The Renaissance was a major turning point
in western intellectual and cultural tradition. Many of these changes
were centered around the idea of
humanism. Humanism is philosophy
predominantly centered on human interests. During this time period
people started to become less “God centered” and more “human centered.”
These changes could be seen politics,
education and the arts. The major political change of the Renaissance was the change
from the old feudal system to the more flexible and liberal class
system. This was most noticeable in Italy (particularly in Florence),
where the divisions consisted of the old rich, the new rich nobles, the
middle class, and the lower middle class (the poor didn’t count.) The
humanism philosophy was very popular with the people and many political
humanists even became chancellors of Florence. They used their
rhetorical skills to strongly rally the people of Florence against
their enemies. The great changes in education of the Renaissance were inspired
at first, by the desire of humanists to be wise and to speak
eloquently. The idea of useful education for the people, and very “well
rounded” schooling in many different fields of learning were the new
defined goals of Renaissance education. People all over (especially in
Florence) revived the ancient Greek studies of Plato, Aristotle and
many others. They rediscovered and studied the philosophies of these
great scholars and redeveloped the “scientific theory” in which you
didn’t just accept whatever was told to you, but you tested the truth
of it. Humanism greatly influenced the area of the arts in the
Renaissance. Renaissance artists no longer were subordinate to the
interests and the values of the clergy. They were able to create
anything of their “artistic will.” People were now able to appreciate
arts beyond just religious themes. Artists could also now take
advantage of new techniques, such as oil painting and linear
perspective to enhance the quality of their works. All of the great
artists of the time became who they were solely because of this new
artistic freedom that the Renaissance brought them. These artists also
created works that were more complex than before. Taking advantage of
this were artists such as Leonardo do Vinci and Michelangelo who are
two of the most famous artists in history. As you can see, the philosophy of humanism played a great role
during the Renaissance. In turn the Renaissance was a major turning
point in history in just about every element of society. This was the
time when people questioned what they had always known. They searched
for their own truths and believed in themselves. Humanism has helped
man to realize his capabilities and made him certain of his own
immortality.