The Renaissance deified man. The development that divested God of his powers also endow¬ed the individual with god¬like attributes. An ideal emerged of the individual-as-hero, a man self-sufficient, and unfettered by obligations that formally bound the man of the middle ages to his society and to his representatives. In reality of course, only a sec¬tion of society could aspire to realize the grandiose ideal. However, the ideal had prac¬tical implications for the rest of the society. For the deve¬lopment of the capitalist mode of production, it was essential that the ideal of the individual liberty should be granted uni¬versal recognition. As the Church split and the hold of theology weakened over people’s minds, Reason began its triumphal march. This not only opened a new chapter in world history but also produced a new man—the modern man. The general acceptance of the principles of rationalism engendered the scientific spirit which helped shape the character of the new age. The development of capi¬talism, however, revealed the contradiction inherent in the Renaissance humanist model of absolutely free man.
May-June 1984, volume 8, No 6