Viniegra, Caren Q.

P-CWG

October 13, 2015

Contributions of Renaissance to the Modern Society

When I am asked if what particular time in the past I would like to live in, there is no doubt
I would answer Renaissance immediately. Since this era has been introduced to me, it has always
seemed to me as a glorious and a magnificent era whereas the birth of humanism started during
this time. Intellectual capacity of the human being was centered on this era where time has
cultivated the worlds most cherished possession in terms of literature, science, technology, and
art.
It was during this time that people has started to shift from having the church as the center
of their lives. And since renaissance, an Italian word, which literally means rebirth, had also
served as the pathway from the medieval or dark ages to the modern times. It has also been
referred as the period wherein Europe had started to think for itself, as aforementioned that
people are shifting away from the dictates of the Church.
One cannot easily pinpoint the time when the movement has started. However, it is said
that it roughly began during the fourteenth to the seventeenth century, starting from the Late
Middle Ages, marking as the ending of it. Having the name of the period speak for itself for its
own meaning, it was the rebirth of the human culture destroyed during the barbaric times and
dark ages. The importance and love for culture has been pushed to the sides after the fall of
Rome.
The Renaissance had contributed to the world in so much ways. As mentioned, the
movement focused on the cultivation of art, literature, science, technology, philosophy, politics,
and other aspects of intellectual inquiry. People during this time had the love for learning. It was
the rise of the middle class. This specific group of people has been given importance as the
introduction of new technology and ideas defied their limits. There were so much things waiting
to be learned.
It was also during this time when the printing press has been invented. Education became
cheaper and there has been a widespread in the production of books and inscribed knowledge
became readily available for everyones access. Science widely developed during this era. The
telescope and many theories about the universe had been widely spread that had somehow
contradicted the teachings of the church. Moreover, the emergence and the rise of science paved
its way for people to adhere to reason rather than religion and thus the birth of Protestantism.
These ideas brought by Galileo Galilei, as the inventor of the telescope, and Nicolas Copernicus,
which suggested the heliocentric theory led to many great contributions to the fields of
astronomy, physics, biology, and anatomy.
Also, their ideas had served as the budding point where our modern technology had started.
There were scientist that engineered ideas which the old world would not comprehendones
that wasnt seen as possible however paved its way for the introduction and a center of ideas for

modern invention and innovation in the modern world. Sketches of submarines, airplanes, and
things alike were found in notebooks of notable people.
Besides the fact that the Renaissance has been notable for its intellectual pursuit, one thing
that one can attribute to the period is the emergence and the rise of art. Art has been given
importance as the most notable painters of all times like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo
Buonarotti, and Raphael, had lived and created their masterpieces during this movement.
Painters had developed techniques in terms of studying light, shadow, and perspectiveand as a
special case of Leonardo da Vinci, human anatomy. Because of these changes in the artistic
method, it had renewed the desire to depict the beauty of nature, and also to unravel the axioms
of aesthetics. Principles of architecture was also enriched during this period giving rise to notable
architects like Filippo Brunelleschi.
Great treasures of literature are also set to be found and kindled during this era. As for the
modernization of knowledge through the printing press, middle classed people gained easier
access to books, and also publication has been made simpler, and thus cheapening its rates.
Formal education in the Renaissance was specifically geared towards the needs of its people. It
can strongly be inferred because the notable works of great writers such as Shakespeare and
Chaucer, wrote their masterpieces in Middle English rather than Latin.
Renaissance has been the period where human potential was put in its core. People during
this era were encouraged to foster their capabilities and maximize their ideas, drifting what has
been laid in the table for them and exploring more possibilities brought by the universe.
Principles of realism brought by the period had remained a vital aspect of our modern society
today. And thus, all things learned and acquired during this period will remain as the foundation
of modern humanism.