7. What were the greatest changes that occurred during the Renaissance in the following areas: (a) Art, sculpture and architecture (b) Science (c) Literature
8. What aspects of the Renaissance still exist today? How has art, sculpture and architecture changed since the Renaissance?
EVALUATE In pairs or small groups, discuss the following questions: 9. How do you think the ideas of the Renaissance, such as humanism, have impacted on how we see the world today? Give examples to support your answer.
10. How much did the ideas of the Renaissance affect the ordinary people living in cities and the countryside of Italy and Europe?
11. Why did the ideas of the Renaissance not make any difference to the freedoms and lives of women?
FURTHER RESEARCH 12. Choose an important personality mentioned in this chapter and create a project about him or her. Use the following headings: (a) Their early life (b) List some of their most important achievements (c) Describe in detail one particular achievement (d) Explain how their life and achievements affected the lives of others
VIEWPOINTS AND OBJECTIVITY The humanist views of the world encouraged scientists, thinkers and artists to explore and re-examine the world around them without any bias. This sometimes required going against views that had existed for centuries and doing things never done before, e.g. Galileo making a telescope to investigate if the earth circled the sun rather than the sun orbiting the earth.
Others thought because these older views had been believed for centuries, they must be right. Then there were those who thought the older views were right because of religious beliefs.
1. From your reading, give two examples of different viewpoints about the world during the Renaissance.
2. Which side of the argument do you agree with? Give reasons for your answer. 3. Are there any examples of these differing viewpoints in modern society? Give an example you can think of.