Shifts in Values from Renaissance to Modern Age Research Paper

Shifts in Values from Renaissance to Modern Age - Research Paper Example This text explores such differences and similarities between these two ages. In terms of philosophy, it is evident that certain cultural values have changed from the Renaissance to today. Perhaps, it is of uttermost importance to start the text by defining the most crucial terminologies involved. Most historians would describe the Renaissance as a cultural rebirth that commenced in Florence, Italy, before dispersal to the other parts of Europe from approximately 1300 to 1600. During this time, â€Å"Europeans underwent a transformed interest in Roman and classical Greek civilization, and consequently, in learning mathematics, science, philosophy, science, and the arts† (Adams, 2005, p. 87). Christianity took a center stage during the renaissance and its influence can be felt in the dawn of modern science. Men during the renaissance were expected to be outstandingly well-rounded and learned in various subjects. The Renaissance brought about the end of the middle Ages and embrac ed for the first time the ideals of the modern world. For this reason, it is seen as a changeover era between the middle ages and modern times. As Adams (2005) asserts, â€Å"no single ideology or philosophy dictated the intellectual life of the Renaissance period† (p. 143). Humanists during the early days had stressed a supple approach to the issues of society and the fast life in service of all human beings. Renaissance philosophers, during the second part of the 15th century including Marsilio FICINO in Florence, embraced metaphysical speculation. Nonetheless, Plato never replaced Aristotle as the leading philosopher in many universities. However, there was an effort aimed towards philosophical syncretism, to combine conflicting theories and philosophies, and establish common ground for accord with regards to the truth just like Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola. Renaissance science comprised largely of the study of physics, medicine, and mathematics, depending on old masters, such as Aristotle, Euclid, and Galen. Experimental science in alchemy and anatomy led to the invention within and outside university surroundings. It is this invention of the university environment that ushered in the modern times. Many of the philosophical though today happens in the confines of universities and institutions of higher learning. Philosophy has taken the form of a discipline. However, the Renaissance had a darker side. Despite interest in philosophical ideas, violent and pestilent death was frequent, and warfare was widespread. There was lots of interest in things that embraced the occult, astrology, and magic. It is during this time that the formally authorized persecution for witchcraft commenced. A number of intellectuals felt a deep cynicism about the corruptions and evils of society as evident in the frequently savage humanist opposers of Desiderius Erasmus and Giovanni Francesco Poggio Bracciolini. Nicolo Machiavelli, one of the supreme Renaissance thinkers ca me up with a realistic science about human nature with regards to reforming the Italian society and the making of a civil life that is immensely secure. Cassirer & Domandi (2010) state that, â€Å"Machiavelli’s republican ideals influenced by a realistic viewpoint of politics and the inevitability of vibrant change were the most innovative contribution of the Renaissance towards the modern world† ( p. 75). Undoubtedly, the Renaissance Era was influential in that it lived on in instituted standards of literature and taste and an