Humanism

Humanism

Today, we're focusing on the philosophy of humanism. Humanism was a major shift from the medieval world view. During the Middle Ages, people focused on living a life directed by a spiritual point of view. Everyone was focused on giving to their neighbour and trying their best to live holy lives, so that they could achieve the goal of heaven after they died. If bad things happened, it was because God willed it and because you were sinning against God. If good things happened, it was because God favoured you. People relied on the priests and bishops and other church officials (nuns, abbots, monks, etc.) to explain the teachings of the Catholic Church. Few people had access to the manuscripts of the Bible and the ancient Roman and Greek writings  kept by monasteries and read by nobles and church officials.

With the invention of Gutenburg's printing press, bibles and other writing became available to many more people. Because of the Black Death and the decline in population, more people were able to get better work or buy land. Standards of living rose and more people were able to learn to read and write. Also, the power of the Church was shattered by the overwhelming world changes caused by the Bubonic Plague. Nobles and educated people began to question their beliefs in God. How could a loving God allow such a terrible thing to happen? Surely, people could not have sinned so much to cause that kind of disaster? Perhaps, as ancient Greeks and Romans wrote, people could control their own destiny by becoming better educated and using reason to think about the world. Philosophy (the study of reason and thought) became more popular.

As we begin to wrap up our overview of the European Renaissance, please complete the following survey.