Renaissance

[etricomi143]

Does the Renaissance represent a "rebirth" or "radical break into modernity" in regards to the development of Western Civilization? Why or why not?

[jno]

you could argue this either way, so you're really going to have to make up your own mind. As the name suggests, renaissance is rebirth, and at the time they certainly thought they were rediscovering the past; at the same time, partly by htrowing off the constricting influence of religious dogma (a bit like what still afflicts much of Islam) they were able to move forward into new fields of study. But if you're going for the modernity option, you're going to have to figure out what on earth 'modernity' means.