1. a) During the Renaissance, science and the scientific method offered an alternative perspective on how the world worked.
b) During the Renaissance, people sought to find out more about the world, and wanted to take in alternate customs, beliefs, and ideas.
c) During the Renaissance, an increase in resource availability allowed population and life span to increase.
2. I feel that the fact that people started learning from the past, and their past mistakes, was the biggest leap forward and allowed the Renaissance to occur. Beforehand, people were pessimistic. They were all in a tight spot, with little to eat, little entertainment, and overall very little excitement in life. There wasn't really a reason to get up in the morning. The let the church tell them what to do; the church took the general public's money, all so they would supposedly "go to heaven". The people learned from this; other reasons and explanations for the happenings in the world and how it was created appeared, allowing everyone to have an beliefs in things besides the Church. The scientific method was founded, and with it many great things were discovered; the Earth was not the center of the universe, the sun is, for example.
This more open view of the world showed the people that there were other things in life besides themselves, and the things that they did. During the Renaissance, Europeans started accepting new languages and new cultures into their everyday lives. This brought about more and new foods, which led to healthier lifestyle. All of the new foods, people, etc led to a growth in population, and an overall surplus in food. The surplus led to less people needing to farm, and more job specialization. Job specialization led to commercialism, city-states, castles, and other things that can only be had in a wealthy nation. This all occurred because of the mistakes people learned from the past, and the optimism and brilliant ideas that came with it.
3. During the enlightenment, many people began to criticize their current way of living and the order of things around them. The public started questioning their morals, how things were getting done. During the enlightenment, new forms of order, government, and even religion were founded, allowing people's minds and physical beings to push out beyond the boundaries set by the Church and the other restrictions set by their previous lifestyle. This period of "Enlightenment" occurred over a span of about 500 years. It overall led to more freewill, choice, and education throughout Europe and the Western World.
4. Galileo was one of the main contributors to the successes of the Age of Enlightenment. He was the first to create his own telescope, and make regular, repeated observations of the heavens, aka "space". He figured out that the moon, and other planets, were bumpy, circular, non-uniform, etc. His observations were probably a huge contribution to what we know about planets and the outer-space today, and what NASA and astronauts needed to prepare for life outside of our atmosphere.
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/111821119.html
The connection, for one, is that the article mentions Galileo and his early observations of Saturn's Rings. The connection is also that we use telescopes, Galileo's revolutionary tool, to make the same observations today, but at a deeper level. We are using telescope mounted on satellites to make closer, more detailed observations of Saturn's Rings.
5. I think there have been many life-changing/altering/forming experiences throughout my life, but one of the most life changing was the beginning of my school career. I never thought about it until this blog, but school has really shaped the person that I've become. The teachers, the friends, the people-who-aren't-so-friends, everyone and everything in the educational environment impacts who you will become as a person. Sometimes you get the lucky "fun" teacher, who really makes certain things like math or science seem awesome or fun. They make you want to do well in the class; they're the type of people that make you want to succeed in life. Then you get that crazy/insane/straight-up-bad teacher, who makes you want to doze off in the middle of class. More importantly, there are the kids you meet; your friends, your colleagues. These are the people that truly shape your life. They tell you jokes when your down, give you the thumbs up when you do something great, and you can't help but return the favor. It's these people, these places, that truly shape who you become in your life.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Blog Thursday -- Machiavelli vs Duncan vs Macbeth
1) King Duncan, under Machiavellian standards, was not a good leader. Unfortunately, it was the qualities that made Duncan a bad "Machiavellian"-leader which the people loved him for. He was a kind, just king who placed trust in his people and always worked for the happiness of his people. When talking about the trader, the Thane of Cawdor (who was just executed), he says "He was a gentleman on whom I built an absolute trust." [1.4.14-14] Although the quality of trust is always wanted by the people, if a king wants to hold his power and continually possess the throne, he should disregard this attribute. According to Machiavelli, "It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both." King Duncan was one of the rulers who tried his best to be on the good-side of his people, and always do the right thing. This attribute is one of the things that led to his downfall, and to Macbeth becoming King. The love shown by his people is proven by Macbeth, when he speaks, "The service and the loyalty I owe, In doing it, pays itself. Your highness' part is to receive our duties, and our duties are to your throne and state children and servants which do but what they should by doing everything safe toward your love and honour."
