Renaissance Education - how to study and apply classical literature

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Enjoy A Renaissance Education.


Educational endeavors, as all social activities, move from extreme to extreme like a pendulum. At the start of the renaissance there was need to redevelop appreciation of science and math after the excesses of allegorical thought within the preceding Middle Ages.

We are now at the opposite end of the pendulum's swing. There is no need to stress math and science - they are over emphasized by every bureaucratic educator. What has been lost, and sometimes even vilified, is a natural desire to understand "why."


Therefore our Renaissance education includes deep study of classical books and achievements while retaining appropriate appreciation for science and math. Like early renaissance students we will study classical style literature to build a foundation for understanding the new era that rises before us.

This study is possible for everyone willing to put in effort while seeking the interwoven rewards of wisdom and understanding. Our interconnected future will favor prepared and adaptable minds.

How do I start a Renaissance style study program? 

This will not be like reading novels or magazines, although once you are done you will be better at that also.


The first step is pursuing a deeper method of reading than is taught in existing common schools of the bureaucratic age. At first you will not be reading to accept or reject, but to understand. See if you can find a friend or two to travel on this learning journey with you.

Coerced learning in approved institutions requires a different approach than Renaissance learning. Each approach is appropriate to its goals. Renaissance education is like enjoying a fine meal.


When eating a hot dog at an amusement park it is appropriate to gulp it down with a soda and hurry on. But if you are lingering over fine cuisine with a cherished friend; savoring the complexly flavored taste of each course, every sip of wine, and enjoying intimate conversation is important to the experience.

Life will still be waiting when you are finished, but you will have fully lived in the present, and you will be better nourished for the future.

To prepare for the emerging Netcohort age you need to make yourself more valuable. For many this will be a post literature age as multimedia and video instruct. To be valuable -- be one of the few that understand deeper, finer things.

"In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different." - Coco Channel


Start now with one of these books on how to read a book. This step will help ensure your depth of understanding as your renaissance study continues.

The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had

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The Improvement of the Mind: To which is Added a Discourse on the Education of Children and Youth

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How to Read a Book (A Touchstone book)

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Independent Scholar's Handbook: How to Turn Your Interest in Any Subject into Expertise

Available used at a great price. A guide book for anyone that wants to follow current scholarly methods to enhance specific knowledge, or to write for peer review journals.

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Why Self Educate?



Bodily exercise, when compulsory, does no harm to the body; but knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.

Plato


Renaissance educators enthusiastically embraced classical achievements. 

Classic literature is the foundational basis for renaissance style learning.


When reading classic style books for deeper understanding, speed is not important. What is to be valued in renaissance education is comprehension and analysis - do you find wisdom in what was written?

It will take effort to gain understanding from literature of the style used during the Renaissance for education. "The desire to know is natural to good men." - Leonardo da Vinci

Like all volitional reading, studying the classics brings pleasures, but in a most enduring form. For a renaissance education the following is a suggested process:

  • Understand what the author is trying to say.

  • Decide if what you are reading is logical and honest.

  • Consider how to present what you have discovered in a logical and honest manner.

  • Discuss and write about what you are learning.


  • "If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest." - Benjamin Franklin"

    Discovering Renaissance Education 

    Renaissance education is best accomplished by self education while interacting with friends and mentors of your choice.


    "Academies that are founded at public expense are instituted not so much to cultivate men's natural abilities as to restrain them." - Baruch Spinoza

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    Music of the Reniassance 

    There was more to appreciate in the Renaissance than their approach to learning.

    curated content from YouTube

    Lets start with some ancient, classical texts and move forward chronologically. 

    The oldest classical literature will be an assumed knowledge as you approach renaissance literature.


    Classical books are a sublime path for learning about the present day.

    The authors of these books viewed their world differently than we view ours. As a consequence they were blind to other factors than we are. Each book becomes a chance to compare and contrast; and perhaps learn where we may be wrong.

    These books are serious reading - expect to read each book a couple of times, slowly. Write in the margins and underline, take notes, and talk about them with friends. Add insights gained and representative quotes to your journal, blog, or Squidoo lenses.

