To Compare the Financial Aspirations and Dealings of Gutenberg with those of Garamond - Essay Example

The new ideas that Fussel (2005) notes were not new ideas at all, but ancient ones – humanism, which was based upon classical ideals. The humanistic ideals, which includes an emphasis upon the individual, were, however, merged with the prevailing doctrine of the church, so that the church morality teachings were infused in the classical ideology, making the ideology more mature. These were not the only ideas which were broadly disseminated – other ideas which focused upon solving societal problems were also widely read in the Europe after the printing press, and, since intellectuals and scholars had access to others’ ideas, debate on these topics was made easier.

This, in turn, led to intellectual ideas and debates being widely held throughout Europe (Abel, 2011). That said, according to Norman (2005), these new ideas were threatening to the church, as they often conflicted with the church’s teaching. Therefore, the church instituted greater censorship, while also using the Gutenberg press as a tool to better disseminate its own information to the mass. Another important development was that businesspeople were able to afford manuscripts which helped them run their business.

Before the printing press, only the richest could afford manuscripts, as these manuscripts were painstakingly made by religious clerics, therefore the production was very expensive (Abel, 2011). This led to greater economic development, and, as Dittmar (2010) notes, cities flourished because of this greater capacity for economic development. This, in turn, led to greater macroeconomic growth patterns throughout Europe, as businesspeople were better able to expand their business and individuals throughout Europe became better educated and better able to take advantage of economic growth.

Therefore, Europe changed dramatically after the printing press was invented. This essay details these socioeconomic and religious changes. Discussion According to Fussel (2005), one of the ways that the Gutenberg printing press changed Europe was that it essentially enabled a merge of the classical tradition of the Greeks and the Romans with the prevailing ethos of society. Before the printing press, there was not a way to spread the message of the classical societies. After the printing press, Latin studies flourished, as did different ideas from what the church had been teaching.

These ideas include the belief in the individual, and Fussel (2005) explains that the Gutenberg press allowed Europe to merge the classical ethos with the current ethos of the church. This merging was known, according to Fussel (2005) as “humanistic theology,” which refers to the merging of the classical tradition with medieval theology. Thus, the Gutenberg press allowed a re-emergence of humanism and intellectualism, yet still recognizing the teachings of the church, which was that man is fundamentally flawed and must seek grace.

What essentially occurred, according to Fussel (2005) was that the Europeans took the lessons of the classical societies, the humanistic traditions, and brought it “closer to God” (Fussel, 2005, p. 73). According to Abel (2011), the merging of the classical and humanist traditions with the church teachings was not the only intellectual revolution which was enabled by the Gutenberg press – Abel (2011) states that intellectuals were able, through the Gutenberg invention, to formulate and disseminate theories which were