Out with the old, in with the new.

Generalizations about the Middle Ages to the Renaissance

• The middle ages was a time where there was an inward perspective of life with little contact with the outside world, while the renaissance was about expanding horizons, exploration, cultural diffusion, and exchanges.
• In the middle ages faith was a justifiable explanation for things whereas during the renaissance reason was what the people looked to for their explanation do to their growing knowledge of the outside world.
• During the time of the middle ages people looked to the Pope for advice and were controlled by feudalism, but when the Bible was introduced they no longer turned to neither him nor the King for explanation, and followed what was said in the bible itself along with believing in commercialism.

The Affects of Food Surplus

The turning point of the Middle Ages was when food shortages were gone, and food surplus was arising. This led to many more advantages for the people, and in result changed them forever. The most obvious difference was that with more food, the low population would expand and grow into a larger population.  Also, with more food there was less of a need for farmers, so the people had more time on their hands. They were now able to work on things such as expanding art and music. With more food, they also had more opportunity to trading which opened there land routes to water routes. This led to expansion, which opened up new ideas and created a domino effect of changes from the old world to the new.

The Age of Enlightenment

In the middle ages faith was a justifiable explanation for things whereas during the renaissance reason was what the people looked to for their explanation do to their growing knowledge of the outside world. A key contributor to this was Galileo. He taught mathematics and used the telescope to make important discoveries that went against the Ptolemaic Conception that later were published into a book. The Church didn't like how he supported the Copernican view because it contradicted the bible. The new idea of how science could answer questions better than the Church was very upsetting to the religious parts of the community. When the public grew smarter about the outside world, it brought new ideas into their minds which were viewed as unacceptable. Anyone who thought differently than the church was viewed as trouble, but as the Renaissance went on this perspective was depleted.

Newton was a professor of math, who also published Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. He also discovered the 3 laws of motion. These were the universal laws of gravitation. His ideas created a new picture of the universe, and provided the public with an explanation for why the world worked the way it did. In a current news article, however, some question just how much of a genius he was. According to the article, those who believed in Newton’s theory only did so because they were tired of believing the church and wanted a more logical explanation for things. The fact that Newton himself said, “No great discovery was ever made… a bold guess,” shows that he himself didn’t think that he was correct; he was just coming up with an educated guess as to why gravity worked the way it did. There are plenty of scientists today that don’t agree with his discoveries, and have specific proof that he may have been wrong with his assumptions. Whatever you think, his discoveries did help the middle ages evolve into the period of enlightenment, which changed the world forever.

To read a really interesting article, go to:

http://www.cw.ua.edu/2010/11/16/pity-newtons-followers/

John Locke and a Blank Slate

I am the youngest person in my entire family. Saying this, you will probably believe me when I tell you that being the youngest has its advantages- and its disadvantages. When I was really young I didn’t understand that when my cousins or brother picked on me they weren’t necessarily trying to hurt my feelings, but they were just having a good time. As I grew older I learned that they meant nothing from their teasing, but it still bothered me. Coming from this experience I decided that I did not like being the basis of family jokes so I decided that it was a good idea not to treat other people the way they treated me. If they had not played these little tricks on me then I wouldn’t understand today that people don’t like them, so I learned from the experience not to do the same to other people.

Evaluating Leaders

One of the most respected and cherished leaders in Macbeth is King Duncan. This could be because of the numerous good qualities he has, such as respect for others and beliefs of equality. He was honest to his subjects and was always looking for their best interest. Macbeth himself has a hard time debating whether or not he should kill Duncan. "So clear in his great office, that his virtues will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued against the deep damnation of his taking-off" (1.7.18-20). This statement shows that Duncan was a good king and that Macbeth didn't feel right about killing him. This is an important part of the play because Macbeth is faced with making the hard decision of whether or not he should kill him. At the same time he is being pressured by Lady Macbeth to do so, which in the end finalizes his choice of actually killing him. Part of why this decision is so hard is because Macbeth knows that everyone will be upset about his death. "That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself and falls on th'other" (1.7.25-28). We know that he is well liked because when he is murdered by Macbeth the whole community is devastated and cannot believe that anyone would kill the noble and honorable King Duncan. This also connects to the society versus individual theme this play can portray because Macbeth is thinking about his own needs versus the public as a whole.

"Besides the thane of Cawdor. But 'tis strange, and oftentimes to win us to our harm the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles to betray's in deepest consequence" (1.3.120-124). This quote matches Machiavelli's ideas about deceit and appearance versus reality. Banquo is saying that what the witches told them was strange and that it probably would not happen. The witches were tricking them and making them believe something that wasn't necessarily going to be reality. Later in Act 2 Macbeth starts thinking about the consequences of killing King Duncan. "Away, and mock the time with fairest show. False face must hide what the false heart doth know" (2.1.81-82). Macbeth was saying that he would not be able to live with himself if he actually killed King Duncan. He meant that if he were to appear like he had nothing to do with the murder he would have to hide his bad qualities and mask them with good qualities. He also would be altering others perceptions of him. This also directly goes back to Machiavelli's ideas on appearance versus reality. If Machiavelli were to evaluate Macbeth as a leader he would probably be ok with all the bad things that he has done, because after all he did say that the ends justified the means. These are only two examples of how Machiavelli's advice has shown up in the play so far and I think that they will continue to do so as the characters are forced to make more decisions.

