Renaissance Humanism Research Paper

The next major philosophical idea which gave rise to the modern day scientific method was empiricism - the theory that all knowledge is derived from sense-experience and stimulated the rise of experimental science. The rise of this new philosophy of science also gave way to a significant change in the possibilities for human understanding of the natural world. A product and contributor to this new paradigm was Copernicus who argued in theoretical terms for a heliocentric view of the universe (the sun is the center and the planets revolve around it), which resulted in Kepler substantiating that claim with a more secure mathematical interpretation. Galileo’s methods were that of direct observation regarding both the worldly and celestial. Expanding

Humanism was the idea that the human was the center and was the only arbiter capable of determining truth and falsehood. This movement led to rejection of institutional authority and replaced with emphasis on individual capacity and reason. The ideal humanist and ultimately the purpose to strive was a holistic human being one capable of excellence in many fields in addition to functioning honorably in any type of situation. Renaissance humanism could trace its origins to ancient Greece. Greek literature, art and philosophy centered in on the human condition, and by extension the human body, especially through art. Humanists sought to create a citizenry able to speak and write with eloquence and clarity and thus capable of engaging in the civic life of their communities and persuading others to virtuous and prudent actions. This was to be accomplished through the study of the studia humanitatis, today known as the humanities: grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry, and moral philosophy. “Just as religious reformers challenged ecclesiastical authority and made individual believers responsible for their own relation to god, prominent Renaissance thinkers proposed an analogous elimination of all appeals to authority in education and science [11].” Pedagogy was transformed by the through ancient Greek texts, confrontational approaches to institutional authority were welcomed, and emphasis on

Agatha,” is largely a humanist work. The single bare breast signifies a rebellious attitude to traditional ecclesiastical portrayals of religious figures starkly echoing the humanist philosophy.” St. Agatha was tortured by the consular of Sicily due to her rejecting his pursuits and it consequently resulted in the cutting off of her breast, but was restored through the divine intervention of St. Peter. This ecclesiastical image shows her reflecting upon God while gently holding the pincers, the very tools of her suffering which she gained sainthood from. “The palm branch is the attribute of martyrs. The way in which the saint is modeled with soft sfumato (an almost invisible rendering of the transitions from light to shade) and emerges from a dark background is characteristic of Furini's work