Knowra Renaissance philosophy Renaissance philosophy Renaissance philosophy is European thought from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries, shaped by renewed study of classical texts and debates about human nature, politics, nature, and religion.
Renaissance humanism : An intellectual movement that revived classical learning and emphasized the study of language, history, ethics, and human affairs. Its educational ideals and textual methods reshaped philosophical inquiry.
Petrarch : An Italian poet and scholar whose recovery of classical literature helped establish Renaissance humanism. His moral writings and classical learning helped set humanist inquiry in motion.
Ad fontes : A humanist scholarly principle calling for return to original sources and languages. It encouraged direct comparison of ancient texts with later interpretations.
The Prince : A political treatise by Niccolò Machiavelli, written in the early sixteenth century and published in 1532. It offers a concentrated case of Renaissance analysis of power and political survival.
Medieval philosophy : Philosophical work in Europe and surrounding traditions from roughly the fifth through fifteenth centuries. Renaissance thinkers inherited its institutions and questions while revising its scholarly styles.
Scholasticism : A medieval method of philosophical and theological inquiry based on close reading, logical distinctions, and disputation. Humanists challenged scholastic language and methods, even as many debates continued scholastic questions.
Marsilio Ficino : An Italian philosopher and translator who produced influential Latin versions of Plato and Plotinus. His translations and interpretations made Platonism central to Florentine intellectual life.
Textual criticism : The study of manuscript evidence to establish and interpret the most reliable text of a work. Philological scrutiny altered how authoritative philosophical and religious texts were read.
Oration on the Dignity of Man : A work by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola presenting human beings as capable of shaping their own lives. It gives a prominent expression to Renaissance claims about human freedom and potential.
Modern philosophy : European philosophical thought that developed from the seventeenth century onward, often emphasizing method, knowledge, and the individual. Later philosophical movements transformed problems Renaissance thinkers had framed.
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