Philosophy 36

Question 0

What mode of thought did Petrarch turn to?

Answer 0

Undogmatic introspection and observation for his insights to the human condition

Question 1

What “radical shift” of focus did Petrarch engineer?

Answer 1

Shift of the focus and tone of integrating the ancient works (no longer needed Christian modification)

Question 2

What awareness makes Petrarch “the first man of the Renaissance?”

Answer 2

His self-reflective awareness of human life’s richness and multidimensionality

Question 3

What precipitated a Platonic revival/discovery?

Answer 3

Petrarch’s call to search for lost manuscripts leading to scholars’s sudden access to Greek writings

Question 4

How were Plato’s dialogues described? What did they offer?

Answer 4

Described as refined literary masterpieces and offered a richly textured tapestry of imaginative depth

Question 5

What did the Humanists discover?

Answer 5

A non-Christian spiritual tradition possessing a religious and ethical profundity seemingly comparable to that of Christianity itself

Question 6

What was “man” to humanists?

Answer 6

Possessing a divine spark, man was capable of discovering within himself the image of infinite deity