Reviews for Narratives

The average rating for Narratives based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-02-24 00:00:00 Simon Spence Eugenio Garin was an Italian philosopher who graduated from the University of Florence in 1929 with a degree in philosophy. He taught at the University of Cagliari until 1949 when he then went to teach at the University of Florence from 1949-1974, retiring from professional work in 1984. Garin was recognized as an authority on Renaissance history and philosophy and wrote over a dozen published books on the subject. His book Italian Humanism was completed in 1952 and translated into English in 1965. Italian Humanism covers the Study of Humanism during the Italian Renaissance stretching from Petrarch to Tommaso Campanella, stretching from the early fourteenth century to the early seventeenth century. The work focuses primarily on a varied group of Humanist philosophers during this period and explains their positions, works, and what they contributed to Humanist studies. Garin does not veer often from Humanism in his book, but when he does it is to establish historical context to the writing: Why different philosophers thought, acted, and wrote the way they did? Garin looks at philosophical and intellectual studies involving Humanism and only touches on outside factors if they are relevant to the Renaissance philosopher or to get proper context of their studies. Garin does however state in his epilogue on the final page that to study Renaissance Humanism you must read politics, history, poetry, and much more, for Garin argues all of Italy was affected by the philosophy and it penetrated deep into the elite society of the Renaissance city-states. Garin spends a significant amount of time talking about the religious influence in Humanism, spending more time on that area more than any other within Humanist philosophy save for the broad issue of the state of man, which is the center of Humanism but often mingles with religious meaning, justifications, and explanations. He often uses the direct quotes from different Humanist figures to illustrate this religious point, not focusing on more than one or two whom view religion as a negative factor in society. Granted, during the Renaissance you could be burned for heresy, as Giordano Bruno was in 1600 for questioning the value of Christianity, Catholicism, and the Reformation. Therefore, it is likely that many Humanist philosophers were not willing to speak out about issues within the clergy during a time of high religiosity in society. Though, the most important factor of Humanism that Garin focuses on is the state of man, which is the center of Humanism of course. Why we are here? What is our purpose in life? What does God expect from us? All these questions were thoroughly covered by both Garin and the Humanist philosophers that he discusses within the text, often with religious explanations from the philosophers and Garin himself. In Italian Humanism, Garin uses primary sources for most of the text and uses secondary sources to contextualize them from time to time, mostly dating from the early twentieth century. Garin clearly uses the primary sources to make up the bulk of his research within the text. He quotes Humanist philosophers and summarizes their works more often than he writes his own commentary on their opinions and works. The most notable secondary source Garin uses is work by German scholar Paul Oskar Kristeller who was a well-known scholar on Renaissance Humanism, teaching at Columbia University from the early 1940s until 1973 when he retired. Kristeller is one often cited in Garin's work and was an acclaimed scholar in Humanism, which he wrote many works about throughout his career. Garin tends to quote secondary sources like Kristeller not to show where his information came from, but more to cite scholars who agree with his conclusion or findings on a Humanist topic. Garin reaches his conclusions using primary sources from actual Humanist philosophers of the Renaissance period. Most of Garin's works are written in Italian and Latin, as one would expect from an Italian scholar writing about Italian Humanism during the Renaissance period. Despite the book being about Humanism, Greek writings are not present. Garin does not delve into the actual definitions of Platonism or Aristotelianism in any comprehensive way, only using these Greek philosophers to sort the Humanists of the Renaissance into neat groups, those who follow Plato and those who follow Aristotle. Garin opens his work with an introduction into the concept of Renaissance Humanism. Detailing the basic themes that prevailed through the period of the Renaissance and what Humanism meant to those writing about it. "And thus it is exercised everywhere a profoundly and radically rejuvenating influence. It was the expression of an entirely changed human attitude." Garin discusses the history of Humanism and their loyalty to the Greek philosopher Plato. Chapter One covers the origins of Humanism, primarily focusing on Humanists Petrarch and Coluccio Salutati. Garin touches on Petrarch's philosophy, primarily his disdain for the solitary