World Views

World Views

Over the course of history, there have been many different views of the world shared by various different nations, which have all contributed towards the world we live in today. It was many of these similarities and differences that arose around the subject of a world view that has helped to bring some nations closer together, while driving others further apart. The middle ages was a time in which many changes were occurring in the world, causing various different views to emerge. Two of the perspective world views which differed from one another was that of the people of the middle ages, in comparison with the perspective that re-emerged during the Italian Renaissance. Each of these perspectives had their own thoughts as to how the world was to evolve, as well as who was the determined the good life for citizens. It was the foundations from which each of these world views were derived upon that causes one perspective to differ from another.

The world view during the Middle Ages was vastly different than the Greco-Roman view which emerged from the Italian Renaissance. The medieval world view was very distinctive. It was based essentially on Christianity, which evolved greatly during the middle ages. This outlook differed from both the Greco-Roman and the modern scientific and secular views of the world (Perry 262). In this Christian orientated view, it was the creator that determined what constituted a good life, not the individual. This led many to believe that any form or reason which was derived, if it had not been revealed from the Gods, was either inadequate or wrong. The medieval view goes on to explain that God reveals the proper rules for the regulation of life, both individual and social. They also believed that the good life was not achieved in this world, but rather evolved from a personal union with God which occurred in a higher world. These Christian beliefs, which were created by the church made life and death both purposeful as well as intelligible, and rapidly dominated the thought of the middle ages (Perry 263).

The medieval view, although very widespread, was much different that the ideas which emerged from the Greco-Roman perspective. With the country experiencing a cultural rebirth, prosperous merchants played a leading role in the politic and cultural life of the city. With the growth of commerce and industry, the fixed hierarchy of lords and vassals declined in favor of ambition and individual achievement (Perry 306). Power was no longer justified through heredity, instead political bodies had to function within the unstable political climate of the city-state in order to gain rights to the power. Also during this time, many