November 5th, 2010

Lines 10 and 11 of Act 1 Scene 1 state, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair, hover through the fog and filthy air.” Reading this couplet you at first may not be able to tell what it means, but when you dig deeper you can understand that it is a key theme of the play. For the purpose of the play, it is saying that if something appears to be good, it is probably bad, or foul. Furthermore, if something appears to be foul it is probably going to be good. The weird sisters really embody the idea on appearance versus reality. Throughout the whole play they tell other characters things deceitfully, trying to alter their perceptions of reality. This take on appearance versus reality is similar to what Machiavelli believed about appearing to be good rather than actually being good. The weird sisters tell people wonderful things that they want to hear, and make them think that they are these wise spirits, when in reality they are telling them things that aren’t necessarily true, because they are only trying to alter their perception of reality.

“Only look up clear. To alter favour ever is to fear. Leave all the rest to me” (1.5.69-71). This quote goes along with the idea of male and female roles. Right after Lady Macbeth receives a letter from her husband about his strange encounter with the weird sisters, she gets the idea to have him murder the current king so that he will inherit the crown, making her queen. The fact that she says, “leave all the rest to me,” shows that she is more than willing to get involved and get what she wants. Shakespeare gets the idea across that she is very motivated, ambitious, and cunning, which was not the case for most females during the time period this play takes place in. They were supposed to be sweet, kind, and ladylike, whereas she is the opposite. She is not willing to sit back and let her husband do all the work. In fact, in her eyes she thinks that he isn’t capable of going through with her plan because he is not comfortable with killing a man for the sake of getting the crown. With all of these qualities that she has, she creates a dynamic character that will do anything she wants regardless of her gender, even if it means killing someone!

“With one that saw him die, who did report that frankly he confessed his treasons” (1.4.4-5). Throughout the entire play Shakespeare stresses the importance of loyalty and honor ability. In this particular scene, King Duncan and Malcolm are talking about the Thane of Cawdor and how he was a traitor and ended up being executed. Although he did betray his people, he knew how to die honorably by confessing his mistakes and excepting his fate. This is an example of how danger also accompanies honor ability and loyalty. This theme is portrayed throughout the whole play because in the end Macbeth himself gets beheaded for doing the exact same thing. If you think about the Machiavelli belief of the ends justifying the means, it contradicts what Shakespeare is trying to say because loyalty and honor are more important than the throne.

Blog Friday

Blog Friday

Introducing Machiavelli

Niccolo Machiavelli was born in Florence, Italy in 1469. One of the most important things in his life was politics and a love for writing. His most famous piece of work was a book called The Prince, written in 1513. His purpose for writing this was to give advice to a ruler on how to stay in power, and to also persuade them that there were no certain morals they had to follow in order to be a good leader. By this, he meant that it was acceptable to use violence and other tactics if it meant you would gain success.


For more information about Machiavelli go to this web address: www.lucidcafe.com/library/96may/machiavelli.html

Machiavelli had many good ideas that could also be used today. If you read his statement, “It is not essential that a Prince have all good qualities, but it is most essential that he should seem to have them,” it still proves to be applicable on how to maintain power and be an effective leader. This is because appearance is one of the most important aspects of modern day life. A modern day example of a leader who did not have every trait a leader is expected to have, but appeared to have them, is Al Gore. He is a huge global warming educational advocate, when he himself is not really that climate friendly. He made a powerful movie to persuade the public to buy climate friendly products, when he drives an Escalade SUV. He may seem like he is against global warming, but is actually helping contribute to it. People will usually only listen to a leader if they appear intelligent, so the way you portray yourself will affect how successful of a leader you may actually be. Although it is important to have good qualities such as communication, if the people you surround yourself with believe that you have the quality they will be more apt to follow your commands.

Another one of Machiavelli’s quotes, “Before all else, be armed,” is not good advice for leaders today. Although it is important to have weapons and guns to protect yourself, it is not the only thing you should focus on. An example of a group that was successful with their actions was the terrorists that bombed the Twin Towers on 911. You may be thinking that they used weapons to gain success, but this is not necessarily true. They used their knowledge that there would be a huge impact on the United States if there were to be a horrific accident in one of its most populous cities, and decided to attack for this affect. This is showing that if you mentally prepare yourself for a situation, and then follow through with your plan it can be far more successful than if you just prepare yourself with weapons. There are plenty of other ways you can acquire success.

If Pizarro were to take advice from Machiavelli, I think it definitely would have been about the following quote. As Machiavelli stated, “Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage,” you can see how this directly relates to what Pizarro did. When Pizarro first faced the Inca’s he saw the situation as an obstacle because he had far less men. When he really thought about what he should do, he found an opportunity to turn the situation to his advantage by using his knowledge of successful tactics used in the past. This is exactly what he ended up doing, and he eventually overthrew the Incan society solely because he knew how to turn a situation in his favor.

First Post

When we began talking about leadership during class, I thought of Odysseus from the novel The Odyssey. He is a great example of a well rounded leader- meaning he had lots of traits one might expect a great leader to have. His best trait, however, was his ability to make quick and effective decisions that led his followers to safety and success. With this ability, and his cunningness, he was also able to convince his followers to do things that they necessarily did not want to do, because he knew about their desires. For example, he was able to convince his men to make several dangerous stops on their journey home in order to get things such as gold. An example of how he used his intelligence of his followers is when he disguised himself as a beggar. He had been gone for a long time, and wanted to see what they really thought about him before he decided to reveal his homecoming. He learned that they truly did respect and want him back, as they did not like how the suitors were treating them. From this, he also learned about the suitors trying to replace him, so he could eventually overthrow them and regain control. From this action, he used the friendships he had with his followers to successfully regain his power, and so that everything would go back to the way it used to be- which was a win-win scenario for everyone!