Looking at the
Renaissance
Scientific
Enquiry
The reappraisal of
classical texts may also have paved the way for another crucial development in
west European history - the Scientific Revolution. Until recently, scholars
have seen little connection between the rise of modern science and the
Renaissance. The latest research, however, has suggested a number of ways in
which interest in ancient science may have fostered new approaches to the
natural world. The astronomer Copernicus (1473-1547), for example, was educated
in the humanist tradition, his scientific work owing much to the revival of
Platonism in this period. Copernicus was the first to formulate the
revolutionary proposal that the earth and the planets revolved around the sun.
Likewise, the famous illustrated anatomical treatise published by Vesalius
(1514-64) in 1543, owed much to Vesalius's deep-seated desire to emulate the
work of the ancient Greek physician Galen. The critical re-evaluation of
ancient texts, such as the botanical treatise of another ancient Greek
physician, Dioscorides, and the Roman writer Pliny's Natural History, was also
instrumental in promoting the revival of botany in the 16th century. Above all,
the invention of printing in the mid-15th century provided the medium for the
promotion of this new scientific knowledge.
There was also
cross-fertilisation between the realms of art and science. Vesalius's famous
'muscle-men' were anticipated by Leonardo's attempts to celebrate and
understand the intricacies of the human body and served as models for artists
as well as physicians. Botanists depended on the ingenuity of artists who were
able to furnish the new treatises with accurate engravings of natural
phenomena. Illustrated books in turn provided a vital stimulus to interest in
the natural world, both in academic and private circles.
It would be a mistake,
however, to assume that the Renaissance prefigured the modern world in every
respect. Part of the enduring fascination of the period is the way in which it
seems to represent a half-way house between the ancient and the modern. The
priorities of Renaissance intellectuals were different from our own,
conditioned as much by their profound faith in a providential creation as they
were excited by the potential usefulness of classical models. As often as not,
the same individuals who championed the cause of the new learning were one and
the same as those who engaged in occult pursuits such as alchemy and magic, or
who advocated the torture and execution of witches. The Renaissance provides a
timely reminder that one of the main reasons for studying the past lies in the
fact that the world one is exploring is radically different from our
own, as well as sharing some of its features and aspirations.
Economic and political context
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