Comparing The Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, And Enlightenment

The Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, and Enlightenment were all vital times that greatly affected the word from about 1350 CE to 1700 CE. The aforementioned movements were all different from one another, and each sparked new concepts, such as humanism. It also led to the rise of new thinkers, whose ideas changed the course of history. Distinguishing the Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, and the Enlightenment can start at the very basics; they all took place during different time periods. However, under further examination each of the movements had to deal with different aspects of human life. Primarily, the Renaissance dealt with the beauty of human creation. New artists were able to draw inspiration from Classical Greek and Roman art
to create some of the most celebrated pieces of architecture, art, music, literature, etc. The Scientific Revolution, however, was the study of the natural world. Achievements in astronomy, such as the newly found geocentric model; and achievements in mathematics, such as Calculus from Newton; were observed during this time period. The Enlightenment was a time where it wasn’t the study of looking out to the world, but rather looking inside the human psyche. Ideas, such as reason and liberty, was what the Enlightenment was centered around. Humanism was a movement that spread due to the Renaissance. Proponents of humanism argued that people should study classical art, literature, and philosophy. The desired outcome of humanism was to create a population that was more aware and involved in civic life. Humanism celebrated and embraced beauty and wealth. The Enlightenment introduced the world to new ideas on how the government should work and what freedoms a citizen should have. A champion of the Enlightenment was John Locke. He was one of the most important and influential figures to come out of the Enlightenment due to his belief that there should be a separation of church and state. He also argued that a government should only exist with the consent of the people. His ideas inspired the founding fathers, as it was under many of his principles that America was founded. The Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, and Enlightenment were all very important times due to the amount of thinking and concepts each revolution produced. Humanism was just one of the movements that changed the way people in Europe thought. The revolutions also produced some of the greatest minds, whose legacies are still witnessed today.