Turning Points in History
A turning point is a point at which a significant change occurs that can have serious effects on the world. There are negative turning points, which effect the world in a negative way, and there are positive one’s where beneficial things will come out of the change. Many turning points have occurred during history. Two examples of turning points in history are the bubonic plague in Europe and northern Africa where many died of a fatal disease, and Humanism that occurred in Europe where people valued the individual needs of the person over traditional authority.
Both of these events were times of great change and effected the world on a large scale. The Black Death, also known as the Black Plague or the Bubonic Plague killed one third of the population of Europe during its reign in the 13th and 14th centuries. The arrival of this plague set the scene for years of strife and heroism. Leaving the social and economic aspect in a standstill. The phantom of death became a subject of art, music and folklore and it influenced the consciousness of the people.
The impact of this mass killer caused enormous chaos and havoc to the medieval society because of its unknown origin, the unknown causes and prevention”s, its deathly symptoms and its breakdown of orderly life. As a result religion was greatly affected and changed. This event can be known as a turning point because it effected the people of the world by killing off a massive number of people during the 13 and 14th centuries. The black or bubonic plague can also be known as a turning point because it helped bring about physicians. Most explanations about the plague were based on folklore, superstition, and rumor.
Blame was frequently placed on travelers and other suspicious outsiders but after careful study people now truly understood that the plague was natural and caused by such things as an infected flea and not supernatural occurrences. Now that people learned that disease and sickness can be cured only by medical means and not by supernatural occurrences, the medical industry grew and people could now be cured if they were sick. Another turning point in history is humanism during the Renaissance, which is a way of life centered on human interests or values.
Humanism is a time that rejected supernaturalism and stressed an individual’s dignity and worth and capacity for self-realization through reason. Humanism helped make people think for themselves and helped bring out people’s differences. Humanism is or is one of the most important turning points in history. During humanism people sought better lives and sought to expand their education to understand why things happened the way they did. The Renaissance was an incredibly important turning point in Western Intellectual and Cultural Tradition.
The major political changes of the Renaissance were from the old Feudal System of the Middle Ages into a more flexible and liberal class system. The great changes in Education of the Renaissance were inspired at first, by the desire of Humanists to be wise and to speak eloquently. The idea of useful education for people was part of the new defined goals of Renaissance education. People began seriously questioning what philosophers said and re-developed the Scientific Theory, in which one didn’t just accept whatever was said, but tested the truth of it.
Due to advanced technology artists could also now take advantage of new techniques, such as oil painting to enhance the quality of their works. It is shown the Renaissance was to great extent a major turning point in history from the Middle Ages in just about every element of the Society. The Renaissance has become the original roots of culture from the West. This was the time when people questioned the past, and decided to go back to school. In conclusion, It is shown that both of these events described are turning points and were very significant back when they occurred and now.
Although many important events do occur in history, turning points don’t occur all that often, and when they do they impact the world on a large scale. It has also been shown that a turning point can have positive and negative effects on history. As seen in the bubonic plague. Although many died terrible deaths the medical industry greatly expanded and now doctors were able to cure diseases. It is also shown that humanism taught people to think for themselves and question traditional authority. It also motivated the individual to learn, and become more educated. Both of these events have changed the modern and ancient world drastically.
