Prepared by Van Tran

Renaissance Thinking(1350 - 1650)

• Introduction of Renaissance Philosophy

• Humanism

• Reformation

• Scientific Revolution

• Literature

Outline

Introduction

• Renaissance period was a time of intense, all-encompassing, and, in many ways, distinctive philosophical activity.

• Renaissance philosophy is a fascinating yet neglected period in the history of philosophy.

• A dramatic intellectual movement which emphasized the resurgence of science and culture through classical influences.

• Philosophy was also a beneficiary to this period of renewal.

• Historians mark the close of the Renaissance at around 1600 when it blossomed into a succession of other movements.

• One of the most distinctive intellectual movement within Renaissance.

• The main emphasis of humanism was secular education using Greek and Latin classics, rather than medieval sources.

• The humanist movement did not eliminate older approaches to philosophy, but contributed to change them in important ways, providing new information and new methods to the field.

HumanismGiovanni Pico della Mirandola

• A Platonist who emphasized the uniqueness of human nature.

• Studied diverse range of thinkers, including those of ancient Greek, Judaism, Islam and Zoroastrianism.

• His primary focus was Plato.

• His most significant work is Oration on the Dignity of Man.

• He proposed 900 basic principles for discovering knowledge in religion, philosophy and science but the Pope put a halt on his plan by declaring 13 of the principles to be heretical.

• He died of poisoning in his early thirties.

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463–1494)

Pico’s great chain of being

Raw matter

God

Realm of angels

Rational creatures with physical bodies

Physical bodies with no rationalelement

• An important influence on the direction of philosophy during the Renaissance.

• Began in Germany as a localized rebellion against Catholic Church of Rome.

• Started by a German monk named Martin Luther

Reformation

I would never have thought that such a storm would rise from Rome over one simple little scrap of paper.

• Graduate of Law school.

• Became a monk due to being terrified by the lightning bolt in a thunder storm.

• He was ordained a priest and began teaching biblical theology in University of Wittenberg.

• The universities are full of dissolute living, where very little is taught of the Holy Scriptures and of the Christian faith, and the blind heathen teacher, Aristotle, rules even more than Christ.

Martin Luther (1483-1546)

HELP, ST ANNE! I WILL BECOME A MONK!!!!

• Studied Theology in University of France and studied Law in Orleans.

• The thought that France should break free from Catholic Church forced him into exile for the remainder of his life.

• He completed his first edition of his Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536) in Switzerland.

• The aim of Calvin’s Institutes is to provide a Christian philosophy that will guide believers in the study of the Bible. At the heart of his position is a series of doctrines that later became known as the “Five Points of Calvinism.”

John Calvin (1509-1564)

• Total depravity: humanity's complete nature is innately corrupted

• Unconditional election: God predestines some people to salvation

• Limited atonement: salvation is restricted to those whom God elects

• Irresistible grace: the elect must accept God's favor

• Perseverance of the saints:  God sustains the salvation of the elect in spite of their weakness

Five Points of Calvinism

• God not only pre-selects some people for salvation, but he also pre-selects others for damnation.

• Whether we are saved or not, according to Calvin, is entirely up to God, and we have no free choice over the matter.

• Calvin agrees that God indeed has foreknowledge, however he insists that it has nothing to do with predestination. God sets the agenda for who is saved and who is damned, not us.

• For Calvin, God not only singles out individual people for salvation or damnation, but he can select entire communities for either fate as well.

Position of double predestination

"We call predestination God’s eternal decree, by which He determined what He willed to become of each man. For all are not created in equal condition; rather, eternal life is ordained for some, eternal damnation for others." (Institutes)

• European science dramatically advanced during the 16th and 17th centuries, a period that historians now refer to as the scientific revolution.

• Nicolas Copernicus’ theory: Earth was simply one of a number of planets orbiting the sun.

Science Revolution

• As science moved forward, it inevitably raised questions about the compatibility of religion and science.

Galileo Galilei (1564–1642)

Old sun-centered system New sun-centered system

I’M MADE OF PERFECTION

OLD SUN-CENTERED SYSTEM

I’M NOT

I’M NOT PERFECT BABE!

NEW SUN-CENTERED SYSTEM

ME NEITHER!

EARTH REVOLVES AROUND THE SUN

NO, IT DOESN’T, DUDE!

Literature:The History of Philosophy: A Short Survey by James Fieser

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

The basic of Philosophy

http://www.iep.utm.edu/renaissa/#H2

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/John_Calvin.htm

http://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/scientificrevolution/summary.html

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