Renaissance Humanism

What inspired the interest in learning during the Renaissance?

• Scientific discoveries

• Humanism

• Technological advancements

• Exploration

What did humanism place an emphasis on?

• Economic growth

• Individual dignity and interest in nature and human society

• Military conquest

• Religious authority

Who was one of the first humanists that searched for ancient Greek and Roman texts?

• Leonardo da Vinci

• Francesco Petrarch

• Galileo Galilei

• Michelangelo

What did humanists in the Renaissance begin to study in addition to classical history and poetry?

• Art, architecture, government, and language

• Mathematics and physics

• Commerce and trade

• Astrology and alchemy

What did humanists believe about people's ability?

• People have the ability to control their own lives and achieve greatness

• People are controlled by fate and have limited abilities

• People should focus solely on religious salvation

• People are best governed by strong leaders

What group of subjects did humanists stress the study of?

• Natural sciences

• Humanities

• Political sciences

• Engineering

What did Renaissance scientists begin to teach in universities?

• Methods of observation and experimentation

• The importance of religious doctrine

• The art of war and strategy

• Traditional medieval scholasticism

How did humanist ideals influence thoughts about government during the Renaissance?

• Humanists promoted the idea that the Church should have absolute control over the state.

• Humanists helped lay the foundation for modern thinking about politics and government by separating the state and its role from the Church.

• Humanists believed that only the nobility should participate in government.

• Humanists discouraged any form of government and promoted anarchy.

What was the Renaissance thinkers' view on individual achievement versus social status?

• They believed that a person's class or family was more important than individual achievements.

• They thought that peasants should always have less status than nobles.

• They prized individual achievement more than a person's class or family.

• They considered social status to be unchangeable regardless of individual achievements.

What was one of the conflicts between humanist ideas and the Catholic Church?

• Humanists agreed with the Church that life after death was more important than life on Earth.

• Humanists believed that people should not question the teachings of the Church.

• Humanists thought that laws made by God should not be questioned and those who broke them were sinful.

• Humanists believed that people should use their minds to question everything, which sometimes brought them into conflict with the Church.