Humanism and Renaissance Thinkers Shape of the Lesson

Humanism and Renaissance Thinkers

Shape of the Lesson Today we’re going to talk about Renaissance thought and some of the big thinkers of the day, especially: • • Humanism (a new and big idea) Petrarch (a poet) Machiavelli (a philosopher) Savonrola (a preacher)

Humanism • Belief that the human experience on Earth is important • Different from the Middle Ages: the Middle Ages were a time when people thought the only purpose to living was to get into Heaven. • Humanism taught that it’s important to have a good life on Earth too. • Emphasized beauty art began to become more realistic, and started to contain accurate images of people (because it was important to the human experience!)

Petrarch • Writer and a Poet • Collected ancient works for people to enjoy in the future • Beliefs • People are good by nature; people will do good things naturally • The human experience is important; for example, the feeling of being in love is important Your feelings are important!

Machiavelli • Philosopher • Wrote The Prince, a guide for how to rule as a monarch • Beliefs • People are basically bad and will naturally do bad things • People must be forced to act correctly • “The ends justify the means” it doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you achieve a result that you want It is better for a leader to be feared than loved

Savonarola • Preacher • Savonarola was a well-educated person who believed that logic and reasoning was important • Tried to get rid of corruption from the church and society • Beliefs • The new ways (i. e. humanism) are leading people astray from correct religious practise • People have too many luxuries; built bonfires for people to burn their stuff (e. g. makeup, wigs, fancy clothes) People today are so concerned with being comfortable that they have forgotten how to be Christian!