1. World View, Human Nature and Civilizations
The Renaissance
World View, Human Nature and Civilizations

2. World View and Human Nature
World View refers to the overall perspective through which one sees the world.
Human nature refers to the distinguishing characteristics, including ways of thinking, feeling and acting, that humans tend to have naturally, i.e. independently of the influence of culture.

3. World View and Human Nature
Both have evolved over time:

4. Ancient Mythology
The world and human nature explained through supernatural lore.
Can mythology effectively explain the world and human nature?

5. Ancient Greek Philosophy
The Ancient Greek philosophical tradition broke away from a mythological approach to explaining the world, and it initiated an approach based on REASON and EVIDENCE.
Example: Plato

6. Plato
Plato believed that each human was composed of three souls: desire, will, and the rational.

7. Plato - an allegory
Plato presented this theory metaphorically, comparing the rational soul to a charioteer whose vehicle is drawn by two horses, one powerful but unruly (desire) and the other disciplined and obedient (will).

8. Plato
On Plato's view, then, an human being is properly said to be just when the three souls perform their proper functions in harmony with each other, working in for the good of the person as a whole.

9. Plato and the State (Society)
As in a well-organized state, the justice of an individual human being emerges only from the interrelationship among its separate components.
Like the human who is one whole made up of it’s parts, Plato believed society was one whole made up of many parts.

10. Human = State (Society)
What does a human need in order to be healthy?
What does society need in order to be healthy?
Place-mat activity:
Record answers independently
Share clockwise
Record group responses in centre
Report back to class

11. What are the requirements of a Civilization?

12. The Fall of Rome
According to Plato if the ‘parts’ of a civilization are working in harmony, than that civilization will flourish.
Why did the
Roman Empire fall?
How might Plato have
explain this?

13. Medieval Thinkers
Nearly all of the medieval thinkers—Jewish, Christian, and Muslim—were pre-occupied with some version of the attempt to synthesis philosophy with religion.
Example: Augustine
What is a logical equation to show the relationship between (1) philosophy, (2) religion and (3) the Medieval worldview?

14. Augustine’s Medieval Worldview
Man is born evil (original sin)
The pursuit of knowledge and redemption is an impossible task.
God is all-knowing and all-power. He alone can save human’s from their evil ways.

15. Implications (consequences) of the Medieval Worldview
What does Augustine think of learning?
What impact does this have on Medieval Society?
What does Augustine think of human nature?
How did this thinking impact Medieval society?

16. Journal Entry The word Renaissance means ‘rebirth’.
With specific reference to the Ancient and Medieval ideas, predict what shift in worldview (perspective) made the Renaissance possible. (How did changes in people’s thinking cause the Renaissance?)

17. Quote
“There is no intelligence where there is no need of change.” ― H.G. Wells, The Time Machine