2) Overall, there would be some good news and some bad news if Machiavelli were to judge the way Macbeth is ruling currently. In the beginning, including the process he went through to become King, Machiavelli would've been proud. "Men should be either treated generously or destroyed, because they take revenge for slight injuries - for heavy ones they cannot." Macbeth follows this quote perfectly. He knows what he must do to become King; he must gain the trust of those close around him, and those close to the King. He has to appear completely innocent and as one of those people who would be hit the hardest from King Duncan's death; he did exactly this. Also, Macbeth didn't merely scare King Duncan off for a while in order for himself to become King; he straight-up killed him. In Machiavellian terms, he not only hit, but he hit hard. Now that he is King though, Machiavelli would've been so-so about how Macbeth is acting as King. He is starting to feel guilt for the murders he has committed, and he has actually started to go insane."Of mankind we may say in general they are fickle, hypocritical, and greedy of gain." Macbeth was definitely greedy of the gain; he went through the entire process of killing the King. Yet now, the hypocritical part is coming through. Because Macbeth is starting to feel guilt, his mind is slipping. He is becoming unstable. This factor will, in the end, most likely lead to his downfall, and the crown going to those who "rightfully" deserve it.
2) Overall, there would be some good news and some bad news if Machiavelli were to judge the way Macbeth is ruling currently. In the beginning, including the process he went through to become King, Machiavelli would've been proud. "Men should be either treated generously or destroyed, because they take revenge for slight injuries - for heavy ones they cannot." Macbeth follows this quote perfectly. He knows what he must do to become King; he must gain the trust of those close around him, and those close to the King. He has to appear completely innocent and as one of those people who would be hit the hardest from King Duncan's death; he did exactly this. Also, Macbeth didn't merely scare King Duncan off for a while in order for himself to become King; he straight-up killed him. In Machiavellian terms, he not only hit, but he hit hard. Now that he is King though, Machiavelli would've been so-so about how Macbeth is acting as King. He is starting to feel guilt for the murders he has committed, and he has actually started to go insane."Of mankind we may say in general they are fickle, hypocritical, and greedy of gain." Macbeth was definitely greedy of the gain; he went through the entire process of killing the King. Yet now, the hypocritical part is coming through. Because Macbeth is starting to feel guilt, his mind is slipping. He is becoming unstable. This factor will, in the end, most likely lead to his downfall, and the crown going to those who "rightfully" deserve it.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Blog Friday -- Macbeth Scene 1
1. Appearance vs. Reality
One of the major themes in Macbeth that connects the play to Machiavelli is the concept of Appearance vs Reality; what something appears to be, and what something actually is. One of the major themes of the play supports this major theme; in Act 1, Scene 1, when the Weird Sisters have gathered for their first meaning. The second to last line says, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair." (1.1.10) This means that events or happenings that appear to be fair, just, or equal are actually the opposite of just that; and vice a versa of that, events that appear to be unfair, cruel, and unequal are actually, in reality, fair. Throughout the play, the characters don't know this fact, so you go through the story seeing characters experience things that would normally be seen as just things, but they're actually for the worse. Machiavelli quotes, "It's not essential that a prince have all good qualities, but it's most essential that he should seem to have them." In short, the appearance and what the Prince seems to believe in is more important than who your ruler actually is and what his true morals are; his appearance vs his reality.
2. Gender Roles
Everybody in our everyday lives stereotypes what the job of a man or a woman in society should be. Women are supposed to be the caring, frail, loving ones while the men are seen as the hardy, strong, brave ones in society. This are our assigned roles in society. In Macbeth, there is one instance where this isn't true. In Act 1, Scene 5, Lady Macbeth receives a letter that Macbeth is about to arrive home, and that he has become Thane of Cawdor. In his letter, he explains the prophecy that the witches have told him and that he plans on killing King Duncan to fulfill his fate. Lady Macbeth knows that Macbeth is too kind of a person to murder somebody, so she asks the gods to "unsex" her, and to take all pity, fear, and cowardice out of her body, for she herself plans to kill the King. This part of the scene goes against the general stereotypes set upon women by society; Lady Macbeth, herself, is acting strong, bold and murderous. These characteristics don't usually fall into the gender role of a women.