    The classical and renaissance wisdom you gain will remain with you your entire life.

    The Republic (Penguin Classics)

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    Plutarch's Lives Volume 1 (Modern Library Classics)

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    St. Augustine Confessions (Oxford World's Classics)

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    The Prince: Second Edition

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    Two Treatises of Government

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    Galileo Galilei




    You cannot teach a man anything. You can only help him discover it within himself.




    Have any inspirational leaders emerged from studying the classics? 

    C. F. Bastiat and Benjamin Franklin are examples of what can be accomplished by diligent, student-directed learning.


    Bastiat was of the aristocracy, Franklin a printer's apprentice; both excelled in an era of major change by applying logical, renaissance style study.

    Due to a death in his family Bastiat was unable to finish his formal education. He continued his studies however, and found a friend with opposing views to discuss and debate principles.

    Claude Frédéric Bastiat is still influential with those that want to understand economics without having to delve into the unwieldy and inaccurate mathematical models currently favored.

    Benjamin Franklin applied himself with diligence, debating and writing about what he understood to be truth. Much of what he wrote has appeared as jewels of understanding in oft quoted sayings.

    Ben Franklin was a major influence on the emergence of an experimental republic formed by representative consensus of thirteen individual countries - or states. Their original construction of independent and competitive internal governments with a weak federal coalition for external affairs was to survive for almost a century; a significant achievement.

    There are thousands of other individuals that have shaped society by applying understanding and wisdom acquired through various forms of renaissance education.

    If you are not satisfied being a standardized cog within an inflexable social machine, you too can learn how to study and benefit from classical literature.

    "The risks and rewards of natural enterprise are greater, and of far more value to society, than any illusions of security that bind human cogs within a social machine." - Allan Wallace

    Let's choose several books that will aid in reflection. 

    Not all of these are universally considered part of the top 100 best books, or even as appropriate books for everyone.


    Once you have carefully studied these great books you will have a substantial foundation for understanding any serious book, from any culture, or from any time.

    The Iliad / The Odyssey

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    Bastiat Collection

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    The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

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    The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (Penguin Classics)

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    Education's End: Why Our Colleges and Universities Have Given Up on the Meaning of Life

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    Have you started your Renaissance education? 

    Actually, having read this page is a start.


    The real question then becomes:


    Are you ready to continue your Renaissance education?

    submit

    Let's start building a list of great books. 

    We can build this list ourselves


    Add any classical style books that are particularly valuable. Feel free to vote on books you have read. Vote up your favorites, add great books that are not yet listed.

    I may edit this list occasionally.

    Will we push this list to the 100 most important books?



    "An honest heart being the first blessing, a knowing head is the second. It is time for you now to begin to be choice in your reading; to begin to pursue a regular course in it; and not to suffer yourself to be turned to the right or left by reading any thing out of that course." - Thomas Jefferson

    Gulliver's Travels (Unabridged Classics) by Jonathan Swift

    Gulliver's Travels (Unabridged Classics) by Jonathan Swift

    If you want to complement this with a more modern tale, also read The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible2 points

    Holy Bible, Giant Print Presentation Edition: King James Version

    Holy Bible, Giant Print Presentation Edition: King James Version

    A Bible that's easy on the eyes and the wallet, and is a beautiful read.1 point

    The Epic of Gilgamesh: An English Verison with an Introduction (Penguin Classics) by Anonymous

    The Epic of Gilgamesh: An English Verison with an Introduction (Penguin Classics) by Anonymous

    One of the best and most important pieces of epic poetry from human history, predating even Homer's Iliad by roughly 1,500 years,1 point

    Walden by Henry, David Thoreau

    Walden by Henry, David Thoreau

    Two years spent by Henry David Thoreau living at Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts. A man seeking a more simple life by living in harmony with nature.1 point

    Rhetoric (Thrift Edition) by Aristotle

    Rhetoric (Thrift Edition) by Aristotle

    Thought provoking, even today. This is one reader's favorite philosophical text.1 point

