Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Medieval Man vs. Renaissance Man
Is it more effective to focus on how society could or should be (as proposed and written by the Medieval Scholars & Christian Humanists), or to concentrate on how life really is (as proposed and written by the Humanists of the Renaissance)? Where would you place today's view of humanity?
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My definite view on this question is in agreement with that of the Renaissance Man. Today, we are faced with problem after problem concerning the economy, politics, health, international affairs, and much more. Although it would be nice to focus on the way society should be, we must accept the way things are. That by no means implies that there isn't any hope for improvement exceeding that concept; it simply means that we can not expect any more than the facts of the history of the situation. If we can avoid any type of conflict by the most simple and reasonable means, whether they are ideal or not, we are better off. From there is where one can decide if it is at all possible to strive for "how society could or should be." However, in order to reach that option, we must deal with the "how life really is," first.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is more effective to focus on how life really is. I think this because we don’t really change much by focusing on how life should be when we are still in the present. We don’t need to have all these unnecessary items that make life easier for the future but instead we should focus on how life really is by solving the problems that we have now. So instead of making plans to build a nice high tech computer we make plans to build faster planes so that we can get to emergencies faster. What we don’t need right now is more commodities to make life easier; we can stop that. We need to make sure that today’s problems are solved before we start worrying about the problems that might happen in the future. I think that today’s society focuses more on how life could or should be because people these days are always thinking up new ways on how to make life easier for the future.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is more effective if we focus on how life really is. Although people and scientists always seem to be so concerned about what is going to happen in the future, what they don't realize is that what happens in the world now somewhat determines our future. As students, we are always told that we are being prepared for the future. I think that it is good that we are preparing ourselves, but we need to be able to face the problems that are happening right now instead of worrying about what will be going down in twenty years. Am I saying that is isn't a good idea that we prepare and focus ourselves for the future, no, but I think it is better to focus on what's going on in the present day because that will effect our future.
ReplyDeleteI think that it would be more effective to concentrate on how society really is as was proposed during the Renaissance period during the Humanists. It is better to focus on todays problems and issues because what happens in the present will affect our future in some way no matter what. Focusing on how society could or should be doesn't change how it is, but by concentrating on the now there is a chance for change. By focusing on the future and not taking care of todays issues we are just covering them up for now, but who is to say that those problems won't come back in the future.
ReplyDeleteOlivia,
ReplyDeleteI agree with the Renaissance Man too. I think that we should focus on what is happening today then worrying about what is going to happen because we have so many problems today as it is.
Zulema,
I agree with what you're saying. You make some good points. I like that you didn't use huge words that I couldn't understand. (:
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ReplyDeleteI believe that we should concentrate on reality. The reason is because what ever happens right now will affect what will happen in the future. Yes, we can prepare ourselves of things that are to be done in the future, but plan according to what is really happening right now. Things may change but that will make us better people knowing we can handle that change. That is why I think it is more important to concentrate on how life really is. Now in my opinion, I believe today's views of humanity are like the Renaissance man. The reason why is because we are always trying to find new things to improve the human race. We challenge ourselves to become more intelligent and have better lives than other.
ReplyDeleteMadi- I agree it is important to prepare ourselves for the future but still focus on today's issues because it can affect our future.
ReplyDeleteTeresita- I agree with your point instead of always trying to find ways to make our future better we should make our present better then that will carry on into our future.
Is it more effective to focus on how society could or should be (as proposed and written by the Medieval Scholars & Christian Humanists), or to concentrate on how life really is (as proposed and written by the Humanists of the Renaissance)? Where would you place today's view of humanity?
ReplyDeleteI believe that we should concentrate on today's problems and troubles instead of focusing on the future and how society could or should be. In today's world there are too many problems with health, politics, unemployment, and war and I think that instead of planning of our next move in the future we should take action now and deal with the issues in society that are occurring right in front of your eyes. I think that the Renaissance man is correct in his views on this and that we should solve today's problems before focusing on the future and how society could or should be.
