The Influence of Humanism
Humanism, the philosophy that believes that people should work to try and achieve their full potential and focuses on human interest/values, greatly influenced many things in the Renaissance world. During the Renaissance, new discoveries, creations, and ideas were made because Humanism encouraged people to focus on themselves rather than always of the church/pleasing God. Humanists believed that it was possible to live happy lives and still be able to please God. With that in mind they began to learn about new things and ideas because they stopped focusing so much on the church. People learned new things about anatomy, science, math, and created new versions of things already made in the Middle Ages like new forms of art, writings, etc.
Leonardo Da Vinci's Anatomical Studies
Global Explorations:
In the Renaissance, people realized that there was a whole world outside of their religion and it need to be discovered. Humanism encouraged people to live life to the fullest, and showed that there are many wonderful things in the world to enjoy/experience. That is why in the Renaissance, many people began exploring the world. For some travelers - their plan was to convert people to their religion, and they were called missionaries. For others, they traveled for the sake of trade. During the Renaissance, Europeans looked for new routes to Asia because it provided luxury items like spices and silk. These travelers discovered many new things about the Earth, such as it's size, shape, and it's climate in different areas. One thing explorers learned was that Aristotle's theory that living by the equator is unlivable for humans was false. During the Renaissance, Europeans began looking for more efficient routes to Asia - a continent that provided Europe with many luxury items such as spices and silk. Christopher Columbus was a European that was curious to see if traveling west instead of going east all the way around Africa would be a better way to reach Asia. By studying maps and reports, he knew the earth was round so it would most likely get him to his destination. However, when he reached what he thought was Asia in 1492 he really had accidentally discovered America by landing on an island in the caribbean sea. He set up a settlement there, sailed back to Spain to spread the news, and returned many times in search of "India's" mainland. Humanism played a major role in this discovery, because this philosophy inspired people to learn new things about themselves and the Earth.
In the Renaissance, people realized that there was a whole world outside of their religion and it need to be discovered. Humanism encouraged people to live life to the fullest, and showed that there are many wonderful things in the world to enjoy/experience. That is why in the Renaissance, many people began exploring the world. For some travelers - their plan was to convert people to their religion, and they were called missionaries. For others, they traveled for the sake of trade. During the Renaissance, Europeans looked for new routes to Asia because it provided luxury items like spices and silk. These travelers discovered many new things about the Earth, such as it's size, shape, and it's climate in different areas. One thing explorers learned was that Aristotle's theory that living by the equator is unlivable for humans was false. During the Renaissance, Europeans began looking for more efficient routes to Asia - a continent that provided Europe with many luxury items such as spices and silk. Christopher Columbus was a European that was curious to see if traveling west instead of going east all the way around Africa would be a better way to reach Asia. By studying maps and reports, he knew the earth was round so it would most likely get him to his destination. However, when he reached what he thought was Asia in 1492 he really had accidentally discovered America by landing on an island in the caribbean sea. He set up a settlement there, sailed back to Spain to spread the news, and returned many times in search of "India's" mainland. Humanism played a major role in this discovery, because this philosophy inspired people to learn new things about themselves and the Earth.