Chapter 3

Focus 3-1

The Humanist Approach

The Rebirth of Ideas

- in the northern Italian

city-states a new way of

thinking began to take place.

- certain scholars(people who

study a lot) began to look back

to the classical civilizations of

Greece and Rome.

- they studied the old writings

from Greece and Rome.

- they began to apply many of

these old ideas to their lives

- old philosophers like Aristotle

and Plato were studied

- the Italian scholars began to

admire the eloquent language

of the old writers.

- the scholars also liked what

the old writers had to say

about society, politics, history,

drama. art and sculpture.

- the Greek and Roman

cultures became known as the

“classical civilizations”

- the Renaissance time in

history was actually a result of

intercultural contact with

cultures from different time

periods.

- this way of thinking is what

we call “humanism” or

“humanistic thinking” today.

- the Islamic culture had

always kept classical

knowledge. They developed this

knowledge and added to it.

They especially developed

science, math and medicine.

- humanist ideas spread mainly

among the wealthy people

because they were the only ones

who had time to read and

study.

- studying and discussing

ancient writers became the “cool

“ thing to do

- most cultures have a set of

rules or commandments that

guide people’s behaviour in that

culture

- three ideas that came from

humanism:

a. you should have a sound

mind and a sound body

b. you need to learn about the

past so you don’t repeat foolish

mistakes; learn from others

c. educated people differ from

uneducated people; education

can lead to a better life

Humanism And The

Individual

- probably the most important

belief to the Renaissance

thinker was that the individual

is very important and each

individual has great dignity

and importance and potential.

- it was believed that people

could shape their own lives by

their own choices, efforts and

talents.

- Humanists believed:

a. Human beings can use the

power of reason. They can

think and find truth for

themselves.

b. It is important for a person

to have an open, curious and

questioning mind.

c. People can achieve great

things through learning.

d. Individual people should be

skilled in many different areas.

They should not just develop

their minds but also their

bodies and spirits.

- there were many new scholars

that were presenting new ideas

- the old Greek and Roman

manuscripts had been preserved

in libraries in the Muslim

countries

- these ancient manuscripts were

also kept in some monasteries in

Europe

- one great humanist scholar

was Francesco Petrarch

- another humanist was

Giovanni Aurispa who is

famous because in one year

alone he brought 240 Greek

manuscripts back to Europe

- the humanists wanted to

spread knowledge

- humanists believed in order to

be the best person possible you

needed to read good books and

look at great art

- humanists believed in travel,

art, sculpture, all new ideas,

reading, literature and

anything else that made people

think new things

Thinkers And Society

1. Name some types of jobs that

have a great affect on our

society today.

__________________

__________________

2. What means do they use to get

their message across?

__________________

__________________

3. Renaissance humanists were

often the leaders of their

________________.

4. Name nine positions that

humanist scholars often filled in

society.

__________________

__________________

5. Why did humanists have such

a far reaching affect on their

society?

__________________

__________________

6. What is civic humanism?

__________________

__________________

7. What does the word “civic”

mean?

__________________

__________________

8. Which famous Roman

suggested that public service was

the duty of all citizens in a

society?

__________________

__________________

Humanist Education

- Humanists placed a great

deal of value on education

- the subjects we study today

are directly related to the

choices made at this time

- many humanists were teachers

who ran their own schools

- they believed it was important

to educate the whole child

- this meant training the mind,

the body and the character

- humanists encouraged

students to question everything

- most wealthy or rich people

hired humanist tutors for their

children

- humanists added new subjects

to the traditional list of subjects

Traditional List of Subjects

1. grammar

2. rhetoric(public speaking)

3. arithmetic

4. geometry

5. astronomy

6. music

7. theology

8. scripture

9. medicine

Humanists added:

1. Greek and Roman writing

2. physical training

3. ethics and morality

4. aesthetics (the philosophy of

beauty)

5. manners and behaviour

6. history

7. eloquence (persuasiveness)

Humanism and Religion

- the classical texts were written

before Christianity was

developed

- religion continued to play a

major role in the lives of people

during the Renaissance

- Humanists emphasized such

values as individualism and the

importance of history

- the Bible was translated

again during this time by

Desiderius Erasmus, an

extremely famous humanist

thinker

Society And The Arts

- the Arts involve mainly

painting, architecture, sculpture

and literature

- today, we have added

photography and drama and

dance

- art became very important to

the wealthy

- Patrons were wealthy people

who often hired their own

private artists and it was

considered very important to

have an artist on your staff

- artists were hired to create art

for public places and for

private homes

- the more art you could afford

the more important you were

- Michelangelo was one of the

great Renaissance artists

- Leonardo da Vinci was

another of the great

Renaissance artists

-

- the Renaissance artists began

to do things differently

- they wanted realism

- all forms of art began to

change during the Renaissance.

- greater detail was shown in

everything

- more effort was applied to all

forms of art

- Renaissance artists wanted to

increase their skill steadily

- even architecture and

buildings became art forms

- the more skillful an artist

became, the more famous he

became

- artists like Michelangelo

became celebrities and had

worldwide reputations

- literature (writing) is another

form of art

- the classics were considered

the very best

- there were also books written

that used common language

- these were called the

vernacular - the language

spoken by the people (Italian,

French and English)

- humanism encouraged writers

to focus on their thoughts and

emotions and ideas

- one of the most famous

writers was Christine de Pisan

- she was one of the few women

who could read and write

- married at thirteen, she was

widowed at age twenty-five

- she had three small children

to raise

- she decided to make her living

as a writer

- she became Europe’s first

female professional writer

- Pisan was most famous for

writing about the idea that men

and women should not be

judged because of their gender

but on their abilities and their

virtue (were they good people

or not)

-