life and support for one that is more active and involved, helping your fellow men as well as Petrarch's disdain for natural and medical sciences, Petrarch stating that they are created by God, and it is foolish to try to understand God's motives and methods. Garin also states the two "motives of Humanism" that he views as the most important characteristics, "First, the value of litterae humanae; and secondly, the social characteristics of humaneness." In regards to Salutati, Garin simply states how he and Petrarch are incredibly similar in their outlook towards the sciences, and touched on Salutati's positive regard for the law. Saying that laws "are infallible because they are promulgated by human beings." Chapter two primarily focuses on what Humanists believe people should do in their civic lives, as the title of the chapter suggests. Garin argues that Humanists expect an active life from the citizenry, being involved and part of the discussion. The debate also enters the realm of proper education, Garin arguing successfully that the Humanists believe that Greek and Roman classic writings are the only source of knowledge that people need. All lessons, ways of living, mathematics, proper grammar, and religious meaning can be found in the writings and works of men like Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Cicero, and many others. Chapter three talks of the state of man, primarily in what environments man can thrive and what is expected of them out of nature or God, depending on the which the philosopher attempts to focus on. Garin quotes Ottavio Rinuccini for example, stating how a society with liberty is the only one men can thrive in, condemning the tyrannical rule of the Medici's, from Rinuccini's standpoint of course. The chapter looks at the Humanist debate of which is more appropriate: active life in which one argues for their ideas and attempts to implement them in society, or a contemplative life in which one simply states what Greek and Roman classics advocate for and allowing those in power to do what they want with that information. Chapter four and five has Garin discuss Humanist views on grace, love, and the soul in terms of Plato and Aristotle respectively. The issues pertain to the differences between grace and love and how they relate to God in terms of love. The soul more focuses on the issue of its nature, whether it is separate from the body or if they are one, and questions about the immortality of the soul with Aristotle's writings at the center of this debate while they focus on Plato's works in terms of the debate between grace and beauty and the nature and source of love. Chapter six is one of the more technical in Garin's and good for the reader who prefers a more technical, structured outlook on Humanism. The chapter covers rhetoric, poetry, and logic in the Humanist sense and outlines many Humanist's takes on those issues in, again, very technical terms. It is one of the least philosophically deep chapters in Garin's work. Chapter seven deals with morality, Garin discusses Humanist arguments on the proper rules of behavior for men and woman as well as reviving the argument of the contemplative life versus the active life for the third time in the book. The main discussion of the chapter focuses on what is considered good behavior and how humans develop good behavior amongst each other and through God, though Garin does state that Humanists like Giovanni della Casa stress there is a difference between morality and virtue. Chapter eight is just a rehash of the debate on natural sciences and medicine from Humanists, with Leonardo da Vinci arguing against common Humanist thought and supporting the natural sciences which he calls the "work of God". In the last part of the chapter Garin touches on Humanist thought on the source of light, which unsurprisingly comes from God per their beliefs. Chapter nine is the final chapter of Garin's work, simply finishing up Humanism with a review of the works of Giordano Bruno and Tommaso Campanella. Garin touches on their beliefs of moral reform, religion in Bruno's work which ended up getting him burned at the stake for heresy, and a few other topics to wrap up what is an incredibly dense informational text. One of the first things a reader may notice when viewing Garin's work is that it is written at a very advanced level and assumes a plethora of prior knowledge on Humanism. Italian Humanism assumes you know what Humanism is, who Plato and Aristotle are, who these various Renaissance figures are, and what different philosophical terms mean. This book is written by a scholar for scholars, not for students or those wishing to learn about Renaissance Humanism for the first time. Garin also tends to use Latin quotes, phrases, and terms within the text and even mid-sentence without giving the reader any hint or idea what they mean much of the time. So, it is highly recommended that one either have a basic understanding of Latin or have an online translator open while reading Italian Humanism. The benefit of the high level of difficulty is that the work is very well written and uses a wide vernacular. Though