The Physics of the Renaissance:

Forces that Moved it Forward

By: Katie Opacich

Table of Contents

• Setting the Renaissance in Motion• The Force is With Humanism• The Force is With the Reformation• Forces of the Future

– Technology– Leadership

Setting the Renaissance in Setting the Renaissance in MotionMotion

• The Renaissance was a time of rebirth of Classical art, architecture, and literature.

• It took place throughout Europe, but started in Italy around the 1400’s and ended around the 1650’s.

• The Medici family of bankers greatly influenced the spread of the Renaissance. They:

> used their wealth to buy artwork > used their wealth to bring famous

scientists to Florence

The Force is With HumanismThe Force is With Humanism• Humanism is a philosophy that focuses

on human thought and actions as well as human value and worth. – More learning about the world around us– Less focus on religion– Example: Subjects in art and painting

focused on every day life and less on religion

• Francesco Petrarch founded Humanism– He believed ancient history and literature was

important to learn about.– God gave humans their intelligence to use to

their fullest– Petrarch was also a poet. He wrote 317

sonnets and published them into a book titled Canzoniere

The Force is With Humanism continued…

• Education of children and adults improved as a result of Humanism

– Ex: replaced religious textbooks for textbooks that were about ancient history and philosophers like Plato and Virgil

• Better schooling = smarter people

The Force is With the Reformation

• The Reformation was an attempt to reform or fix the Catholic Church

– Church sold indulgences to people to make money

• Indulgence - a written promise that allowed a person to spend less time in purgatory before getting to heaven

– Popes stopped focusing on religion and got involved in other hobbies:

• Politics • Being art patrons• Leading wars

The Force is With the Reformation continued…

• Martin Luther started the Reformation– Nailing the ninety-five theses or

complaints on doors of Catholic Churches to inform people

– Key beliefs:• People go to heaven if they have salvation

(not by buying indulgences or performing charities)

• God’s forgiveness is a gift that could not be bought

• Many people agreed with Martin Luther – These people are known as Lutherans

that are a part of a new religion Protestantism.

Forces of the Future - Technology

• Out of all the technology today, the internet would help the most to spread a modern Renaissance. – The internet spreads

knowledge almost instantaneously to anyone with a computer

– The internet makes information available throughout the world

– Like the printing press, the internet spreads information fast, efficiently, and makes it available to many people

Forces of the Future - Leadership

• Good leadership is important to starting a Renaissance today

– Many government leaders believe that increasing knowledge in their countries can bring them wealth and power

– A democratic government can help a Renaissance because it allows people to have freedom of speech

• People can share knowledge without fear of the government

• Capitalism allows people to benefit by selling their new ideas and discoveries for money

Forces of the Future – Leadershipcontinued…

• Example of strong leader – Barack Obama– Supports education and wants

all Americans to get at least one year of education after high school

– Supports technology by using the internet and technology to communicate his ideas

– Encourages innovation – green energy

Conclusion

• Many forces joined together to create the Renaissance

• Learning and education are important to creating any Renaissance

• Today, technology advances and good leadership are important factors in creating a modern Renaissance

THE ENDTHE END