The Renaissance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Renaissance - Essay ExampleA close examination of our American technology and our institutions will find piecey similarities that had their origin in the root of the Italian Renaissance.Prior to the Renaissance, almost all skilful knowledge of science was outside the reach of the bonny person. It had been the sole property of the church and the elite and was available only through universities. A major technical innovation of the Renaissance period was its placing knowledge in the hands of the ordinary person. According to Thomas Carlyle in Sartor Resartus published in 1833, He who first shortened the labor of copyists by device of portable types was disbanding hired armies ... creating a whole new democratic world (cited in Kreis). The invention of the printing bosom in 1440 gave the general public the access to knowledge and philosophy. The first bible was printed in 1452 gave the ordinary man regular access to the text and had a lasting effect on religion. Spurred by cla ssical philosophy, religion turned from the worship of the abstract towards the morality of man (Anesi). This brought new thought to religion and brought about the reclamation and altered the Christian religion forever.Leonardo Da Vinci was one of the greatest technical innovators of the Renaissance and he is often thought of as the father of engineering. However, Da Vinci was joined by new(prenominal)s such as Filippo Brunelleschi, Mariano di Iacopo, and Francesco di Giorgio to spearhead an artist-engineer revolution (Bjerklie, 1). Their ideas were the basis of major changes in agricultural equipment and improvement in land management. One slip was the heavy- wheeled plow and the horse harness and stirrup that allowed the ground to be worked on a much massive scale. This began the basis of large industrial crop farming and allowed the farmers to relocate to the industrial centers of commerce. This modernized land and paved the way for the coming Industrial Revolution. As peopl e were moving from an agricultural based frugality made possible by the new agricultural methods, trade was becoming more important. The newly create nation-states required trading partners outside their own borders. Optics made a significant contribution to ecumenic water travel during the Renaissance period. The science of optics was treasured by Kings as a method required for exploration, trade, and dominance. For example, in April 1541 an Italian offered a telescopic device to Henry VIII. The French ambassador in London reported that there is an Italian here, aged about 70 years, who has shown this king that he would make a mirror and place it on top of Dover castle, in which mirror could be seen all ships that leave Dieppe (Dupre, 19). This may have been the exposition of the reflecting telescope that has become the mainstay of todays science of optics. Improved navigation aids and the evolving telescope made worldwide navigation, exploration, and trade a reality.The Renai ssance spirit of exploration also opened up curiosity to the other fields of science. Science of the Renaissance stressed observance and more importance began being placed on methodology and experimentation. It valued experience over abstract thought. The Renaissance is credited with being the era of the excogitation of the scientific method. The