Dante And The Road Of Humanism - 1347 Words

Dante and the Road to Humanism During the Renaissance, the ideology of humanism became extremely popular. After the black plague people presumed that God had abandoned them. As a result, they began to search for their own answers through observation and experimentation; this method was called empiricism. Through this, man began to place himself at the center of the universe instead of God. Individuals began to embrace their own talents and spend less time worrying about the next life and more living in the current one. Humanism was also developed from a desire to re-live the Classical time period, or the golden age; therefore, the humanistic education consisted of studies of Greek, Latin, art, music and philosophy. This contemporary way of thinking inspired many philosophers and writers. Throughout Dante’s work he emphasizes the concept of humanism, and it is this work that influenced many other philosophers including Petrarch and Boccaccio. Dante Alighieri was born in 1265 in Florence, Italy. Dante was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. In the thirteenth century, groups called the Guelfs and the Ghibellines arose. The Guelfs supported the pope, and around 1290 they divided into two groups, the White and Black Guelfs. Dante was closer to the White party which was composed of merchants and traders; the Black group consisted of banking families. In 1301 Dante left Florence on a mission to gain moreShow MoreRelatedThe Word Renaissance764 Words   |  4 Pagesgreater interest in the east in the 13th century, the Mongol conquests made in safer to travel on the silk road to China. Venice and Genoa are Italian cities that are along the silk road, that linked the western Europe with the east. These cities became bustling trading centers that attracted trader, merchants, and customers. A new kind of economy was created when trade started to increase. Humanism spurred the interest of learning during the Renaissance. It first arose in Italy as the result of interestRead MoreThe Philosophical Point Of Humanism1733 Words   |  7 Pages intellect.gif (9933 bytes) Renaissance Humanism Humanism is the term generally applied to the predominant social philosophy and intellectual and literary currents of the period from 1400 to 1650. The return to favor of the pagan classics stimulated the philosophy of secularism, the appreciation of worldly pleasures, and above all intensified the assertion of personal independence and individual expression. Zeal for the classics was a result as well as a cause of the growing secular view of lifeRead MoreItalian Renissance and the Reformation1233 Words   |  5 Pagesand commerce, they flourished economically and intellectually. This led to a peak in the interest of Classical literature, art, social, and political ideas of Greece/Rome. Humanism was a literary movement that occurred during the Renaissance. During this movement, authors began to deal with general questions of the soul. Dante wrote about the soul’s journey to salvation. Petrarch, another renowned author from Italy, began to write epics and sonnets; he later bec ame known as the â€Å"Father of The Italian