Education

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Education stands as a cornerstone in the edifice of Humanism, celebrated not just for its intrinsic value but also for ushering in transformative changes to traditional teaching practices. The humanists held a profound respect for knowledge, reshaping how it was shared and understood. Emerging as a counter-movement to the medieval educational paradigm known as Scholasticism, Humanism rejected the old ways. Scholasticism, which dominated the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, rested on the unquestioned belief in God's existence and the Truth, a notion that did not require proof. The scholastics, or Schoolmen, focused on defending this Truth through intricate legalistic debates derived from Aristotelian logic. Critics, including seventeenth-century philosopher Francis Bacon, chided this approach for its tendency to get bogged down in pedantic arguments over trivial details.

Scholasticism's Achilles' heel lay in its over-reliance on decontextualized statements, debated in isolation without regard for their original intent or circumstances. Texts became revered authorities, with statements parsed and disputed as either true or false, detached from their context. This led to compilations like Peter Lombard's Book of Sentences (1472), which arranged opinions by topic, and St. Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologiae, both of which separated ideas from their broader theories. Scholars became entangled in debates over minutiae, such as the infamous question of how many angels could dance on the head of a pin. This approach discouraged rhetorical flair, which was seen as a mere emotional appeal, rather than a means to intellectual insight.

Scholasticism was born from the medieval recognition of the need to educate people to comprehend and embrace Christian theology. The Schoolmen believed humanity was lost, redeemable only through divine grace, and urged reverence for God. Consequently, monasteries, schools, and itinerant teachers flourished in the so-called Dark Ages, propagating Christianity through the scholastic method. This method comprised the trivium—grammar, rhetoric, and logic—and the quadrivium: arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music, aiming to bolster theological study. Among the few classical philosophers who underpinned Scholasticism, Aristotle was paramount. He posited that knowledge could be systematically derived from fundamental principles, akin to mathematical reasoning. His deductive reasoning, or syllogistic reasoning from established premises, formed the backbone of Scholasticism.

In stark contrast, the humanists, sometimes dismissively called Umanista (little grammar teachers), championed the humanities or liberal arts. They endeavored to grasp a writer's full theory, examining ancient texts within their historical context to uncover the writer's essence and the historical significance of his words. Humanists delved into grammar and rhetoric, honing their Latin eloquence, and expanded their studies to include history, poetry, and moral philosophy. They opposed Scholasticism's limited and often misleading scope, where context-stripped statements could be easily misconstrued. Furthermore, they challenged the Aristotelian deductive logic, arguing for its potential for distortion. Humanists favored the philosophies of Plato and the Neoplatonists over the rigid logical debates of the scholastics.

Revival of Classical Learning

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The dawn of the early Renaissance saw humanists breathe new life into the appreciation of ancient Greek literature. While scholastics embraced Aristotle's teachings, humanists gravitated toward Plato, reinterpreting his ideas to align with Christian beliefs, as well as concepts from Gnosticism and Judaism. Through this intellectual voyage, they became part of the enduring tradition known as Neoplatonism.

Back in the third century A.D., the renowned Plotinus, a master of Neoplatonic thought, ingeniously blended Platonic philosophy with the quest for personal salvation found in Christianity. Essentially, Plotinus crafted a bridge between philosophical and religious ideologies. Neoplatonism began with Plato's assertion of innate knowledge, the belief that true wisdom lies dormant within the human soul, ready to awaken through the right inquiry. For many humanists, this harmonized beautifully with the Christian notion of personal salvation.

Moreover, Neoplatonism adopted...

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Plato's distinction between knowledge and opinion, as illuminated in his celebrated work,Republic. This philosophical path suggested that to truly encounter God, or "the One," in our tangible world, one must forsake worldly distractions through ascetic discipline, thereby elevating the mind to commune with the divine essence. Neoplatonists, often drawn toward mysticism, preferred exploring theology through analogies and metaphors over rigid logic.

The allure of Neoplatonism for humanists lay in its elevation of human intellect and contemplation, offering a spiritual bridge between ancient wisdom and Christian theology. They held the conviction that classical philosophers were divinely inspired, crafting philosophies that prepared the intellectual terrain for Christianity’s emergence.

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