the translation from Italian to English may make some grammar a bit clunky or incorrect by English standards, the translator, Peter Munz, does admit in his own introduction that he did not view his translation as particularly good, stating that he could have done better. One needs to devote their entire attention to the pages because of these factors if they wish to comprehend what Garin is trying to convey in his work. A reader may find themselves rereading several paragraphs to ensure they understood what Garin said correctly, or read an entire page and realize they have no idea what they just read. This is just a result of the advanced level of both writing and material, and one should expect this before taking on Italian Humanism. Garin's topical organization technique is very reader friendly, especially if the reader wishes to take frequent breaks or only has time to read a few pages. Italian Humanism is sorted into ten chapters if one includes the introduction and each chapter covers a broad topic. The chapters themselves are then broken down into smaller "mini-chapters" that cover a much more specific topic and these only run a few pages per section, no more than five to seven typically. This is incredibly helpful, and likely necessary, to understand what is being read and what should be taken from the section. It is easy to get sidetracked or distracted by the quotes of various Humanists and lose track of what the exact point the chapter or section is trying to make due to the previously mentioned language used in the text and presumptions of prior knowledge. Garin's intent in this work seems to be to establish not only the importance of Humanism during the Renaissance but also an accurate description of Humanist philosophers of the Renaissance and their positions on various issues. Garin successfully argues his positions and conclusions with the use of primary sources, mainly quotes from Renaissance Humanists. So effectively in fact that the book would likely consider this a work of synthesis as opposed to scholarly work to one unfamiliar with the topic. Garin's conclusions are sound and well researched. His sources accurately support his arguments and often cites secondary sources to bolster his arguments validity. Garin's work moves in chronological order during the age of Humanism in the Renaissance. Starting with the earliest Humanists and ending with those in the middle of the seventeenth century to end out the Renaissance as the world starts to move into the Industrial Era. Garin's main point seems to be to illustrate the importance of Humanism during the Renaissance, its effects on society, culture, religion, and the human purpose. Eugenio Garin's Italian Humanism is an in-depth look into the age of Humanism during the Renaissance. A reader of this work will be introduced to a various Humanists, authors, poets, inventors, historians, and political figures. Despite its heavily Florence centered focus with occasional mentions of Padua, it gives one a detailed view of Italy during the Renaissance in terms of the Humanist education many of its citizens received during the period. Garin goes not make it known that Humanism was primarily for the elite, wealthy class in his work, which it most definitely was. He takes a much more favorable and philosophical outlook towards the studia humanitatis, emphasizing its positive impact on Italy, education, literacy, philosophy, poetry, and religion. Garin fittingly ends his book stating that considering all of these factors, one cannot underestimate the age of Humanism.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-05-15 00:00:00 Ashwin Lobo A helpful book on the Renaissance thinkers, which I would definitely come back to if I were to explore them further. The first few chapters show that the Renaissance humanists were the first in a long time to treat Plato, Aristotle, and authors as individual thinkers, subject to self-contradiction and development, rather than as authorities to be harmonized. This helped them to read texts in ways that we have lost, even today. It also helped establish the Grammatical-historical method, which we also have done our best to lose in Protestant Evangelical circles. The chapter on civic life was inspiring: yes, we are humans and this means that we should have both an active and contemplative life, and our philosophy should be directed towards our actions! Three cheers for Renaissance humanism and boo to the stoics! Yes, human nature is vitally important! A lot of the ideas behind NSA actually found here. Good stuff. I thought that the later chapters were weaker, and he's still not strong enough on Burckhardt (who saw the Renaissance as proto-secularism). He also seems to be one of those scholars who uses "clearly it must have been because..." and "surely he was thinking" to cover up weak points in his argument. I don't know, as a result, how much to trust his claim that later Renaissance figures were pessimistic about civic life and that they focused more on contemplation. Still, it gives a helpful explanation of Neoplatonism and the Renaissance which helps with regard to Spenser. Good stuff.