Section II
From now until Christmas we will be doing a series of inquiry tasks highlighting how worldviews (values and beliefs) are shaped by ideas and knowledge, geography, and contact with other groups. To do this we will be using various elements of the talking to the text and SES (state, explain, support) frameworks we have been working on.
How did knowledge and ideas from Ancient Greece and Rome shape the Renaissance worldview?
1. What can we learn about the worldview of the Humanists-their beliefs and values-based on Giovanni’s famous passage from the Oration on the Dignity of Man?
Oration on the Dignity of Man
“We have made thee neither of heaven nor of earth,
Neither mortal or immortal,
So that with freedom of choice and with honor,
As thought the maker and molder of thyself,
Thou mayest fashion thyself in whatever shape thou shalt prefer.
Thou shalt have the power out of thy soul's judgment,
to be reborn into the higher forms, which are divine.”
‐Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola
Commentary: In responding to this question, note that the Humanists felt that reading Greek and Roman texts provided a “classical education” and developed what may be called human qualities. “Horses are born,” it was said, “but human beings are not born‐they are formed.” Note their emphasis on moulding and shaping the human character and the possibilities of man living in the in-between space of Heaven and Earth-Divine and Mortal.
Use the following format in your response:
You are asked to provide notes and a reflection for each of the following three questions.
i) For the notes section use a T-chart focussing on monitoring for meaning-defining key terms and ideas from the resources provided, making connections to other things you have read or seen to date, and providing images that visually represent these ideas.
_____________________ _______________________________
Definitions (at least 8): Connections to other things you have read or seen
(at least 3-4 solid, developed connections)
Images (4-5)
ii) For the reflection use the following SES format:
The Humanists believed that _________________. More specifically, ______________. By this I mean that _____________.
In the poem it says "_______________________." I think this is saying ________________.
2. Drawing on what you have learned about the Humanists, after watching Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, how do you think Humanist thinkers would have interpreted the symbols in this story?
ii) For the reflection use the following mini SES format for to explain how the Humanists would interpret three of the symbols (i.e.,
chains, cave, fire, shadows on the wall, real world outside, caver dwellers unable to understand the man who returns to the cave). This could use the following framework:
Symbol 1: I think that the Humanists would have interpreted the ___________ as _____________. More specifically they would have seen this as ___________________. By this I mean _____________. In the video they are _______________. I think this is showing that ______________.
Symbol 2: I think that the Humanists would have interpreted the ___________ as _____________. More specifically they would have seen this as ___________________. By this I mean _____________. In the video they are _______________. I think this is showing that ______________.
Symbol 3: I think that the Humanists would have interpreted the ___________ as _____________. More specifically they would have seen this as ___________________. By this I mean _____________. In the video they are _______________. I think this is showing that ______________.
3. How might Raphael’s painting The School of Athens (above) provide a metaphor on how many Renaissance thinkers viewed their times?
Commentary: One of the defining elements of the Renaissance was a search for new models for living that departed from the medieval worldview. These new models drew inspiration from Ancient Greek and Roman thought. By the 15th century, poets, scholars, and thinkers began spreading their ideas, first in Northern Italy, and then to all parts of Europe. These people were known as Humanists. This recovery of ancient Greece and Roman thought provided Humanists with a model to guide all aspects of life including art, ethics, and politics. Two examples demonstrate this point. Above is the famous painting The School of Athens. In this painting (close-up) Raphael depicts Leonardo da Vinci (hand pointed down) as the Greek thinker Aristotle. Beside him he depicts the great artist Michelangelo as Plato. See this wiki post for an explanation.
Use the SES format from question 1 to provide your response to this question.
