Discovery Equal Recovery

Discovery Equals Recovery Discovery can be defined as “the act or instance of discovering something new” (Discovery). While recovery can be defined as “the regaining of or possibility of regaining something lost or taken away” (Recovery). Many people believe that to discover something is to find something completely new. This is not always the case. The discovery might only be new to the person doing the discovering. The idea that discovery equals recovery can easily be seen in the Renaissance. The Renaissance was viewed as the time period in which new life was breathed into Europe. However many of the ideas that were advance during this time was a recovery of ideas that existed hundreds of years before. The renaissance was the time period after the dark ages that breathed new life into European society. Prior to the 16th century much of Western Europe suffered through a period of absolutism that suppressed any new ideas or way of thinking. Europe was controlled by absolutism represented by the diving right of kings and dominance of the established catholic church. In the beginning stages of the Renaissance, people began to think for themselves. They were discovering that in order to survive they no longer have to solely depend upon the church or their doctrine to show them how to conduct their everyday lives. During the Middle Ages Europeans were meant to believe that man was weak, that they are destined by god to live the way that they live. Many of the great thinkers began to encourage the idea of humanism. Humanism can be defined as “the mode of thought where in which human interest, values, and dignity predominates.” (Humanism). Thinkers such as Salutati encouraged the concept of humanism. He professed that people are responsible for their action not God. This upset many member of the Catholic Church but did not stop The Renaissance from spreading across Europe. This is a recovery of ideas that existed hundreds of years before in Greco-Roman society. Socrates a great Greek philosopher was ridiculed for his ideals. Socrates preached free thinking and questioning the establishment. He was accused and then convicted to death for corrupting the people of Athenian society; but his ideals prevailed and went on to influence the great philosopher of the Renaissance. The idea that discovery equals recovery can also be seen in the literature produced in The Renaissance. During the dark ages much of the literature produced and read reflected the views of the established religions and political system. The Renaissance opened up the idea of free thought. An example of this is Machiavelli 's The Prince. This book was seen to be an outright rebellion of traditional Italian society. Machiavelli discretely criticized the ruling family of Florence, describing them as weak, and finicky. This book essentially introduced the idea of free thinking and free speech in early renaissance literature. Many of the great thinkers of the Renaissance also preached philology. Philology is the love of learning and literature. This in a sense allowed people to rediscover the Greco-Roman ideals of thought as advance by philosophers such as Plato. It allowed people to be free thinkers and question the traditions of the past. It allowed people to question their ideals. The Renaissance also brought new life into the world of art and culture. Artistic pieces of the middle ages were mainly very religious pieces of art that did not depict life as it really was during the middle ages. The renaissance allowed artists to rediscover the human form, and introduced the concept of naturalism. Artists such as Da Vinci introduced new techniques to the world of art. Techniques such as foreshortening that added depth to painting, creating the illusion of objects retreating into the background; perspective, the representation of a three dimensional object on a two dimensional plane. These and many other techniques allowed artists that followed to portray Renaissance life as accurately as possible. A great philosopher once said “an age is not called dark because light does not shine. An age is called dark because people refuse to see the light.” Many of the discoveries of the renaissance period was the recovery of mans ability to once more see the light. It is also interesting to note that many of the concepts of being in harmony with nature eating natural foods, and the values of family friendship and society are now being discovered as a cure for many of modern day society ills. These concepts are merely recovery of ideas that existed in many societies, including so called primitive societies. Some still exist as they have lived for hundreds of years and do not suffer from the same ills that affect modern society.

Works Cited
"Discovery | Define Discovery at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/discovery+?s=t>.
"Humanism | Define Humanism at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/humanism?s=t>.
"Recovery | Define Recovery at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/recovery+?s=t>.

Cited: "Discovery | Define Discovery at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. &lt;http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/discovery+?s=t&gt;. "Humanism | Define Humanism at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. &lt;http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/humanism?s=t&gt;. "Recovery | Define Recovery at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. &lt;http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/recovery+?s=t&gt;.