The Renaissance period lasted from the 14th to 17th centuries and marked a rebirth of interest in ancient Greco-Roman culture that began in Italy. Notable works of art, literature, science, and philosophy emerged during this time by figures like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Galileo, and Copernicus. The intellectual movement of humanism, which emphasized human dignity and potential, was also prominent. Major humanist thinkers included Petrarch, Erasmus, Vives, and Montaigne. Philosophers like Aquinas and Descartes worked to integrate reason and faith while advancing fields like natural law, theology, and the scientific method.

1. RENAISSANCE PERIOD
Brain Gyverne P. Agwilang, RPm.

2. Overview
• 14th- 17th Century
• Renaissance means “re-birth” and was marked by renewed interest in
ancient Greco-Roman culture
• Started in Italy and Florence and spread across Europe civilization
• Some of the most famous works in art and literature as well as
science and philosophy were created during the period
• The Renaissance was also a period of scientific discovery. Includes
Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Galileo Galilei, Michelangelo, Nicolaus
Copernicus, William Shakespeare, etc.
• Embraced the intellectual movement called “Humanism”

3. Humanism
1. First, it took human nature in all of its various manifestations and
achievements as its subject.
2. Second, it stressed the unity and compatibility of the truth found in all
philosophical and theological schools and systems.
3. Third, it emphasized the dignity of man. The humanists looked to the
struggle of creation and the attempt to exert mastery over nature.
4. Finally, humanism looked forward to a rebirth of a lost human spirit and
wisdom. The effect of humanism was to help men break free from the
mental strictures imposed by religious orthodoxy, to inspire free inquiry
and criticism, and to inspire a new confidence in the possibilities of
human thought and creations.

4. FRANCESCO PETRARCH
(1304-1374) *
• Value of human beings and their
capacities
• He described the preceding 900 years
as “dark” for he saw it as a time where
humans didn’t realize their potential
• Coined the term “Dark Ages”
• Founder of Humanism
• Father of Renaissance
• Emphasizes on human rationalism and
critical thinking
“Study the human condition of the
past and enabling us in turn to
engage in the present more fully and
to prepare more wisely for the
future.”

5. JUAN LUIS VIVES
1493-1540
• He recommends self-knowledge as the first
step toward virtue, which he regards as the
culmination of human perfection.
• The soul is the principal agent inhibiting a
body adapted to life: acts through
instruments.
• Emotions are defined as the acts of those
faculties which nature gave to our souls for
the pursuit of good and the avoidance of
evil, by means of which we are led toward
the good and we move away from or
against evil.

6. DESIDERIUS ERASMUS
(1468-1536)
• Brings ethical criteria of “Free Will”
• Erasmus is paralyzed in his decision-making
process and unable to settle questions that
did not allow a resolution based on clear
scriptural evidence.
• “what is mans real nature”

7. • “Man was not born but made man”. It was education that raised
human being above the level of brute beasts and made them useful
members of society.”
• “a kind of Judaism” “Judaism” because in his eyes the rigid
observance of rites exemplified the spirit of the Old Testament, Which
had been superseded by the new covenant with Christ.

8. MICHEL DE MONTAIGNE*
1533-1592
• Humanist
• Known for his SKEPTICISM
• Free Judgement: judge properly in the
circumstances of life, know the value of
experiences as well as to mold it and strengthen it.
• What counts is not the fact that we eventually
know the truth or not, but rather the way in which
we seek it.
• “Wisdom relies on the readiness of judgement to
revise itself towards a more favorable outcome.”

9. Marsilio Ficino
1433-1499
• “Immortality of the human soul”
• He defines the SOUL as “The principal agent
inhabiting a body adapted to life” The soul is
called an agent in the sense that it acts
through instruments by means of its own
power. They do not operate by means of
their own power but only through the
power that they received from their soul
• Although the heart is the source and origin
of all the rational soul’s operations, the head
is their workshop.

10. • Love between people occurs when the lover’s spirit is exhaled toward
the beloved and the beloved returns the gesture reciprocally;
unreciprocated love can thus become a kind of homicide, as one
human being loses a vital element to another

11. THOMAS AQUINAS *
• Proponent of natural theology
• Separated religion from faith
• Truth is known through
- Natural Revelation
- Supernatural Revelation
• Faith and reason are both necessary in
processing to obtain true knowledge of
God.

12. Five Rational Proof That God Exists
1. Argument of the unmoved mover
2. Argument of the first cause
3. Argument from contingency
4. Argument from degree
5. Argument from design

13. Four kinds of Law
1. Eternal Law: the decree of God that governs all creation
2. Natural Law: discover of reason
3. Human Law: law applied by government to societies
4. Divine Law: revealed law in the scriptures

14. Rene Descartes
1596-1650
• I think therefore I am (Cogito, Ergo Sum)
• Father of Modern Philosophy
• Formulated the mind-body problem
• He outlined four main rules for himself in his
thinking:
• Never accept anything except clear and distinct ideas.
• Divide each problem into as many parts
are needed to solve it.
• Order your thoughts from the simple to the complex.
• Always check thoroughly for oversights.
• Freed the process of science from theological constraints
and inferences

15. References
• Pettinger, Tedvan (2018) “Famous people of the Renaissance”,
Oxford, www.biographyonline.net, 6th June 2014.
• learnodo-newtonic.com/famous-renaissance-people
• iep.utm.edu
• plato.stanford.edu
• www.philosophybasics.com

16. Thank You!
agwilangbrain@gmail.com
www.slideshare.net/Brain29