~TRUTH~

~Ashlee Lawrence~Honors History 10~11/19/07~

Truth, a term people use every day, but when asked to define it stumble and stutter. Truth is different for everyone. Some base their truth off of religion/tradition while others base it off of science and modern advances. These two aspects have throughout history been in conflict and still are today. Some get resolved some get further into debate. Today people have a better chance at choosing their own truth as neither religion nor science has a dominant grasp over people as a whole.

In the Enlightenment period (1600-1800) religion was a dominant factor in what people chose to believe as truth. One of the major conflicts of this time was with Galileo and his belief in the Copernican system. Galileo found the invention of the magnifying glass in 1609. At that time the greatest magnification was 3X. He soon realized that he needed a weak convex lens and a strong concave lens to produce a greater magnification. After experimenting he produced a nine fold linear magnification, which was a much greater accomplishment than anything at that time. Galileo began studying the solar system with his telescope to strengthen Copernican’s theory. One study was of Jupiter’s four moons and how they revolve around Jupiter and not the earth. Many more studies brought Galileo to the conclusion that the world did revolve around the sun. The church did not believe this to be true because tradition stated that the sun revolved around the earth. The Pope finally let Galileo published a book called Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems which stated his findings. The book was written in Italian instead of Latin so that everyone could read it and not just the educated. The Church did not like this at all and imprisoned Galileo to death. Today this theory that got Galileo sentenced to death in prison is what scientists believe to be true.

Still the conflict goes on between religion and science as we look at evolution and creation. Creation is the religion side where it is believed that God created the universe in six days and rested on the seventh. Man was made from the dust of the ground and was keeper of all of the animals. Scientists believe in evolution; a theory that the various types of animals and plants have their origin in other preexisting types and that the distinguishable differences are due to modifications in successive generations. This theory was presented by Charles Darwin. There are many facts to prove both sides of the truth. With creation it is all written in the Bible. The story of creation can be found in the book of Genesis, but that’s not all. If you study the events in the Bible you will find that everything that has been predicted in the Bible has been true. One commonly known example would be Jesus being born of the Virgin Mary. It was not possible at the time to conceive a child without having sexual intercourse. The bible says in Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son……….” It was predicted in the Bible and it happened. On the other side with evolution the proof comes from studying fossils and Charles Darwin’s study of the Galapagos Islands. The fact of succession, how over time species change to adapt to new environments. This debate will go on forever because science in always improving and the Bible is always being proved.

Even though science and religion seem to be opposite on ideas of truth there are some similarities. Truth is all about proof. When a statement is made whether it be scientific or religious it needs proof behind it to be accepted as truth. Another similarity is that the common population relies on a higher knowledgeable people to supply them with the knowledge that they need. In religious settings it would be the pope, pastor, reverend, etc. In a scientific setting it would the scientist.

Science and religion are different and therefore have different aspects of what is the real truth. Religion is based upon text and tradition. Some new idea is not going to be very well accepted in a religious setting, where as in a scientific setting the more advanced and more changes you can make to better your knowledge is great. Also the availability ok knowledge effected what the population believed as truth. In the enlightenment period the main source of knowledge came form the religious text. There were not scientific advancements like we have now to counter act religion.

Truth is not something that can be handed to you; everyone has their own truth. It is a matter of how you believe. With religion you place you faith in something that you cannot physically see but trust is there. With science you see the actual proof; the rock, the bone. Truth is something that you must decide upon by yourself. You trust the Bible or the scientist. Either way you cannot be told what you believe to be true.

Main Entry:

truth

Etymology:

Middle English trewthe, from Old English trēowth fidelity; akin to Old English trēowe faithful — more at true

TRUE FAITH

The Vitruian Man

Ashlee Lawrence - Honors History 10 - 10/25/2007

The Roman Catholic Church, Leonardo da Vinci and da Vinci's study of the anatomy of the human body had one unique impact on the world. That impact was the Vitruian Man, which impacts the study of anatomy today.

The Roman Catholic Church is one of the largest religious groups, with a pope as the head. In the Renaissance period it was a major part of life for people, including their political lives as well as their social and religious. It was not just something you do, but a way of life.

