UDC

796.011:378

Authors

Kopeykina Tatyana Evgenyevna
Institute of Physical Education, Sport and Health, Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov (Arkhangelsk, Russia)
e-mail: tatjana.copeykina@yandex.ru

Abstract

The article presents a historical and pedagogical analysis of the works by well-known thinkers of the Renaissance: D. Alighieri, G. Boccaccio, F. Petrarch and F. Rabelais. The author discusses a wide range of universal issues from the humanistic point of view. The thoughts of these scholars on the spiritual needs of man as well as on meaning and content of life are reflected in their sentimental, lyrical works. The paper presents excerpts from them and demonstrates the thinkers’ creative search for the meaning of life. One of the leading ideas of these writers was the moral side of society, criticism of theological education and its impact on everyday problems. Each of the authors had his own understanding of liberty in that era and reflected on how to improve education. F. Petrarch’s works had showed the importance of man with his aesthetic perception of the world and relationship with the spiritual needs in understanding oneself. Alighieri reflected on the eternity of the soul and the human desire for enjoyment, recreation and pleasure by any possible means. It were the flaws of the soul that put limits to the eternal satisfaction of desires, which ended only with the person’s death. Boccaccio fascinated the society by the ideas of educated women and their ability to attract the opposite sex. Rabelais adhered to the realistic view of life and its practical side. He criticized theological education and introduced a new approach to the education of young people and their need for self-improvement.

Keywords

spiritual world, person’s internal state, Renaissance humanism, personality discovery, universal education, harmonious development, all-round development

References

1. Borev Yu.B. Estetika [Aesthetics]. Moscow, 2002. 511 p. 
2. Lesgaft P.F. Sobranie pedagogicheskikh sochineniy: v 5 t. T. 1. Rukovodstvo po fizicheskomu obrazovaniyu detey shkol’nogo vozrasta [Collection of Pedagogical Works: In 5 Vols. Vol. 1. Guidelines for Physical Education of School-Age Children]. Moscow, 1951. 444 p.