European Renaissance: Scientific Inventions, Geographical Discoveries

This post caters to the study of the Complementary Course “Evolution of Literary Movements”, assigned for students of BA English programme at CMS College.

SCIENTIFIC INVENTIONS    

Medieval ideas: influenced by the physics of Aristotle, medicine of Galen, astronomy of Ptolemy, Christian theology

Matter of 4 elements:        earth, air, water, fire

Man of four humours:        black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, blood

Earth of 3 masses:                Europe, Asia, Africa

Earth is the centre of the universe (geocentric universe)

All these were overthrown during the Renaissance, through empirical truth. Stage set by the Humanists of the 16th c., and developed by the scientists of the 17th c: Copernicus, Galileo, William Harvey and Sir. Isaac Newton.

Galileo Galilei

Nicolaus Copernicus

William Harvey

Isaac Newton

Liberal studies curriculum in Grammar schools and universities: classical languages, and arithmetic, geometry and algebra.

Translation of Archimedes contributed to the further understanding of mathematics.

*The works of Archimedes were written in Doric Greek, the dialect of ancient Syracuse

Heliocentric idea gained acceptance.

Gutenberg in his workshop (artist's visualisaton)

Development of technology: Printing Press (16th c.) – Movable metal type by Johannes Gutenberg, Germany

Humanism

  This post caters to the study of the Complementary Course “Evolution of Literary Movements”, assigned for students of BA English programme at CMS College.

HUMANISM

Related to Renaissance: Blend of Christian philosophy and secular thinking

A philosophy on MAN: a study through the examination of his actual behavior than attempting to understand him through rigid doctrinaire formula.

The Humanist idea of Man:

·        Man is in a constant attempt to strive for good, but often finds himself caught in the trap of evil.

·        Struggle of desires: immortality vs. earthly fame. Choice belongs to the individual

·        Interest in the volitional/ emotional side rather than the rational side of man

·        Man: an Actor as well as a Creator

Humanist: A teacher of humanities (15th c. use). Early humanists – University teachers Humanists (teachers) developed a new curriculum (Difference from Medieval thinking)

Importance to ancient Greek culture and the good life (relation between these two)

Liberal education: difference with religious education

Curriculum of liberal education

Taken up by Universities

Thus, adopted in all the colonies of the Western world

Liberal Education and CMS College
In the early years, the curriculum included the study of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Mathematics, History and Geography besides English, Malayalam, Sanskrit and Syriac.

Humanist Scholars

Secularists (believed in the efficacy of classical knowledge)

Christians (believed in the tenets of the Christian faith – those that didn’t run counter to the ideals of antiquity)

Humanist Scholars elsewhere

Italian scholar poet Petrarch

Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus

Humanist Scholars in England

Oxford Reformers

Dean John Colet   (interest in St. Paul: refer to the “struggle of desires” mentioned above)

Sir Thomas More  Utopia, Struggle with the King (Henry VIII)

(also Desiderius Erasmus)

The Oxford Reformers were true to the Catholic church, and tried to reform it from within. But it was not successful, and change had to come from outside, in the form of Reformation.