2019 Year 12 IB Extended Essays

6 known as ‘humanism’. Humanism conceptualised that man was the centre of his own universe, and that one should embrace opportunities to develop one’s knowledge. It was within the humanist movement, that glimpses of past intellectual development were seen to be influencing newer developments in knowledge. Humanism emphasized the use of rational and logical thinking in arguments, that lead to new knowledge, rather than the use of taught knowledge from the Church. The philosophy of knowledge from Plato influenced the development of knowledge within the Renaissance. The concept of ‘knowledge’ began to shift from purely what one was taught religiously, to something one would learn through individual experiences. This is Plato’s dialectic theory (refer to Appendix 1). Individuals began searching for their own logical accounts and experiences, to back up their beliefs, and therefore have it considered ‘knowledge’. With this, came the desire to acquire new, untaught knowledge, to broaden humanity’s spectrum of knowledge and belief. This developed a worldly, holistic process of thought, focusing on the human potential, rather than ignorantly following a religious tradition (Wilde, 2019). Robert Wilde states in an exploratory essay of Renaissance humanism, that ‘Humanist thinkers also began to consider humanity more: as creators, world changers who made their own lives and who should not be trying to imitate Christ but finding themselves’ (Wilde, 2019). From local beginnings, the Renaissance had an extreme global impact on the evolution of knowledge. Not only did it begin the humanist movement of thinking past traditional guidelines, much of which is seen in today’s global society through the development of culture, but it also had a profound impact on economics and politics as we know it today. The Renaissance was the catalyst for societies globally to reject traditional religious churches having control over, or representing the Government. People began to demand new governments, discrete from the Church, influencing politics in today’s society. The Renaissance sparked a world movement of thinking outside the box, and constantly looking