Comprehensive Research on the View of Nature in the Renaissance

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1. We had eight meetings for reading research papers at Gakusyuin Women's College, Dosisha University and Kyoto University from 1997 to 2000, and got 40-50 participants each time. In these meetings, we discussed the view of nature in the Renaissance from various angles. In 1998, we held the international meeting in collaboration with another institutes.2. Main points at issue in these meetings were : (1) Anti-scholastic view of nature seen in the criticism of medicine of early humanists, (2) Classic and pastoral view of nature seen in the literature after Petrarca, (3) Averoestic and rational investigation into nature and new understanding of nature following the mathematics' model (e.g. Galileo Galilei), (4) Magical and esoteric view of universe typically seen in the Hermetic thinkers, (5) New view of nature concerning the perspective and the naturalism in the Renaissance arts, etc.3. Over these points many sorts of discussions were hold, and their conclusions were : (1) New view of nature in the Renaissance, which replaced that of the Middle Age, was caused not only by the scientific discoveries, but also by the change of view of nature made in all activities of culture (philosophy, literature, fine art, etc.). (2) This change, which also happened in the understanding of 'nature in human being' (human nature), stimulated the creating of the new view of man and presented the new type of human community, i.e. society and state.4. We continued to collect the materials for making the bibliography of Renaissance literature written in Japanese and inputted their information.