I think we should view it in both terms as in what we can do for tomorrow and what we can do right now. We gotta look at the future and at the present because we need both of them to make a better society. If we look at the future we need to see the present in order to make improvements. If we look at the present we need to look at the long term effects of our choices in the present
ReplyDeleteZulema, I agree with your opinions on this question. Society's problems should be dealt with today instead of the future's problems. I understand your views on dealing with the problems now so the problems don't appear again in the future.
ReplyDeleteMadi, I agree with your blog as well. I understood what you were saying and could comprehend your supportive points very well. Good job!
When it comes to the definite view upon whether we should be looking towards the future or focusing on what society faces today, I believe that we should be focusing on the things that are a matter of hand currently and not of the future. Just think about it that the future depends solely on what occurs during the present. If we fix the problems that occur during the present than we will be able to improve on society itself but if we just keep looking towards the future and forget about fixing the current problems at hand then it will become an even bigger problem in the future. Even though I may be towards the side of the renaissance man there are others who just look for the future and all the possibilities that will exist then.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletebelieve that we should concentrate on what life really is. At the same time, I do believe that people should focus what society could or should be. But to get their, we must first, accept what is happening now and try to work towards what we want society to be. For example, in our country, we have many problems concerning our economy, politics, and so on. I think that our government should focus more that our poor economy is, well, poor. From there we can work for something that should or could be.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with the Renaissance man. If we focused on how things should be like the Medieval man did, then we would get nowhere today. We always wonder the "what if's" of life, but there's nothing we could do even if we would hope to. Focusing on reality and what is happening now is much more effective for our lives and the future.
ReplyDeleteZulema- I totally agree with you because if we believed like the Medieval man believed, there would be no chance for change.
ReplyDeleteDiana- I agree with your blog because when we focus on reality and what we're doing now will be much more effective for our future.
The way things are now is probably more important than what the future holds. I would have to side with the Renaissance Man. Why make a great effort for the future when we don't know many things about it. We don't know what the future has in store for us but we do know what today brings. Of course we don't know what exactly is going to happen in a day but we know that in one day, we won't all get flying cars. That takes time and will probably happen in the future but for right now its not important. I feel that by what we are doing now will probably lead to more things in the future. We can have these great ideas that we want to happen in the future but we can't control nature and what it might decide to do to us. We all have our own little fantasies about how life should be but that's not the case. We have to look at reality.
ReplyDeleteI think that it would be better to be a Renaissance man. Instead of getting involved with the future the will occur. Fait will decide weather something happens or it doesn’t cause we should focus more on trying to improve the human race and finding more ideas and concepts of getting better. Because looking to far in the future be somewhat pointless cause we wont be alive if anything terrible does happen. We have to look at reality and face the here and now, and also focus on the little things. That could have somewhat of an impact, in later events.
ReplyDeleteDiana,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post, cause we can prepare ourselves for events that do come about in the future. But things do come up and make better people and in doing this we can improve the human race. Nice job on your post by the way.
Hugo,
I really like your post cause we should focus on present matters, and not the future. Focusing too much on the future could affect it and have a different impact in the out come. That we do have current problems and we cannot forget them cause it will cause other problems in later events. But if we do fix them it could change the outcome on something totally different.
I would have to say that i believe that things should be dealt with now. Dont think about how society should be, because that just might not ever happen. I would agree with the renaissance man because they seem, more open minded, and more into reality. I mean, yea we all have an idea of how society should be, but if we dont to agreement on how society is now, it is much harder to get what we want. Sometimes someone can get lost in a little fantasy, and that could be bad. Instead of looking at what is happening, they decide to ignore it. This can come and bite you in the butt hardcore. So we should just keep up with reality.
ReplyDeleteAlex,
I agree with you, in how fate will decide if something happens or not. Just let it take its course.
