What were the features of humanist thought?
Humanist thought laid stress on skills and ideas that were developed by individuals through debate and discussions. These revolutionary ideas attracted attention of many other universities particularly in the newly established university in Petrarch’s native town, Florence. The humanist thought increased dignity of human beings. Humanism embodied the mystical and aesthetic temper of a pre-scientific age. It laid stress on logic, natural science and metaphysics. It laid emphasis not only on intellectual learning, but also on physical and moral development. Humanism relied on flexible thinking. After Petrarch, the humanist philosophy spread first through Italy, then into other parts of Europe. Humanist thought was reflected in contemporary art and architecture. Petrarch represented conservative Italian humanism. Humanism embodied the mystical and aesthetic temper of a pre-scientific age. The intellectuals of antiquity were relatively unconcerned about the supernatural world and the eternal destiny of the soul. They were mainly interested in a happy, adequate and efficient life on earth. The leading intellectual trait of the era was the recovery of the secular and humane philosophy of Greece and Rome. The writings of Dante and particularly the doctrines of Petrarch and humanists like Machiavelli emphasized the virtues of intellectual freedom and individual expression. In the essays of Montaigne, the individualistic view of life received the most persuasive and eloquent statement in the history of literature and society. Leonardo daVinci’s ‘The Last Supper’, Mona Lisa, Michelangelo’s The Last Judgement, Fall of Man and Raphel’s Madonna were the important works.
Compare the Venetian idea of good government with those in contemporary France.
Compare details of Italian architecture of this period with Islamic architecture.
Why were Italian towns the first to experience the ideas of humanism?
Write a careful account of how the world appeared different to seventeenth century Europeans.
Which elements of Greek and Roman culture were revived in the 14th and 15th centuries ?
Look at the diagram showing the positive feedback mechanism on page 13. Can you list the inputs that went into tool making? What were the processes that were strengthened by tool making?
Why do we say that it was not natural fertility and high levels of food production that were the causes of early urbanisation?
What were the features of the lives of the Bedouins in the early seventh century?
Why was trade so significant to the Mongols?
Describe two features of early feudal society in France.
Compare the civilization of the Aztecs with that of the Mesopotamians.
How did Britain’s involvement in wars from 1793 to 1815 affect British industries?
Comment on any points of difference between the native peoples of South and North America.
What were the major developments before the Meiji restoration that made it possible for Japan to modernise rapidly?
Humans and mammals such as monkeys and apes have certain similarities in behaviour and anatomy. This indicates that humans possibly evolved from apes. List these resemblances in two columns under the headings of (a) behaviour and (b) anatomy. Are there any differences that you think are noteworthy?
What were the effects of the Crusades on Europe and Asia?
Why was the history of the Australian native peoples left out of the history books?
What were the features of the lives of the Bedouins in the early seventh century?
Describe a journey from Samarqand to Damascus, referring to the cities on the route.
Other than the use of English, what other features of English economic and social life do you notice in 19th century USA?
How do later Mongol reflections on the yasa bring out the uneasy relationship they had with the memory of Genghis Khan.
Why did knights become a distinct group and when did they decline?
Compare the civilization of the Aztecs with that of the Mesopotamians.
What do ancient stories tell us about the civilisation of Mesopotamia?
Why do we say that it was not natural fertility and high levels of food production that were the causes of early urbanisation?