3. Loyalty and Honor
Loyalty and honor are two traits that are highly respected in today's society, and were also highly respected in Shakespeare's time and the time in which his plays take place. In Macbeth, King Duncan states, "He was a gentleman on whom I built absolute trust." [Talking about the old Thane of Cawdor, who betrayed him in battle] (1.4.14-15). King Duncan had believed that the Thane of Cawdor was a loyal and honorable person, and trusted in him to follow his orders and respect the king. After all of this, the Thane did nothing but betray; but it isn't as simple as that. This is an instance of foreshadowing what is going to take place with the new Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth. Macbeth, who King Duncan currently trusts, believes in, and just gave two promotions to, is going to eventually betray him by murdering him in order to become king himself. This future event that is going to take place can be related to the Machiavelli quote, "The ends justify the means." Macbeth cares very little that he was just promoted, or that he is highly respected by the king; he will go by any means to get what he truly wants and what has been concluded as his destiny; to become king.
One of the major themes in Macbeth that connects the play to Machiavelli is the concept of Appearance vs Reality; what something appears to be, and what something actually is. One of the major themes of the play supports this major theme; in Act 1, Scene 1, when the Weird Sisters have gathered for their first meaning. The second to last line says, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair." (1.1.10) This means that events or happenings that appear to be fair, just, or equal are actually the opposite of just that; and vice a versa of that, events that appear to be unfair, cruel, and unequal are actually, in reality, fair. Throughout the play, the characters don't know this fact, so you go through the story seeing characters experience things that would normally be seen as just things, but they're actually for the worse. Machiavelli quotes, "It's not essential that a prince have all good qualities, but it's most essential that he should seem to have them." In short, the appearance and what the Prince seems to believe in is more important than who your ruler actually is and what his true morals are; his appearance vs his reality.
2. Gender Roles
Everybody in our everyday lives stereotypes what the job of a man or a woman in society should be. Women are supposed to be the caring, frail, loving ones while the men are seen as the hardy, strong, brave ones in society. This are our assigned roles in society. In Macbeth, there is one instance where this isn't true. In Act 1, Scene 5, Lady Macbeth receives a letter that Macbeth is about to arrive home, and that he has become Thane of Cawdor. In his letter, he explains the prophecy that the witches have told him and that he plans on killing King Duncan to fulfill his fate. Lady Macbeth knows that Macbeth is too kind of a person to murder somebody, so she asks the gods to "unsex" her, and to take all pity, fear, and cowardice out of her body, for she herself plans to kill the King. This part of the scene goes against the general stereotypes set upon women by society; Lady Macbeth, herself, is acting strong, bold and murderous. These characteristics don't usually fall into the gender role of a women.
3. Loyalty and Honor
Loyalty and honor are two traits that are highly respected in today's society, and were also highly respected in Shakespeare's time and the time in which his plays take place. In Macbeth, King Duncan states, "He was a gentleman on whom I built absolute trust." [Talking about the old Thane of Cawdor, who betrayed him in battle] (1.4.14-15). King Duncan had believed that the Thane of Cawdor was a loyal and honorable person, and trusted in him to follow his orders and respect the king. After all of this, the Thane did nothing but betray; but it isn't as simple as that. This is an instance of foreshadowing what is going to take place with the new Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth. Macbeth, who King Duncan currently trusts, believes in, and just gave two promotions to, is going to eventually betray him by murdering him in order to become king himself. This future event that is going to take place can be related to the Machiavelli quote, "The ends justify the means." Macbeth cares very little that he was just promoted, or that he is highly respected by the king; he will go by any means to get what he truly wants and what has been concluded as his destiny; to become king.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Blog Friday -- The Prince
Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian writer that prospered during the European Renaissance. Yet Machiavelli was not only a writer; he was also one of the founders of modern political science, a diplomat and political philosopher, a musician, he wrote plays and he was a civil servant of the Florentine Republic. What he is most famous for, after his plethora of accomplishments, would be his book The Prince, which is similar to a "Dummy's Guide" to being a ruler, king, president, etc.
