McClellan in his article “Plows, Stirrups, Guns, and Plagues” and Gregory in “Technology

by | Mar 15, 2023 | Human Resource Management

 

 

 

McClellan in his article “Plows, Stirrups, Guns, and Plagues” and Gregory in “Technology and
the Natural Sciences” discuss the developments in sailing ships and navigation from the 15th to
the 17th centuries.
a) Describe the main developments in nautical science (everything related to navigation, spherical
geometry, cartography….) and technology (everything related to ship building, marine
instrumentation, etc.) from the 1450s to the 1550.
b) Explain the political, social, and economic results of this nautical revolution.

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.


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God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

Sample Solution

a) During the 15th and 16th centuries, there were major developments in nautical science and technology. In terms of navigation, mariners began to use more advanced celestial navigation techniques such as predicting tides and compass variation; they also utilized improved cartography methods to map out marine courses. Spherical geometry was also used by navigators to accurately measure distances between land points at sea level, making it easier for them to plot their course. Additionally, advances in ship building enabled vessels to travel faster and farther than ever before thanks to new designs which incorporated multiple sails that could be adjusted for different wind conditions as well as improvements made in hull structure for better strength and stability during storms. Marine instrumentation was also developed during this time period with the invention of devices such as the astrolabe (used for measuring altitude) and magnetic compasses (for determining direction).

Sample Solution

a) During the 15th and 16th centuries, there were major developments in nautical science and technology. In terms of navigation, mariners began to use more advanced celestial navigation techniques such as predicting tides and compass variation; they also utilized improved cartography methods to map out marine courses. Spherical geometry was also used by navigators to accurately measure distances between land points at sea level, making it easier for them to plot their course. Additionally, advances in ship building enabled vessels to travel faster and farther than ever before thanks to new designs which incorporated multiple sails that could be adjusted for different wind conditions as well as improvements made in hull structure for better strength and stability during storms. Marine instrumentation was also developed during this time period with the invention of devices such as the astrolabe (used for measuring altitude) and magnetic compasses (for determining direction).

b) This nautical revolution had far-reaching political, social, and economic consequences throughout Europe. Politically speaking, this period saw an increase in state power across all participating countries due to gains made in naval capabilities – allowing nations like Spain or Portugal greater control over their trading routes while simultaneously reducing their reliance on other states’ ships or goods. Socially speaking, these changes opened up a whole new world of opportunity to traders who could now easily access distant markets while minimizing risk; they led directly into the Age of Exploration where many Europeans set off on pioneering voyages around the world looking for precious resources or exotic goods which could then be sold back home at high prices. Economically speaking, these advancements sparked a commercial revolution wherein wealth became concentrated among those able to make money from maritime activities; additionally tariffs imposed on goods brought back from overseas helped boost government coffers further increasing their overall power base too!

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