    Bushido: The Way of the Samurai (Square One Classics) by Tsunetomo Yamamoto

    Bushido: The Way of the Samurai (Square One Classics) by Tsunetomo Yamamoto

    Guiding principles that greatly influenced the Japanese ruling class and shaped the underlying character of the Japanese psyche.1 point

    The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

    The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

    An allegorical adventure.0 points

    Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph by T.E. Lawrence

    Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph by T.E. Lawrence

    Lawrence of Arabia." Not only a consummate military history, but also a colorful epic and a lyrical exploration of the mind of a great man who helped shape the Middle East as it exists today.0 points

    Don Quixote (Penguin Classics) by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

    Don Quixote (Penguin Classics) by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

    Don Quixote, with the company of his faithful squire Sancho Panza, roam the world and haunt readers' imaginations.0 points

    10

    The History of the Peloponnesian War: Revised Edition (Penguin Classics) by Thucydides

    The History of the Peloponnesian War: Revised Edition (Penguin Classics) by Thucydides

    A detailed contemporary account of the struggle between Athens and Sparta. Thucydides applied a passion for accuracy in compiling this record of the conflict.0 points

    11

    The Philosophical Writings of Descartes: Volume 1 by Rene Descartes

    The Philosophical Writings of Descartes: Volume 1 by Rene Descartes

    Should meet the widespread demand for an accurate and authoritative edition of Descartes' philosophical writings in clear and readable modern English.0 points

    12

    On Liberty (Rethinking the Western Tradition) by John Stuart Mill

    On Liberty (Rethinking the Western Tradition) by John Stuart Mill

    "The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others."0 points

    13

    Classical Tragedy - Greek and Roman: Eight Plays in Authoriative Modern Translations by Aeschylus, Euripides, Seneca

    Classical Tragedy - Greek and Roman: Eight Plays in Authoriative Modern Translations by Aeschylus, Euripides, Seneca

    A collection of eight plays along with accompanying critical essays. Read through the plays before you read the critical essays - get your thoughts on paper before they are corrupted by other's views.0 points

    14

    The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America

    The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America

    A pocket edition of America's founding documents.0 points

    15

    Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles MacKay

    Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles MacKay

    Being sensible and clever is no defense against the mesmeric allure of a popular craze with the wind behind it.0 points

    16

    The Art of War by Sun Tzu

    The Art of War by Sun Tzu

    ... everything necessary to deal with conflict wisely, honorably, victoriously, is already present within us. Compiled more than two thousand years ago.0 points

    17

    Aesop's Fables: A Classic Illustrated Edition (Classic Illustrated) by Aesop

    Aesop's Fables: A Classic Illustrated Edition (Classic Illustrated) by Aesop

    The legendary name of Aesop has been associated for thousands of years with an enduringly popular collection of enchanting fables.0 points

    18

    Ten Plays by Euripides by Euripides

    Ten Plays by Euripides by Euripides

    The first playwright of democracy, Euripides wrote with enduring insight and biting satire about social and political problems of Athenian life.0 points

    19

    Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy by Miyamoto Musashi

    Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy by Miyamoto Musashi

    "One of the most insightful texts on the subtle arts of confrontation and victory to emerge from Asian culture." - Amazon Review Be sure to read the appendix after the first reading.0 points

    20

    The Histories (Penguin Classics) by Herodotus

    The Histories (Penguin Classics) by Herodotus

    Useful in seeking an understanding of historic personalities.0 points

    21

    The History of Alexander (Penguin Classics) by Quintus Curtius Rufus

    The History of Alexander (Penguin Classics) by Quintus Curtius Rufus

    Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), Alexander himself remains an enigma.0 points

    22

    The Peloponnesian War (Oxford World's Classics) by Thucydides, P. J. Rhodes

    The Peloponnesian War (Oxford World's Classics) by Thucydides, P. J. Rhodes

    "The greatest historian that ever lived." Such was Macaulay's assessment of Thucydides (c. 460-400 BC) and his history of the Peloponnesian War0 points

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    "Will YOUR life be based on what you want to use it to accomplish, or by random urges of what you want to do?" - Allan R. Wallace

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