Keyli,
We shouldnt always be looking at the "what if's" thats why it is good to look at reality.
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ReplyDeleteZulema,
ReplyDeleteI thought it was very interesting what you said about how if we try to ignore the problems we have today then its possible that they will come up in the future. Good job and good points!
Alex,
I agree that something bad might happen and therefore we need to focus on the present life rather than living our lives for the future which is not guaranteed. None of us are guaranteed a future. Good Job!!
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ReplyDeleteI think we should focus in what life really is. We should enjoy every day and just have faith. I agreed with Luther when I read about him because I don't think that we have to be confessing our sins every single day to be forgiven. I think that having faith is good enough. I think that humanity today focuses on what life really is, we try to find improved ways for everything. Technology says it all.
ReplyDeleteAlex,
ReplyDeletewhat if people don't believe in fait?
I also think that its better to be Renaissance man, and we don't need to look way into the future to improve humanity...I don't think that muslims and all the people who came up with mathematics thought into the future when they came up with all those formulas nevertheless, we use it now and it makes life easier.
So I'm going to say that we should look at the way that life should be (just so I don't have the same response as everyone else). The world is constantly changing, and to not try to adapt to these changes would be stupid. It would be detrimental to not teach children how to use computers and technology, because we can look into our near future, and see what a huge impact technology has on the modern world. Even in school, we are looking to the future. For example, as much as I don't want to, I am taking four years of Spanish so i dont have to do it in college. How is that not looking forward? We all do it. And how can we ever improve our society if we're always staring at ourselves in the mirror? We need to look forward.
ReplyDeleteI think that we should focus on how life really is. If we looked at it as how it could be we might never accomplish this way of life. You have to live life how it is and adapt as changes come. If you think something good could happen then you might be disappointed if it doesn't. But if something good just happens when you aren't expecting it it is a different story. The Renaissance Man took things for how they actually were. They did not say that religions will fix everything. They discovered cures to help what was going bad. I think that if the Medieval man determined everything based on the what if this happens. I think that by fixing todays problems in reality they can greatly impact what should happen in the future. I think that the Renaissance Man is still part of today's society.
ReplyDeleteIrma- I agree we should focus on what life really is. Well we could enjoy every day and some people don't have faith. I agree humanity today focuses on what life really is and how we are improving everything.
ReplyDeleteCarlos- I think we can view it as both but I think one really actually effects the other. I think if we focus on reality it will gradually determine what the future looks like. We will usually look at the outcome of an event to determine what we do in reality. I think that we should look at the consequence or outcome of our actions not the long term effect just because it might change. If we work short term we can eventually lead to long term
In my opinion I think we need to focus on how life really is. People are always trying to "prepare" for the future without taking to consideration that everything you do and don't do today will affect the future. Instead of trying to come up with new ideas they should be solving today's problems, so they won't be tomorrow's problems as well. Focusing on how life is right now will help it become how it could or should be. You can't fix tomorrow's problems today until you've solved today's. I think today people are more worried about how things could or should be than how it really is.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion it is best to have a balance of both views: how life really is and how it should be. First off, it is important to accept life and society as it is now in order for us to focus on how society should be and how it can be improved. We have to look at the problems society faces today to see how we can solve them to prevent them from happening once again in the future. It may seem more logical to live in the present instead of constantly worrying about the future, but at this point in time society is always looking forward. I would place today's view of humanity as focusing more of how life really is.
ReplyDeleteI believe we should focus mainly on how life really is. It's important not to be so focused on what should be that we let what's actually going on fall apart around us. It's important to have a goal, such as what life should be, but it shouldn't distract from the problems that are actually going on around us that need to be fixed. After all, we can never reach our goal in the future if we can't even solve the problems affecting us now. I would place the view of humanity today as more focused on how life actually is, but with a look to the future as well.
