a better life in this world. Creativity was oriented towards
obtaining better techniques, which resulted in numerous inventions.
❚
The desire for knowledge
:
the humanists possessed a great intellectual curiosity.
They did not limit their knowledge to one special area. They wanted to learn about
everything and be
Renaissance Man.
❚
Critical thinking
: Until then, knowledge was based on tradition, the great scholars
or sacred texts. Humanism questioned all this previous knowledge and tried to explain
natural phenomena through:
– Individual reflection:
reason
.
– Extensive studies:
research
.
– Practical demonstrations:
experimentation
.
❚
The use of vernacular languages
:
Previously, most books were written in Latin.
The humanists started to write their works in languages spoken in their countries.
This was the case of the Italians
Dante
(Divine Comedy),
Petrarch
(Canzoniere)
and
Boccaccio
(the Decameron).
Due to this, more people had access to culture and new
knowledge.
At the beginning of the Early Modern Age there were also significant developments in
thinking and science. Ideas spread rapidly due to an extremely important invention: the
printing press
.
4
theocentrism:
school of thought in
which God was considered the centre of
the universe and controller of everything,
including human activity
!
Important
The great humanist thinkers included:
❚
The Dutchman
Erasmus of Rotterdam
wrote
The Praise of Folly
(1511). This
work criticised the customs of the time, including corruption in the church.
❚
The Florentine
Niccolo Machiavelli
reflected on power. In his work
The Prince
(1513), he gave practical advice to the rulers of the time, without considering
any moral implications.
❚
The Englishman
Thomas More
wrote
Utopia
(1516). This proposed an ideal of
a political system based on justice and equality.
Manuscript page from the
Decameron
(15th
century)
1. On the Gutenberg printing press, letters
were selected one by one.
