Brittany Grove, Countering Culture Lesson 3

1. religious, “neutral”
2. True
3. agnostics, rationalists
4. Prometheus Books
5. A man who trusts in the Lord
6. Circular reasoning or begging the question
7. That belief in God is reasonable and that often the basis for non-belief is an assumed worldview
rather than a clearly reasoned position.
8. Atheism, socialism, and evolution. The torment and death of at least 170 million human beings.
9. A “straw man” argument
Brittany Grove, How Should We Then Live? Chapter 3

1. During the Renaissance, many artists revolutionized the styles of art, impacting the culture in
the process. Giotto was the first to present his figures in a natural, lifelike manner. Before, most
painters used symbols and representations, creating flat, unnatural pictures, but Giotto's method
resulted in more realistic paintings. Giotto used real people as his models, creating accurate
portraits and natural paintings and portraying nature the way God created it. Giotto honored
God by painting His creation to accurately reflect the way he created it. Brunelleschi, on the
other hand, ushered in a new focus on man. While Brunelleschi's accomplishments in
architecture were astounding, his perspective and mastery of space influenced the men of the
Renaissance to view mankind as central in this space. By highlighting the centrality of man,
Brunelleschi promoted the supremacy of man and encouraged an emphasis on man's
capabilities. Finally, the work of Michelangelo reveals strong promotion of humanistic morals.
His sculptures of men “tearing themselves out of rock” make a bold statement that man is
responsible for his own destiny, success, accomplishments, perseverance, and victory.
Michaelangelo's most famous statue, David, which is not a sculpture of the King David of the
Bible but rather an image of an idealistic man, speaks of Michelangelo's belief in the power and
greatness of man. To the people of Michelangelo's time, David was an image of the potential of
mankind, his disproportionately large hands making a statement of power and ability.
Michelangelo's work helped to convince his society that mankind was powerful and
unstoppable, promoting humanistic thought. Even though Giotto's accomplishments in art
provided a good influence on his culture, the advancements of Brunelleschi and Michelangelo
promoted humanistic ideals and morals in their society, leading people to a stronger belief in the
ability of mankind.
2. Prior to the Renaissance, Humanism was not strongly promoted. However, during the
Renaissance era, the advancements and discoveries made by many brilliant minds as well as the
influences of the talented artists of the day ushered in a new certainty in the greatness of
mankind. Some advancements made by God-fearing artists and scientists genuinely reflected
the ability and creativity God placed within men, such as the accomplishments of Giotto,
Masaccio, and Jan van Eck and their artistic focus on the world as God created it. However, the
artists, scientists, and thinkers that followed them chose to focus more on the ability of man
than on the God who gave man that ability, and with their chosen focus came a new host of
humanistic art and culture. Their humanistic ideals continued developing as the Renaissance
grew, taking stronger root in the minds of leaders and people of the time.
3. Leonardo da Vinci understood that man in his own strength could not reach universal meaning.
He recognized that coming from a point of individual, tangible things, one could not understand
the intangible meaning of universals. Da Vinci used this knowledge to form an attempt to reach
meaning. He reasoned that a sensitive, aesthetic man may be able to acknowledge universal
meaning and tried to reach universals by painting archetypes of particulars and trying to
encompass more than one meaning in a single painting. Da Vinci believed that a painter may be
able to reach greater meaning through a focus on aesthetic appreciation than a mathematician or
scientist could through their limited focus on particulars. Yet, Leonardo da Vinci's attempts to
reach universals came only from himself in his human condition and failed to reach anything
more than humanistic particulars. With only particulars to work with, da Vinci had no way of
reaching anything of greater meaning. Near the end of his life, Leonardo da Vinci realized that
the humanistic beliefs of the men of his time weren't as unshakable as they claimed, for he saw,
with growing despondency, that though his intentions were honorable, he had failed to create
universal meaning from a basis of humanistic particulars.