individuals. This belief lead to the worship of genius. The Renaissance man was a man of
universal genius embracing all aspects of life. This completely differed from the beliefs during
the Middle Ages. This is what is meant by a rebirth of thinking, science and art. The new
outlook was man did not only exist for God’s sake, they in fact could delight in life here and
now. This belief was new to Greek humanism. In that philosophy, they only believed in
tranquility in moderation and restraint. The Renaissance brought a new view of nature. Nature
was regarded as a positive image and that God was present in his creation-God was present in
everything. This belief is pantheism. During the Medieval philosophies, there was an
insurmountable barrier between God and the Creation. Controversially it could now be said
nature is divine and it is “God’s blossoming.” One of the new ideas of art was nudity that was
formed from the new belief of nature. There was no longer anything to be ashamed of and nude
paintings were a common beautiful thing during the Renaissance. The Church throughout the
Renaissance persisted to condemn those who did not follow their exact way of thinking.
Giodano Bruno was an unfortunate person who burned at the stake for believing in pantheism
and that the universe was infinite. There was a new scientific method during the Renaissance.
The empirical method or investigation using our senses and observing through experience and
systematic experiment. During the Renaissance, there were several new changes and advances
to belief systems, art and science.
Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler, Bacon, and Martin Luther were all influential philosophers
during this time. Galileo Galilee’s famous quotes was, “Measure what can be measured and
make measurable what cannot be measured.” This was his view of the importance of the
empirical method. Galileo believed the language of mathematics was the language of the book
of nature. He used the telescope to observe heavenly bodies. He observed the moon and
hypothesized that the moon had mountains and valleys, as did the earth. He discovered that
Earth was not alone in having a moon in that Jupiter has four. From testing a metal ball and its
behavior down a ramp, Galileo formulated the law of inertia. He believed a body remains in the
state it is in at rest or in motion as long as no external force compels it to change its state.
Galileo was dead on for most of his ideas except for rejecting the idea forces of gravitation
could work over distances like the moon and the Earth. Nicolas Copernicus was also an
accomplished figure of the time. In 1543, the publishing of his book On the Revolutions of the
Celestial Spheres, and his death took place on the same day. He claimed the earth rotated
around the sun not vice versa. The reason people had always believed the sun went round the
earth was that it turns on its own axis. However, observations of heavenly bodies are easier to
understand if one assumed that both earth and the other planets circle around the sun or
heliocentric ideas. Copernicus believed sun was the center of the universe and that orbits are in
circles. He was half-right. The idea the orbits are in circles was from the belief that heavenly
bodies are round and moved in circles because they are plainly heavenly. This idea was
incorrect and Johannes Kepler realized this. Kepler, from the early 1600s, believed the orbits
are elliptical or oval. He came to this conclusion based on careful observations. He believed
the speed of the planets is greatest when closest to the sun and slowest when furthest from the
sun. He also corrected Galileo’s idea and emphasized the belief that physical laws apply
everywhere throughout out the universe. He believed the earth was just a planet just like all
other planets. He knew all this because he investigated the movements with his own senses
instead of blindly trusting ancient superstitions. Kepler used the telescope and observed
heavenly bodies attract to each other. Galileo’s law of inertia applied to this thought. Kepler
believed the ebb and flow of the tides was directly a result of a lunar force. All three of these
philosophers greatly influenced the Renaissance’s scientific beliefs. Francis Bacon another
important figure during the Renaissance believed “Knowledge is power.” In believing in this, he
underlined the practical value of knowledge. He believed that man was starting to intervene in
nature and beginning to control it. He idea was roughly true. The technical revolution lead to
the spinning jenny which lead to unemployment, and to medicine which lead to new diseases.
Perhaps Bacon was warning those that would come after him of the dangers this new technical
revolution could cause. Bacon is not alone in his beliefs and many people today agree with him.
