Pursuit of Individualism and Objectivity Term Paper

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Apart from literary arts, individualism is also most evident in the field of education. The development of educational institutions, spearheaded by the Florentine Academy, an informal organization of humanists, helped celebrate human reason in combination of mathematical and moral truths. The conceptualization of an educational institution as the formal venue for human reasoning and thought to be cultivated began with Plato's concept of the Academy. As Renaissance thinkers and humanist began using Greek studies as the foundation for European culture and society's rebirth, informal educational institutions such as Florentine Platonic Academy and religious schools have been established to harness the humanists' skills in critical thinking and further explore ways in which people can best express their individuality (363).

Objectivity is the result of the birth of individualism during the Renaissance period. As European society learned to cultivate and give importance to their ability to reason and think critically, objectivity began to develop, as people learned how every social experience became an avenue for new discoveries to formulate. Objectivity is best manifested through the development of the natural sciences during the Renaissance (also termed as the natural philosophies).

In the same manner that moral philosophy flourished during the Renaissance, this period also gave birth to the natural philosophies, which have later developed to become the natural sciences. Aristotle, Greek philosopher and scientist, is known for becoming one of the main proponents of empiricism and the scientific method. Educated under Plato's the Academy, Aristotle is well-known for his works concerning the field of biology, and is also the proposed the discipline of empiricism and formalism.

Empiricism, which is a form of obtaining human knowledge through sensory experience, is the root of objective thinking and scientific method of discovery. Formalism is another discipline derived from the scientific method, wherein rational deduction about the nature of things in life is best explained. Using these disciplines, Aristotle sought to compile all his studies and observations concerning the study of natural philosophies and sciences through his work, "Problemata" (Grafton, 1999:171).

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"Problemata" is a collection of problems concerning various, commonly-occurring natural phenomena in question-and-answer format. Problems presented in Aristotle's compilation are characterized as asking "...not about the existence or nature of a fact, but about the cause of a fact... [t]he resolution of problemata involves the manipulation of the common pool of Aristotelian and Hippocratic notions of about nature and human physiology... Ancient problemata are strictly naturalistic..." (173-4).

Bearing the fruits of Aristotelian philosophy towards the succeeding centuries, the birth of Renaissance medicine in Europe is another addition to the triumph of objectivity and human reason during the period. The establishment of medicine as a field of science and the establishment of hospitals and medical institutions began in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Similar to the educational institutions, medical schools are largely based on Greek studies of medicine, which include the "...acquisition, collation, translation and elucidation of Greek medical and scientific books and manuscripts in order to reach a better understanding of the principles on which medicine had for centuries been based" (280).

Directly linked with the development of medical and scientific studies is the quest of human society to create new elements and substances that can be beneficial to the society through the discipline of alchemy. Subsisting to the credo of objectivity and scientific method in the study of alchemy, substances are created in order to provide a "secret kind of healing" or an "elixir" that shall answer and remedy the problem of "discomforts of age" (296).

These illustrations of the feats and endeavors of the Renaissance movement show that human thinking and reason have progressed increasingly. Moreover, individualist and objective thinking had been the precursors in which the post-modern life that we lead today is based. Indeed, the Renaissance period is truly a rebirth for humankind, paving the way for a modern kind of human civilization......

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