The Prince is filled with extremely useful information, knowledge, and rules that should be followed by all those who wish to become a leader. The book is full of important quotes and phrases, but out of all of these the quote, "The ends justify the means," sticks out to me the most. In general, it means that no matter what you do, or how you do it, as long as you reach your goal it was all worth it. It doesn't matter who gets hurt or what allies you lost; it's what is gained in the end that matters.
The Prince also has information that would seemingly be unhelpful to present day leaders. "It is not essential that a Prince have all good qualities, but it is most essential he should seem to have them," appears to be one of those ideas that shouldn't be followed or thought well of in today's society. If you want to be seen as a good person, be that good person. You shouldn't lie and try to appear to be somebody you aren't at all. If a person were to find out you were a bad person in the end, you'll be seen as a liar and a horrible person.
If I were to give advice from Machiavelli's book, The Prince, to the Incas, it would have to be the following quote; "The wise man does at once what the fool does finally." One of the main reasons Pizarro was able to conquer the Incas is because the Incas gave the Conquistadors the time necessary to create a plan to overcome the giant ancient civilization. The Incas never thought of striking quickly against the invaders, which they could've done quickly with the lost of very little of their people. The fact that they let them live from the beginning, meet their ruler, etc, gave the Conquistadors the information and time they needed in order to conquer the Incas. If you were to compare the Incas vs Conquistadors conflict to the quote, the Incas would most definitely be the fools.
Site/Bibliography:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/machiavelli/
The Prince is filled with extremely useful information, knowledge, and rules that should be followed by all those who wish to become a leader. The book is full of important quotes and phrases, but out of all of these the quote, "The ends justify the means," sticks out to me the most. In general, it means that no matter what you do, or how you do it, as long as you reach your goal it was all worth it. It doesn't matter who gets hurt or what allies you lost; it's what is gained in the end that matters.
The Prince also has information that would seemingly be unhelpful to present day leaders. "It is not essential that a Prince have all good qualities, but it is most essential he should seem to have them," appears to be one of those ideas that shouldn't be followed or thought well of in today's society. If you want to be seen as a good person, be that good person. You shouldn't lie and try to appear to be somebody you aren't at all. If a person were to find out you were a bad person in the end, you'll be seen as a liar and a horrible person.
If I were to give advice from Machiavelli's book, The Prince, to the Incas, it would have to be the following quote; "The wise man does at once what the fool does finally." One of the main reasons Pizarro was able to conquer the Incas is because the Incas gave the Conquistadors the time necessary to create a plan to overcome the giant ancient civilization. The Incas never thought of striking quickly against the invaders, which they could've done quickly with the lost of very little of their people. The fact that they let them live from the beginning, meet their ruler, etc, gave the Conquistadors the information and time they needed in order to conquer the Incas. If you were to compare the Incas vs Conquistadors conflict to the quote, the Incas would most definitely be the fools.
Site/Bibliography:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/machiavelli/
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
1st Blog Tuesday
I'm the type of kid that usually only needs a leader to get me started. Beginning a project, class work, homework, etc is always the hardest thing for me, but once I get going I can retain a lot of momentum. Procrastination has always been something that is really hard for me to conquer, so a leader that can get me past this obstacle is a good leader for me. One person, who I think of as a leader, helped me do things that I never thought were possible for someone my age to accomplish; the IT person, Mr. Kihm, back at Hinesburg Community School. When I was in 3rd grade, I knew near nothing about how computers worked; they were a mystery to me. I wanted to overcome this, as they seemed like pretty cool machines and I always saw my friends using them. I headed to the library, grabbed a few books, and started reading; I didn't really understand squat. I was ready to give up, but I went to the IT office for the first time to see if anyone could help me out; that is when I first met Mr. Kihm. He was a great help, friendly person, and always had a smile on his face. He kept on helping and teaching me throughout my years at HCS, and I have no reason to stop attaining knowledge about the wonderful world of computers.
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