Renaissance Humanism
Renaissance Humanism worked to challenge
the authority of the church in order to create room for a true scientific
attitude. These scientists emphasized an
individual’s potential while they de-emphasized the institutionalization of
religion.
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Francesco Petrarch 1304-1374
Free the human spirit from medieval traditions
Scholasticism made religion too intellectual
Challenged the authority of religion and philosophy
Anything created by humans cannot be perfect
Was critical of the excesses of Catholicism
Catholics don’t live the way Jesus did
People answer only to God, not to the church
Reformation in 1517
Became the leader of Protestantism
-everyone can interpret the Bible for themselves
-harsh religion, accept God on faith alone
-challenged the Pope and Aristotle
Challenged the Ptolemaic system (that the earth is the center of the universe)
In 1543 published De Revolutionibus which claimed that the earth revolves around the sun
Supported the mathematical harmony of Copernicus
All mathematical deductions must be supported by empirical observation
Discovered the elliptical paths of the planets
Heavy and light objects fall at the same rate
Invented the first telescope
Conceived of laws as Plato’s forms
Primary qualities à can be described by math
Secondary qualities à psychological experiences (sensory)
Consciousness can never be studied objectively
Universal law of gravitation
-all objects in the universe attract each other
Deism: God does not interfere in world events
The material world is guided by natural laws
There should be no teleological explanations
Accept Occam’s razor; the simplest is always best
Scientists must work with probability because they are flawed
Classification is not explanation
Science should involve only facts of observation
Four sources of error, called idols:
-idols of the cave: personal biases
-idols of the tribe: biases due to human nature
-idols of the marketplace: being overly influenced by words
-idols of the theater: blind allegiance to any viewpoint
Science should change the world for the better
Approached philosophy like math
Doubting was the only certainty
Accepting knowledge from the senses is OK because God wouldn’t deceive us, but this information must be rationally examined
Conceptualized and described reflexes
Separate but interacting mind, body, and common sense