Research Paper On Renaissance Humanism

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The Renaissance Humanist Just who is the modern Renaissance Humanist? The term renaissance quite literally means “rebirth,” and the Renaissance is the period in European culture immediately following the Middle Ages. The term has been described as a surge of interest in classical learning and values. However, defining the word in a somewhat broader sense, the Renaissance might also be described as an era that focused on the more secular, self-reliant spirit of humankind. According to Professor William Marvin of Antioch University, during the Renaissance “a fundamental shift in human thinking and perspective began to unfold. Until this time, people viewed themselves as members of the community first and as individuals second” (Marvin). Sidney Alexander in his PBS interview with Bill Moyers notes, the Renaissance is about “the humanization of the divine” (Moyers). In the same PBS interview, Moyers quotes Franco Zefferelli on the Renaissance, noting “I can do things because I’m God. That’s humanism. That’s Renaissance” (Moyers). …show more content…

He notes “[t]hou canst grow downward in to the lower natures which are brutes. Thou canst grow upward from thy soul’s reason into the higher natures which are divine” (499). When one is completely self-absorbed, embracing divinity in oneself then one loses the ability to create. No matter how intelligent and enlightened humanity becomes, it is incumbent upon us as Renaissance Humanists to have the courage to know ourselves.
Works Cited
Baird, Forrest and Walter. Medieval Philosophy: Philosophic Classics, Vol. II, Fourth Ed., Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 2003. Print.
Fox, Matthew. Creativity: Where the Divine and the Human Meet. New York: Penguin. 2002. Print.
Marvin, William. Lecture Notes, Week Four: The Courtly Life and the Emergence of the Renaissance. Antioch University.

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