As pleasant as a society devoid of turmoil may sound, after a while it would feel rather mundane. In order to accurately appreciate the more vigorous and virtuous aspects of a civilization, there must be an unsatisfactory and putrid base-line for comparison. It is specifically this duality that has made several well-known cultures so dynamic. This dichotomy is particularly evident in the regions of Italy, Germany, Poland, Japan, and the Middle East. For starters, Italy, and more specifically Rome, is famed for its rich abundance of art, architecture and for being the epicenter of the Catholic religion. The Vatican, “a city state surrounded by Rome”, houses the Sistine Chapel (Zapella). The same chapel where Michelangelo laid on his back upon a scaffolding and tediously painted a variety of scenes from the Old Testament. For four long years, Michelangelo slaved away at the frescoes, and proved how vital determination, hard-work, and most importantly a steady hand were to executing his biblical beauties …show more content…
The forces of good and evil are alive in every society. The aforestated catastrophic events and amazing displays of art and architecture are the same events and arts used by John Farmer Jr. in his piece “The price we pay for our beliefs”. He acknowledges the existence of favorable and unfavorable circumstances in each culture, proceeds to explain why they exist, and more importantly how to rectify them. As pointed out by John Farmer Jr., regardless if a society is Catholic, Jewish, German or Japanese, dilemmas exist within every society. They exist precisely because of citizens indomitably asserting that they are in fact Catholic, Jewish, German or Japanese. By constructing borders around their identity, it is believed that anything outside of said borders is morally and ethically wrong. As John Farmer Jr. puts it, “We define by excluding. We say who we are… by saying who we are
When the world was created there was chaos, that chaos has since persisted throughout the course of human history. In Giuseppe Piamontini’s twin pieces, The Fall of Giants and The Massacre of Innocents, he shows two pivotal moments in human history that have forever shaped society through a single action: the creation of the religious world. The use of cold dark bronze in these works helps display the gloom and terror of the scenes. While the intense detailed expressions on the characters faces conveys their horror, grief, or insatiable lust for violence. Piamontini does a fantastic job showing these violent beginnings will have violent ends, there is no escaping it as the cycle will always repeat.
Coffin, Judith G., and Robert C. Stacey. "CHAPTER 18 PAGES 668-669." Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. 16TH ed. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W. W. Norton &, 2008. N. pag. Print.
Though the Renaissance era included all of Europe, Italy was the cradle of the movement. The cities of Florence, Rome and Venice were of great importance to this period. Major artists created art mainly in these three. As the center of Italy, Rome held the residence of the Pope and many other important factors. Throughout history, the Roman Catholic Church was very insistent on promoting their ideas. During this time, they used artists and their creativity to promote the Bible and other aspects of their beliefs. Artists were paid, or commissioned by patrons (often the Pope) to create art they wanted. One of the most ambitious patrons was Pope Julius II, who realized the impact visual images had on people’s ideas (Kleiner, 599). Pope Julius II was called the warring Pope, because he often went and involved himself in wars. He also held very humanistic ideas. Because of this, Michelangelo’s relationship to Pope Julius II was very different from his relationship with Pope Leo X, who succeeded Julius II. Julius, because of his adaptions to humanistic thoughts, he let Michelangelo express himself to the fullest, even when forcing him to paint the Sistine Chapel. Leo X, however, was very critical of everything Michelangelo set out upon. This resulted a strained relationship, and eventually abandonment of projects that were supposed to be completed. It is clear that Pope Julius II had a liking for Michelangelo, while the Medici’s looked on him as a type of lowly artist subject to their will.
Giotto’s Arena Chapel, Duccio’s Maestà, and Masaccio’s Trinity are only a few examples of the Church’s overarching influence on Renaissance art. Without the Church, there would have been no art. It was the increasing popularity of the Church with new orders of monks in the 1200s that created a greater need for religious images, and with more production of art, the style began to change. Religion was such an integral part of Renaissance culture that it makes sense that it would be the focus of its creativity.
In my mind, dualism is a more attractive view to take when considering the mind-brain issue. The idea that the mind is a separate entity and that it is independent of the physical body is the central point of dualism. One reason it appeals to me is because of my religion, my Catholic upbringing. Introspection is another good reason why dualism is a little more logical to me than materialism.. It logically explains why the mind and brain are separate. Also, the divisibility argument raises good points to allow dualism to appear to be the more attractive idea in my eyes.