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 and died on May 2, 1592. He was a very talented artist who developed the technique of sfumato; gently transitioning from one color to the next in a painting. He also developed the theory of optical illusions which he used in his paintings. Leonardo was a major leader in Priory of Sion: a secret mystical organization claiming to know privileged religious information. He would deliberately put secret religious messages in his paintings. As a teenager he apprenticed with Andreadel Verrochio. Through the years 1485 to 1490 he produced studies on everything from churches to fortresses along with designing weapons. He was so compelled to learn new things that most of his works went unfinished. His main study was science, whether in nature or in the human body. In 1490 he started to document his studies. Leonardo da Vinci was an artist who incorporated art into everything that he did.

The anatomy of the human body was really studied and put together by Leonardo da Vinci. Ptolemy's method in geography was a starting point for Leonardo in his study of the anatomy of the human body. Leonardo was the first to realize that more was needed to understand the human body than just the information given by dissecting. He began to make models of the organisms in the exact form that they are in in the human body. He wrote more as a "how to" guide then just some research. In his documents he isolated every organ and viewed it from multiple angles. He would then put it with other organs to see how it interacted and helped the other organs. Da Vinci's goal was to make the anatomy of the human body transparent. By studying each organ in depth, also bringing in the factor that humans change over time (studying a child, a young man, and an old man), it makes it easier to find a problem in this mechanism and fix it. Leonardo in essence made a working functioning model of the human body which took away the distance factor for those who had weak stomachs or just didn't want to see a dead body. He changed the way of looking not only at the human body but at everything else that could be made transparent.

The Roman Catholic Church, Leonardo da Vinci as an artist, and his studies of the anatomy of the human body impacted the study of the anatomy of the human body in the future through Leonardo's piece of art, the Vitruian Man. This piece of art and the research behind it changed the was people looked at the human body.

Loenardo da Vinci started the in depth study of the anatomy of the human body; he was also a very skilled artist. With these two talents combined he created "The Virtruian Man"; a drawing of a man with four arms and legs, showing proportions of the human body. It was Leonardo's job to be a perfectionist; getting every little detail just right. His art talents helped him to fulfill this. The Roman Catholic Church plays an important role in Leonardo's studies and drawings. The church was open to scientific growth but only to the extent of the church. Like Galileo, studies outside of the church or studies the church did not feel biblical would be looked down upon and called heresy.

The Roman Catholic Church, Leonardo da Vinci as an artist, and his studies of the anatomy of the human body had a big impact on the way we study anatomy through "The Vitruian Man". This one drawing would change the way we saw the human body and the way we studied it.

Today when you are sick you take your body to the hospital and through previously conducted studies they can analyze your body's functions and tell you what is wrong. Before Leonardo there was nothing to compare your body's actions to. Leonardo's meticulous study of the human body was the first stepping stone to a long trail of studies. With that simply beginning we have now been able to study even more in depth the functions of the human body to help prevent malfunctions in our bodies. What was once a "how to" guide on how to dissect your finger, is now a chemical makeup of virus' floating through the air that we breathe.

Revolution-P.E.R.S.I.A.?

Ashlee Lawrence - Honors History 10 - 10/15/2007

All parts of P.E.R.S.I.A. play a role in revolution, though some play bigger parts. Religion was the causative factor of the Renaissance Revolution. Without the P.E.S.I.A. there would be no revolution; each part is important in its own way. Religion being the causative factor controlled what happened in each other aspect of P.E.R.S.I.A.

Revolution is defined by Merriam Webster as, "a fundamental change in the way of thinking about or visualizing something". The renaissance revolution was just that. It took the thoughts of unum sanctrum, solo scriptora, and solo fidelis and diminished them. It was the jump from one standard of living and life to many different standards. What was then one church that believed everything the same, is now hundreds of churches believing only minor details different. Another example would be the art of people. When once a single face was shared by all, now each person is their own; depicting their emotions and feelings through their body language.

P.E.R.S.I.A. summarizes the main ideas and or topics of historical events. Standing for, Politics, Economics, Religion, Society, Intellect, and Aesthetics, you can fit any historical event into one of these categories. With revolution not just one of these topics covers it all. Revolution is such a big thing that it is practically impossible to say that only one aspect caused a revolution. All five of these aspects run hand in hand and are equally important.