ReplyDeleteRosie- I agree with your views that we need to solve the problems of today so that they don't become the problems of tomorrow as well. I also agree that if we fix the problems of today, it will help clear up the future.
ReplyDeleteStefani - I completely agree with you. We need to focus on society now to fix our problems and help work towards how it should be. It's important to solve problems now, so that they don't keep affecting our society.
Stefani,
ReplyDeleteI think you presented a very good point. Focusing on the balance between the two would be and ideal way of handling it; however, I think what I understand of what you're saying is that first me must focus on how life really is. Good thinking.
Kelli,
I also agree with your way of thinking. Although we must reach the best possible way to deal with how things really are, striving for a goal beyond that is necessary.
To be quite honest I think that it really depends on the type of data that you are trying to find. If you want the possibilities, then it would be more effective to follow what the medieval scholars wrote. Yet, if you want a very basic, I guess, more realistic view of what is really happening it would be more effective to focus on what the Renaissance Humanist wrote. Personally though, I think that taking the view of the Medieval Scholars & Christians is more optimistic, you are leaving room for the unknown and for change to occur. It is in a sense giving society hope. Today’s view of humanity varies, for example the media shows people how society is in a very Renaissance style, no hope – just facts. I think that if our society is to progress we have to believe that there is something better in the future.
ReplyDeleteSergio-
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post because we do have to look at things now to get things where we want them.
Alex-
I agree with what you said because yes it matters what happens now instead of the future. Little things now can be dangerous or very helpful to us later on. Which is totally true.
In an effort to voice my opinion and not be accused of stealing Mr. Bell’s Ideas I’ll comment on other people’s blog posts today.
ReplyDeleteNovember 14 , 2010 :]
Olivia- I think you had many good points, although I don’t agree with all of them, they were very well explained. The one part of your blog post that I did not agree with is: “Although it would be nice to focus on the way society should be, we must accept the way things are.” I personally think that accepting the “way things are” is in a way giving up. Its is like saying, “Well that is just how things are around here, we just have to adjust to it.” Sometimes drastic change is needed. Society needs to progress, not worry about retaining the status quo.
Stefani- I completely see your point of view, you wrote it in a way that is very easy to follow. I think that for some things, we can’t be on the fence about but, I think that this would be Way more effective if there was a balance.
P.S. : Jessica- I loved you last line ...- Brilliant!
Is it more effective to focus on how society could or should be (as proposed and written by the Medieval Scholars & Christian Humanists), or to concentrate on how life really is (as proposed and written by the Humanists of the Renaissance)? Where would you place today's view of humanity?
ReplyDeleteIt is more important to focus on how society could or should be. The Renaissance man was so popular and accepted because his views on society appealed to the inner desires of the people. They didn't want to manage their time working towards a brighter future that others would enjoy. They wanted to live for the now, and let whoever came after them clean up the mess, a lot like today's society. The Renaissance man was accepted because he made society feel that there was nothing they could do to improve their way of life, and that things would never change, so live for the now. That concept sounds just like throwing in the towel to me, but not only giving up but thinking nothing of the others who want to improve life. I think that in essence it wasn't so much the Medieval Man vs. the Renaissance Man, but the hard-working man vs. the lazy man. I'll leave it to you to determine which one was which.
Deep- I disagree with you. You make it sound as if the Medieval Man is blind to everything happening around him, and can only concentrate on the future. I'm pretty sure they were able to recognize what was happening around them. Also, we can't just live life the way it is and adapt to things as they come. That kind of thinking just holds society back. How would you adapt to a natural disaster, like a flood that covered the entire earth, if you were to just adapt to it when it came? do you recognize the allusion im making?
ReplyDeleteCarlos-- I like your point of view. We can't solely rely on looking at the now, or looking at the future. We need to have a combination of the two. I also think that the reason why we have problems for the now, is partly because people before us lived for the now and didn't pay attention to the future consequences of their actions. Therefore if we only focus on the now, then we can't see the consequences of our actions. That's why we need to look to the future.
