In a time when ideology and convictions were shaped by the church, a new ideology was on the horizon that would begin the revolutionary transformation of the western world into what we know as the renaissance period. This new way of thought was brought about due to certain doctrines of the Catholic church that was viewed as uncanonical and dogmatic. The idealistic movement of Renaissance humanism’s spread throughout first Florence and then western Europe was greatly due to men with common convictions of human potential and achievement such as Ficino, Pico, and Alberti, while men such as Machiavelli contributed to humanism’s idea of freedom of expression with the acceptance of immoral and unlawful conduct.
Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499), the humanist philosopher had a great impact in the Classical humanism era. He was an essential tool in propagating the writings and ideology of Plato by translating it from Greek to Latin, thus making it more available to masses at that time (Fiero 39). This was a project of massive scale, but Ficino was determined by his commitment in spreading these philosophies that he held dear. In addition to his willingness to educate those of his generation, he was also able and motivated to perform this task due to the availability of Greek resources at his disposal. These resources coupled with the financial support of Cosimo De’ Medici, Ficino’s work was able to reach the likes of western scholars. Medici was able to fund the project due to his position as a merchant prince who brought commercial ingenuity to the city of Florence that guaranteed local economic stability (Fiero 32). Cosimo Medici came from the affluent family of the Medici’s which were bankers by profession in the city Florence (Fiero 32). Furthermore, Medici’s wealth played a major role in Ficino founding Platonic Academy. The Platonic Academy empires the art and literature era where love is a major influence in Renaissance. This influence translates thru poems and paintings depicting that love was inspired by physical beauty. Another renown contributor to the Humanistic movement was the humanist poet and theologian Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494). …show more content…
Pico, like his contemporary Ficino, was skilled in translating and used his skills to translate writing in Hebrew, Arabic, Latin and also Greek Fiero 39). His contrary convictions of certain doctrines persuaded him to search out for the truth in diverse writings of philosophical scholars. Moreover, upon saturating himself with these early works of popular scholars, he came to the realization that there is a unity of truth in all philosophical thought, which is a type of pluralism. One of Pico’s influence of intellectual empowerment stemmed from a man called Petrarch, the “Father of Humanism”. Petrarch was a Christian that believed in the potential of humanity through means of recovering the lost Greco-Roman culture, which was rich in arts, poetry, and philosophical works. Furthermore, Pico’s zeal for these traditional thoughts of the power of human knowledge propelled him to affirm positions such as the self- fashioning potential of the human being. One of his writings called “Oration of the Dignity of Man” argues a point of the preeminence of man by free will. In other words, Pico mentions that man has the possibility to ascend to the highest level of perfection by his own means (Fiero 39). Consequently, from the biblical statement of “man being made a little lower than the angels” Pico argues points such as this excerpt: We have made you a creature neither of heaven nor of earth, neither mortal nor immortal, in order that you may, as the free and proud shaper of your own being, fashion yourself in the form you may prefer. (Pico). One other contributor of this revolutionary movement of Humanism was the artist Leon Battisa Alberti (1404-1474). Alberti’s professions as a mathematician, architect, engineer, musician and playwright made him versatile in many areas, but more notably in his writings do we see his impact during the renaissance period with such works as “On the Family” (Fiero 37). This work was rich with content of how a family should be structured, function and also emphasized the responsibilities of those in the family (Fiero37). Furthermore, Alberti used this work as a moralizing treatise to advocate worldly success is incumbent upon classical education. For example, Alberti stated “Who can ever think it possible to achieve honors and dignity without the
Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499), the humanist philosopher had a great impact in the Classical humanism era. He was an essential tool in propagating the writings and ideology of Plato by translating it from Greek to Latin, thus making it more available to masses at that time (Fiero 39). This was a project of massive scale, but Ficino was determined by his commitment in spreading these philosophies that he held dear. In addition to his willingness to educate those of his generation, he was also able and motivated to perform this task due to the availability of Greek resources at his disposal. These resources coupled with the financial support of Cosimo De’ Medici, Ficino’s work was able to reach the likes of western scholars. Medici was able to fund the project due to his position as a merchant prince who brought commercial ingenuity to the city of Florence that guaranteed local economic stability (Fiero 32). Cosimo Medici came from the affluent family of the Medici’s which were bankers by profession in the city Florence (Fiero 32). Furthermore, Medici’s wealth played a major role in Ficino founding Platonic Academy. The Platonic Academy empires the art and literature era where love is a major influence in Renaissance. This influence translates thru poems and paintings depicting that love was inspired by physical beauty. Another renown contributor to the Humanistic movement was the humanist poet and theologian Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494). …show more content…
Pico, like his contemporary Ficino, was skilled in translating and used his skills to translate writing in Hebrew, Arabic, Latin and also Greek Fiero 39). His contrary convictions of certain doctrines persuaded him to search out for the truth in diverse writings of philosophical scholars. Moreover, upon saturating himself with these early works of popular scholars, he came to the realization that there is a unity of truth in all philosophical thought, which is a type of pluralism. One of Pico’s influence of intellectual empowerment stemmed from a man called Petrarch, the “Father of Humanism”. Petrarch was a Christian that believed in the potential of humanity through means of recovering the lost Greco-Roman culture, which was rich in arts, poetry, and philosophical works. Furthermore, Pico’s zeal for these traditional thoughts of the power of human knowledge propelled him to affirm positions such as the self- fashioning potential of the human being. One of his writings called “Oration of the Dignity of Man” argues a point of the preeminence of man by free will. In other words, Pico mentions that man has the possibility to ascend to the highest level of perfection by his own means (Fiero 39). Consequently, from the biblical statement of “man being made a little lower than the angels” Pico argues points such as this excerpt: We have made you a creature neither of heaven nor of earth, neither mortal nor immortal, in order that you may, as the free and proud shaper of your own being, fashion yourself in the form you may prefer. (Pico). One other contributor of this revolutionary movement of Humanism was the artist Leon Battisa Alberti (1404-1474). Alberti’s professions as a mathematician, architect, engineer, musician and playwright made him versatile in many areas, but more notably in his writings do we see his impact during the renaissance period with such works as “On the Family” (Fiero 37). This work was rich with content of how a family should be structured, function and also emphasized the responsibilities of those in the family (Fiero37). Furthermore, Alberti used this work as a moralizing treatise to advocate worldly success is incumbent upon classical education. For example, Alberti stated “Who can ever think it possible to achieve honors and dignity without the