Renaissance and Humanism

Renaissance and Humanism

It has been argued that world and all its inclusions are dynamic. Indeed, some of these arguments may not be disputed. The evolution of the world has been accompanied by significant changes. For instance, the social, economic and political lifestyle of 21st century differs significantly from that of the preceding centuries. Currently, it cannot be overemphasized that computers have revolutionized the society, as depicted by the state-of-art information and communication technologies. Socially, globalization has drawn all regions of the world together, increasing interactions among the global people, as if they were in the same village. Politically, societies are now organized into central governments, with emphasis increasingly laid on democracy. These features set apart the current society from societies in the preceding centuries. Development in the renaissance period has been one of the areas that have attracted the interest of the historians. The renaissance period is characterized by various elements, including science and technology, environment, power and authority and the impact of these elements of the society.

The renaissance period began in 14 century and lasted until 17 century. One of the ways of bringing out the features of the renaissance period is by comparing it with another era, say the 18th Century man. First, the age of enlightenment is one of the marks that differentiate the 18th Century man and the medieval man, yet enlightenment of this phase may be perceived as humanism, a learning approach oriented towards empiricism.

Humanism can be perceived as the cultural movement advance by the intellectuals of the time, and was to induce reforms on the society based on reasons, as opposed to revelations, faith and superstitions. It was also aimed at fostering knowledge advancement through science. As such, the age of enlightenment was characterized by efforts to promote science and intellectual interchange while shunning...