Rene Descartes certainly didn't lack for credentials. As the "Father of Rationalism," "Father of Modern Philosophy," and originator of Cartesian geometry, he had more than enough interests to fill his spare time. But his role as "Father of Skepticism" helped popularize a major change in thinking about the nature of human experience. Dualism, or the doctrine that mind and body are of two distinct natures, is one of the key philosophical problems inherited by psychology. In both philosophy and psychology there have been several attempts to reconcile the mind and body.
Dualism is the theory that mind and matter are two distinct things. The main argument for dualism is that facts about the objective external world of particles and fields of force, as revealed by modern physical science, are not facts about how things appear from any particular point of view, whereas facts about subjective experience are precisely about how things are from the point of view of individual conscious subjects. They have to be described in the first person as well as in the third person.
The text "Dueling Dualism" by Anne Fausto-Sterling claim is that sex and gender are constructed. Scientist construct gender and sex through their research and studies and this creates the way society views sex and gender. Sterling writes, "... human sexuality created by scholars in general and by biologists, in particular, are one component of political, social, and moral struggles about our cultures... At the same time... incorporated into our very physiological being... Biologists...in turn refashion our cultural environment"(Sterling,5). Sterling, sure enough, realizes how sexuality is viewed by biologist but also how it can change the perspectives of sexuality in a society. Biologist have "refashion our cultural environment" and are reshaping
Much of the art created during the Renaissance was geared toward religion, and with Michelangelo this was no exception. By th...
The debate as to the true nature of human beings, the existence of free will and the validity of science is centered on two philosophical theories; dualism and materialism. Under dualism, the proponents believe that there are two kinds of matter that make up human beings which is the physical presence and the non-physical mind or soul . Materialism on the one hand proposes that man and matter is one and the same thing and there cannot be in existence any other non-physical entity therefore . Materialism is one of the major theories that greatly oppose dualism.
Michelangelo and Caravaggio at some point in history were the most famous artists in Rome, Italy. Michelangelo a prominent architect, poet, sculptor, and painter found his success in Italy during the High Renaissance period (1490-1527). While Caravaggio was the most popular painter in Rome and spearheaded the Baroque period (1650-1750). Artists like Caravaggio in the Baroque period turned to a powerful and dramatic realism, intensified by bold contrasts of light and dark. Michelangelo’s reputation as a painter fluctuated during the High Renaissance, but his devotion to his art and his genius undoubtedly influenced artists such as Caravaggio during the Baroque Period. However, each artist had incredibly different styles, and utilized different mediums in their most popular works of art. Despite that there are also many similarities which indicate Michaelangelo’s heavy influences on Caravaggio and Baroque Period art. The comparison will be between Michelangelo, Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, Rome, Fresco. c. 1508-1512 and Caravaggio, Calling of St. Matthew, Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome, Oil
During the clash of any two cultures, there will always be disaccord in major ideologies and ways of thinking which eventually leads to reform or sometimes regression. Concepts of morality and cultural practices can create dissonance when there are opposing views, causing a shift in ethics in order to protect their original way of existence. At times, this conflict can birth efforts at positive social reconstruction, however during specific instances it causes severe destruction and loss of ethical direction. Both in the 16th and 19th century in the landscape of the New World, there was a plethora of contact that occurred between the Euro-Americans and Indigenous peoples that was an instigator in various conflicts as well as social and moral
The western societies include Europe such as America and France whereas non-western societies are China and Japan. From the thirteenth to nineteenth centuries, also known as the “early modern period” experienced tremendous forces the imperial authorities that pushed to change under many different circumstances or struggled to remain culturally conservative in their traditions. Thus, China, America and France were important societies that caused a great impact in the world history. In the following, I will identify those changes in their tradition as well as discuss the complex relationship between traditions.
I think dualism has some good points to consider, such as the spiritual and non-material possibilities. We have a disconnect when spirituality becomes involved as well as a singular perspective when reality starts to be sought out. However, I do not think reality will show its self, just like outer space. The more we search and search, more doors keep opening without answers.
“A man paints with his brains and not with his hands” Michelangelo Buonarroti. Earlier this summer in June, I went with my family to Rome and Florence and was fortunate enough to visit several breathtaking museums along the way. Rome is most famous for numerous things such as architecture from arches, domes and vaults, which can be seen in almost every historic building, to painters from Michelangelo to Bernini and Raphael. I was blessed to see artwork done by each individual. My overall trip was two weeks, which gave me plenty of time to enjoy most aspects of Rome and Florence.