Martin Luther was a reformer and believed people did not need the intercession of the church
or its priests in order to receive God’s forgiveness. He thought God’s forgiveness was not
dependent on the “indulgences” from the church. Luther distanced himself from religious
customs and dogmas that had become rooted in ecclesiastical history during the Middle Ages.
Luther wanted to return to early Christianity just as the Renaissance humanists wanted to turn to
ancient sources of art and culture. Luther’s many accomplishments included teaching himself
agreed that the age of thirty-five and then translating the bible into German- therefore allowing
the language of the people to take precedence over Latin. He believed every man should be
able to read the bible resulting in him becoming his own priest. He employed priests for
practical reasons; he did not believe anyone received God's forgiveness and redemption from
sin through church rituals. He based his church on the idea they receive God's forgiveness and
redemption from faith alone. His church emphasized on the individual and his or her personal
relationship to God. Luther’s characteristics shined very much like an important Renaissance
feature. The five of these individuals’ determination and new ideas help them to become a
perfect examples of a Renaissance men or men who are of universal genius and embrace all
aspects of life.
The seventeenth century began the Baroque period. The Baroque came from a word
that was first used to describe a pearl of irregular shape-irregularity was typical of Baroque art
which was highly contrastive from Renaissance art. Characterization of the Baroque included
irreconcilable contrasts. The Renaissance brought unremitting optimism while the Baroque is the
opposite extreme life of religious seclusion and self-denial. “Pompous flamboyant forms of self
expression while at the same time there arose a monastic movement-turning away from the
world”(Gaarder, p. 226) characterized the Baroque period. In other words, the Baroque was
“both proud palaces and remote monasteries”(Gaarder, p.226). A favorite saying of the
Baroque was “carpe diem,” or seize the day. Vanity or affectation filled the Baroque, but at the
same time people concerned with the reality, that all the beauty that surrounds us must one day
parish. This realization was the idea of ephedermal nature. During the Baroque years of 1618-
1648, Europe put up with the Thirty Years’ War, which ravaged the continent. The war took a
toll on Germany and France became the major power in Europe. The wars were between
Protestants, Catholics, and political power. The wars helped the people of the Baroque to
realize life is short and one should live life to the fullest. The theater was more than an art form
during the Baroque period. “It was the most commonly employed symbol of the time”(Gaarder
p.227) It was a symbol of life. It became a reflection of life in general. It portrayed human
frailty that closely related the idea of living life to the fullest. As one can see, the Baroque era
related closely to the saying “carpe diem.” I think it is a bit coincidental that we are asked to
relate the quote “seize the day” with everyday life today because it is one of the common quotes
that I try to fulfil everyday. I believe that everyday should be lived to the fullest because one can
never know when it will be taken away from you. As the philosophers from the Baroque said,
all the beauty that surrounds us must one-day parish, including human beings. Most people take
the comforts we have today for granted. Many people do not understand that there are other
hungry, homeless, uneducated people out there. Everyday needs to be lived like there will be
no tomorrow and the people of the Baroque did just that.
The Renaissance and the Baroque both had qualities of new ways of thinking. In the
Baroque people began to understand that they would not be around forever and that they
should take in all that they could one day at a time. People believed life was like a theater.
Philosophy was characterized by conflict between idealism, the belief that existence is spiritual,
and materialism, the belief that only material phenomena really exist. During the Renaissance, all
cultural life flourished, and Rome was rebuilt. People felt that God was present throughout
nature. The idea of an empirical method was born, and it resulted in an emphasis on
investigation and experimentation. Scientific knowledge became important, and led to scientific
innovation that has continued to the present day. The innovations have been both good and
bad, but there is no way to return to the days before such inventions. People's relationship to
God became more personal, and the Protestant Reformation demonstrated that the normal view
of the Church was no longer acceptable for all. Compared to the Middle Ages the time of the
Renaissance and the Baroque clearly were quite an advance in all ways.