In the Renaissance period the world revolved around the church. Every part of life was based around the religious beliefs. When the church was thought to be corrupt by some people, (Martin Luther & Erasmus Desiderius ) there was change. Martin Luther produced his 95 Thesis about why the Catholic church was wrong.

religion-economics

Today money controls the world. It was the same with the Renaissance only it was hidden by the church. Usury was condemned a sin by the church, so instead of openly committing usury everyone had to do it in secret. Tim Parks says on page 23 of Medici Money, "When the Church asked for loans from a bank, for example, the bank could not ask for interest in return, because usury was a sin. So in its role as trading company, it would increase the price of the goods it sold to the Church to the tune of the interest it felt it deserved from the loans it had made." Usury was still used it was only done incognito. Martin Luther questioned the pope's indulgences with his 95 Theses. On page 20, Parks discusses how Rome had moneys coming in from all over the place. "Delayed payment was punishable with excommunication. Don't pay and you go to hell." The authorities had everyone scared to death that they were going to go to hell but they bribed them with "plenary indulgence". The Pope was money hungry, he made laws against usury, then hid his sins with religion.

The Medici family was an important part of Florence's politics because they had money. Parks says on page 3, "....and moves decisively into politics to the point of more or less running the Florentine Republic." They had to be careful as to how they went about with their money though. With usury condemned how can the bank make money? This is where they had to be catty about how they got their money.

Unum sanctrum, one church, is how the society worked. Everyone believed in the church except the few that challenged it. The people of Florence hated Martin Luther because he was splitting the church. Martin Luther and Erasmus Desiderius brought realization into the church. No longer did everyone believe the same things. This caused the many different branches of Catholicism.

Religion majorly effected the intellect of the people. If your life is the church, the church is all you know. This was the case with Florence. Until Martin Luther came along there was nothing that disagreed with the church. Once the questioning started and points were made about the church being corrupt people wanted to find out what the real truth was. The research that these people did was from the Bible. Luther translated the Bible into Greek and allowed many more people to read it.

In conclusion, Religion is the causative factor for the Renaissance revolution. Before the revolution the church was life, so when the church changed so did these people's world. In changing "the world" there are more aspects than just religion and this is where the P.E.S.I.A. ties in. Religion along is not enough to make a revolution, but religion and the effects it has on P.E.S.I.A. is!

Humanism vs. Flat World

Ashlee Lawrence - Honors History 10 - 9/28/2007

Today if we were to address the people that we (in a large scale) "compete with" or are associated with we would say, "Americans". In the 14th-16th centuries we would have said, "The Church". In the flat world we would say, "The World". Humanism and the Flat world are both revolutionizing forces which change or changed the way we as people/humans identify ourselves. They both involve intelligence and questioning and through these characteristics we expand our knowledge of the status quo and set no limits as to how far we can go. Humanism and the Flat World are similar but their consequences have some differences. Even though there are differences we can anticipate the outcome of the flat world by analyzing the history of Humanism.

Humanism was a revolution. It was the push that made people see themselves as individuals and not just a part of the church. Before humanism you were seen as a body that lived for the church. Everything that you did was for the church; everyone lived in fear of going to hell. Once humanism came into play people started to question things. Was there a life outside of the church? The humanists said yes! People started to be identified not only as a part of the church but by their characteristics, their personality, and their actions; an individual. Now the meaning of life was not only to do good deeds to get to heaven but also to live it up; have fun and enjoy your time you have here on earth and not just try and rush through it to get to heaven. This brought the people much more knowledge as they learned about the world around them from a different prospective. Destiny became a part of people's lives (and the fact that they were in control of their lives) as they lived a life outside of the church.