Deep - Although we don't see eye to eye on this topic there are still some valid points you made which I agreed with. I do agree that it is necessary for us to adapt to life and its changes. I don't always think that someone will be disappointing because there wasn't any success; it'll just means to try harder next time. Good post.
ReplyDeleteRosie - I liked your post and there were some parts with what I agreed with. I agree with what you said about focusing on how life is can help us with how life should and could be. But if you do that wouldn't you be focusing on how life is anyway? I know you can't fix tomorrows problems today, but we should try anyway.
Carlos: If we focus on both then we won't really be focusing on one as a whole. There has to be a time when we focus on one first and then the other. I didn't agree with your opinion but you did a good job voicing it. Though I think that you should have written more.
ReplyDeleteKeyli: I liked that your opinion was right to the point. It said what you thought and it made it clear. Maybe though you should specific examples. Good Job!
In a way, I think we need both to function. But, the most important one to keep is the Renaissance look on life. We need to focus on what is in front of us right now. We need to not focus on what we could be and the perfect society that we strive to be, but we need to fix the problems that we have now and take things one step at a time. We need to not dream about what could be, but focus on what is. We can't make everything perfect by setting a high goal for ourselves, we have to slowly work up to that goal as a whole and ease ourselves into it. . . (i hope this makes sense)
ReplyDeleteIsabel,
ReplyDeleteGood thinking, take things one step at a time is a great way to express what you think.
Isabel,
ReplyDeleteI understand what you are trying to say that it is a combination of the two things that will bring us towards a better future and present. Nice job on focusing on both topics at the same time.
Carlos,
I know what you are trying to get on focusing on both the present and future. It will be extremely difficult to due both though because one might receive some more focus than the other. Good job though.
Stefani,
ReplyDeleteYes we would be focusing on how life is anyway. If we try solving tomorrow's problems today's will be left and unsolved and eventually they will need to be solved so why not do it today? Before we fix tomorrow's we have to know today's and how it will affect tomorrow and what problems might arrise with what we already have. Why leave for tomorrow what you can do today is what I think. If there are things we can do today might as well do them so we won't have to worry about them later on.
Diana,
I agree with you on how we should concentrate on reality. Basically I agree with everything you say because we have sort of the same view on this topic.
Stefani aka cuz
ReplyDeleteI like how you didn't have to pick one side or the other, you pretty much cheated by saying both...It's okay, though, because I picked the Medieval side, just because everyone else has the same blog. Anyway, you're still really intelligent so it all works out.
Kevin
You are one of the only people (or maybe THE only one, I'm not sure) that actually agree with me. I think it's important that people have a goal in mind of what we want things to be, because it's easy to say in hindsight what we should've, could've, or would've done, but by the time it happens, we're too late. Maybe if George Bush would've thought about the consquences of HIS actions, we wouldn't be involved in so much fighting overseas. However, it's too late to dwell on his poor decisions, because there is nothing that we can do about what is already done, however, we can bring those troops home now. Good job.
I believe it is more important to look at how life really is, because if one is not focused on the reality of life, they are completely lost. That being said, if there is no goal for the ideal lifestyle of man, how can you really evaluate how life really is? You can describe what life is like, but you cannot determine if it is good or bad because there is nothing to compare it to. Also, setting a goal for humanity gives the people something to strive for. They strive to meet those goals and expectations. That is what pushes people to become better and more successful.
ReplyDeleteKevin - I agree with the fact that the medieval view is very important and necessary for an ideal society, although I believe that the Renaissance outlook is to be kept in mind at all times. The Renaissance man's view is important because it evaluates current society. I believe that both viewpoints need to work hand in hand.
ReplyDeleteIsabel - I completely agree with your opinion. As you said, both are important, but the Renaissance man's view is more important because it is what is currently happening, and therefore it demands the most attention.