First, the idea that the Renaissance formed the basis for a Western worldview is controversial. But those who agree with the premise of this question would cite a the development of humanism during the Renaissance as a key development in the formation of a Western worldview.
Humanism was the guiding principle of the Renaissance as an intellectual movement. At the time, it involved a return to the classics--the writings of the Greeks and Romans. But...
First, the idea that the Renaissance formed the basis for a Western worldview is controversial. But those who agree with the premise of this question would cite a the development of humanism during the Renaissance as a key development in the formation of a Western worldview.
Humanism was the guiding principle of the Renaissance as an intellectual movement. At the time, it involved a return to the classics--the writings of the Greeks and Romans. But they did so because they imagined that these writings could supply them with a valid critique of their own society by suggesting alternatives. Renaissance humanists looked to history for examples of ideal (and less than ideal) frames of government. They read the works of the great Greek and Latin playwrights for inspiration. They found inspiration in the art of the ancient world. Humanism also fostered a spirit of individualism that is often associated with the West. We see this, for example, in the celebration of artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, "Renaissance men" whose genius was seen as more than divine inspiration. Humanism was also associated with a more secular outlook. By turning to classical inquiry, humanist scholars rejected some aspects of the medieval worldview, which viewed the world as little more than the will of God working itself out among men. So the critical worldview, individualism, and secular outlook that we associate with Renaissance humanism can be argued to have been formative in the development of a western worldview.
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