The Renaissance--A Time of Changes
The Renaissance is a time of radical changes. Religious beliefs were altered; the merchants were beginning to restructure the social system; the kings were building nation-states; and the intellectual ideas were be revolutionized.
Now, what part of the changes are you most impressed with and why?
posted by Was @ 8:19 AM
11 Comments:
I am most impressed with the changes in thinking. The average European became interested in the out side world. Suddenly at the same time the people begin to realize that the pope is not always right. The kings suddenly realized that now they could unite the lands in the countries they controlled in to countries. The crusades only a little while earlier caused the Europeans to realize that they were a backwards society. The Bubonic Plague swept through all of Europe killing a 1/3 of the population allowing the serfs to break the bonds serfdom.
The true change in mind came though when suddenly the people began to focus on the individual. The individual is the basis of the modern United States government Capitalism. The ironic thing as discussed in class is the fact that slavery was reintroduced during the Renaissance. I think that the Renaissance was a great moment in time because European society suddenly released that they needed to reform and begin to trade, take in new ideas and technology, and finally begin to rebuild culture lost in the Dark Ages.
I will have to agree with like all of the people up here, the merchants seemed like nothing in comparison towards the nobles.
In my opinion the nobles got a little power insane.
Interesting that you support the merchants so much. You are most likely from the "Republican" view point that the individual merchants are the most important aspect of our society today. How about you good ole Democrats--where is the hate of the wealthy? (I am being a little sarcastic:) )
With that said, what about the merchants manipulating the entire value system to bow down before them? Karl Marx will eventually say the merchants are nastier than the nobles and slave owners since the merchants pretend to be "better than the others"
Wass I am not saying that the merchants weren't nasty. The merchants however drove the economy and therefore they were instrumental in the Renaissance. This is ironic that I seem to side with the merchants seeing as my ancestors in France known as the Sias (once called the Seiyes). The merchants were mean but they did do a lot for society.
I believe this shows Machiavelli's "The end justifies the means." THe merchants weren't good, but thier actions ended up being for the good of the economy and therefore the Renaissance.
ur point about being good for the economy is relative to our point of view. I would argue that in West Africa, India, and Southeast Asia, the average person would hate everything the merchants stood for and the exploitation (taking advantage of) of the resources they had.
Interesting thoughts though :)
Wass isn't it all though based on opinion?
The merchants really weren't thinking about helping anyone except themselves. I think it was incredibly fortunate for them that their agendas served to benefit the critical mind. It surprised me that the nobles didn't see what they were doing...I thought bad guys could see through other's schemes. I still think that nobles were the major bad guys in the situation, however, no matter how much protection they gave the peasants, and in a way merchants were the lesser of two evils, but weren't they molding the way that society thought just like the church they were trying to break away from did before them? (Sorry for jumping back to an earlier subject)
I find it interesting that "smile" finds fault with the people rather than the liars that lead them astray. Remember, most people are not as educated as you are today (much less after you go to college). What responsibility if any do the merchants, government, and other leaders have in being "fair-minded, ethical" leaders?
Opinion must be based on fact, not on your own emotions. I truly believe that as you begin to ponder and dig in your own bias, you will find that many of the societal values we have today only serve the betterment of those who are pursuing them.
But, again, an opinion is one that is developed only after deeply pondering truths that surround us.
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