The Flat World, you either embrace it or averse it. This flat world was caused by humanism, even though it is built entirely off of technology and intelligence. In the flat world it does not matter where you are or what you are, but more of intellectuality and your capabilities. It changes the way we identify ourselves.When you tell your life story through the Internet you are in complete control of what people see and know about yourself. It not only allows people to share their thoughts and opinions with everyone and anyone that they want, but you can make yourself into someone you're not. Making reference to Brad Paisley's song "Online", it talks about how he still lives with his parents, he's 5'3" and overweight and hes never been to second base. But online he has created this person who is 6'5", drives a mazarati, and lives in Hollywood. With the flat world we all have that capability and more. It levels out the playing field for anyone, anywhere; from the president of the united states to a small child in China as long as they have access to the Internet. With this level playing field also brings more competition. You can no longer go to your local McDonald's and apply for a job; someone in another country will already have it. In the flat world you no longer compete for jobs etc. only with people in your community, your state, your country, but now the whole world; untouchable is what you want to be. The flat world also helps to make the world a better place by increasing the productivity and efficiency of the world as a whole. For instance another country might have a missing link that we need to find a cure to cancer and with this flat world we can collaborate with them and share our ideas. In the flat world the meaning of life is to be mediocre, but the best as an individual; to be untouchable!

Humanism and the flat world both caused revolutions. In this way and many others they are similar. They both change the way people identify themselves. In the 14th century people identified themselves as a part of the church; the church was all they knew. With the flat world, we would no longer identify ourselves as an American, but as a world citizen. Next, Humanism was the step that got people to realize there was a life outside of the church, they then identified themselves not by their church hierarchy but by their personality and their individual being. The flat world unites everyone in the world and we no longer identify our self by what we are or where we are, but our intelligence and our achievements. Third, both revolutions changed the meaning of life for the people of that time. Humanism changed the Church body's meaning of life from: doing good deeds to get into heaven and stay away from hell, to making the most of the time you have here on earth and being yourself, not just "a part of the church". The flat world took the people's meaning of life from getting a good job and supporting your family, to being the best, being untouchable and not having to worry about someone taking your job away from you. Next, both were questioning and pushing the limit of the status quo of that time. The pope's of the 14th-16th centuries had the people of the church brainwashed. Humanists started questioning the church and wanted some evidence to prove what they were telling the church body. In the flat world people are constantly trying to improve our general knowledge and to improve our technology. The sky is the limit and the sky keeps getting farther away!

Both of these revolutions had large impacts and consequences on the world. One consequence would be the generation that only knew the church way of living or the not-so technology savvy people. How will they deal with this big change? Will they be able to live their lives outside of the church and will they be able to survive without learning the tricks of the trade for technology? Next, a consequence that is more for the flat world than for humanism, what will happen once the world is flat? What would there be to strive for, to live for? With humanism individuality is always different (that's why it's individual); no two people are alike. People can always become more individual but once you have that untouchable job what is the meaning of life?

As any history teacher would tell you, the events of the world repeat themselves; same general outcome, different causes. Humanism and the Flat World are like this. First, like the humanists questioned the church, there will be people that question the flat world. They will want proof that this is better for the world as a whole not just for the people who like technology. Second, they will want to know what the long term timeline looks like. With humanism people wanted to know if we (the Church) start living our lives not just for the church are we still going to get into heaven or will we go to hell? This is a big question, as Hell compared to Heaven is a scary place. All the same there will be people that will question the long term timeline of the flat world. Once the flat world is established where will it go? Will it keep improving or will we get to our limit and that will be it? There is no meaning of life once you have accomplished it. In conclusion, the flat world and humanism have allot in common as do their consequences. They are both revolutions that affect the people of their time dramatically. By analyzing the history of humanism we can anticipate what is going to happen with the flat world.

Faustian Bargain

"Faustian Bargain" is simply the bargain that Faustus made with Lucifer, the devil. This bargain was that Faustus would get 24 years of Mephastophilis's service in return for Lucifer taking his soul. Mephastophilis having been in Faustus's position before tries to warn Faustus as to what he is getting himself into. Faustus continues to side with the devil (despite the fact that he is constantly questioning his decision) as this bargain will gain him fame and fortune.
A couple things happen before the deal is done that make Faustus wonder if he is making the right decision. One: when he stabs himself to get blood to sign with, his blood congeals and two: after he signs his name the words "Homo fuge" appear on his arm meaning "O man, fly". As his days dwindle he is on the verge of repenting but Mephastophilis always shows up to convince him otherwise. In the end the bargain goes through and Faustus is forever in hell.