The Exchange of Ideas

Where we last left off… In this chapter we'll learn about how ideas and knowledge spread across Europe. We'll also learn that as the Renaissance went on, there were two opposing forces: Humanists verses the Church authorities. Humanism began in Italy, and spread among the wealthy and middle classes People became interested in the classical writings, art and politics of Ancient Greece and Rome People wanted to develop their talents for the good of society People were curious about the human body, the human spirit and the universe

Remember… Only write down the bold and underlined sections. PS. That didn’t count.

Terms ANATOMY: the science that deals with the 
structure of animals and plants. DISSECTION: the process of disassembling 
(taking apart) and observing something to 
determine the internal structure. AUTOPSY: The process of dissecting a human 
body after death

Terms continued: EXCOMMUNICATION: official exclusion from the Catholic 
church (to be kicked out of the church). INDULGENCES: certificates sold from the church, which supposedly reduced the time a person would be punished for their sins after 
their death.

Events Up until the Renaissance, people thought the earth was the centre of the universe and that the sun and all other planets revolved around us. In the early-mid 1600s (17th century), new theories about the sun being the centre of the universe were put forth. Galileo and 
other astronomers permanently changed the way people looked at the universe. We now know the sun is the centre, and not the earth.

Events continued Some members of the church who held positions of power, were becoming corrupt. When people tried to speak out against the church, they were either 
excommunicated or killed. People began to have less faith in the church, and the church therefore 
had less power over the people. After losing much of its authority, the Catholic Church called a series of meetings. These meetings resulted in many of the corrupted people leaving the church, and priests being given a better education.

Events continued After the Renaissance began in Italy, ideas spread 
through France, Spain and Portugal. Eventually these ideas spread to England and much later to the Americas. 
Ideas were largely spread via merchants who would 
learn from people, and then take that knowledge with 
them as they traded. Universities were started in Europe, where knowledge 
and ideas could be discussed, debated and written 
about. But ideas really began to be spread when something 
was invented...

Events In 1450, the printing press was invented. This 
allowed books to be produced quickly and 
cheaply. Up until this point, most people were illiterate, except for the upper class who could 
afford to be educated.

Events continued Books allowed the exchange of ideas and knowledge to spread through Europe on a larger scale. For the first time, the lower class people began to learn to read and write. Without this invention, we probably wouldn't be 
looking at a smartboard, because none of us 
could read.

Ideas/Concepts Attitudes towards science changed during the Renaissance. Humanism encouraged people to not only read (as they had done before) but to ask questions, study the natural world and do hands on 
experiments which had all been discouraged in the 
past. Leonardo da Vinci wrote. "We must consult experience in a variety of cases and circumstances until we can draw from them a general rule that is contained in them." Essentially he was talking about creating a process of 
making observations, experimenting and drawing 
conclusions: The Scientific Method.

Ideas/Concepts continued The Scientific Method led to discoveries in many 
areas of science during the Renaissance. Some of 
the important areas where scientific advancements were made were: astronomy medicince Mathematics

Ideas/Concepts Continued Up until midway through the Renaissance, doctors had little knowledge about medicine, the structure of the body, or the causes of disease. Scientists and doctors began to apply the Scientific Method in order to make new discoveries about the human body. During the Renaissance, dissection was made legal. This allowed doctors to gain knowledge in anatomy and surgery.

Ideas/Concepts continued The area of mathematics was studied during the Renaissance. People like Leonardo da Vinci believed that Math was important in all areas of the world, and began to apply algebra and geometry (and other areas of math) in the following ways: astronomers used math in their calculations math was an important part of Europe's changing 
economy math was used as a basis for understanding the 
universe

Who Galileo Galilei was an Italian astronomer and 
philosopher. He published a book saying the earth was not the 
centre of the universe, and instead he believed the 
sun was the centre. He made important inventions such as the 
telescope The Church charged Galileo with heresy and ordered him to give up his views. In order to avoid being tortured or possibly burned alive, he read out loud a statement saying he took back his beliefs. He was sentenced to house arrest on his estate for the rest of his life.

Who continued Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1450. His invention is possibly one of the most important inventions in 
history.

Who continued Nicolaus Copernicus was a polish astronomer. He 
made the discovery that the earth moved around a 
stationary object (the sun.) Galileo was later able to confirm these ideas through observation using his 
invention, the telescope.

Who continued Niccolo Machiavelli was a civil servant who observed 
people and governments. Based on his observations, 
Machiavelli wrote a book called The Prince. The basic ideas of his book were: -When is comes to leadership, the ideas of right and 
wrong are not important -religion should not play a role in government -"The ends justify the means" (whatever is necessary to achieve a goal, must be done) Needless to say, the church was opposed to Machiavelli's 
thinking.

“It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.” Niccolo Machiavelli What does this quote by Machiavelli say about his thoughts on leadership?

Who continued Martin Luther was a German 
monk who believed that people 
should follow the bible, and not 
the church. He challenged the church for selling indulgences, and, produced a work called The Ninety-Five Theses challenged people to question the church. 
When the church demanded 
Martin Luther give up his 
ideas, he refused. The pope 
excommunicated Luther, who 
went into hiding so that he 
wouldn't be killed.

Worldviews -The idea of experimentation was now encouraged. People were challenged to find the truth of the universe by using the Scientific Method. Worldview: "Through a process of observation, 
experimentation and inference, people will better understand human beings and the universe we live in." The Church had a different worldview though. Worldview: "The more people learn, the less they rely on 
religion, and therefore the less power the Church has. We should discourage anyone who challenges the Catholic Church. We are threatened by true scientists and philosophers."