Dancing Down the Intellectual Hallmarks of the Italian Renaissance

The world is full of -isms.  There are: Liberalism, Conservatism, Nationalism, Realism, Pragmatism, Environmentalism, Botulism [...they don't have to all be good things].

In our examination of the Renaissance we see three -isms that seem to walk hand in hand: Humanism, Individualism and Secularism.

We can not define the intellectual development of the Renaissance without these three things.  Humanism seems to lead the way.  Would the Italian Renaissance have occurred without the reemergence of the classical humanities?  Perhaps, perhaps not till much later on. Perhaps a question to think about for your next AP Euro test.

Nevertheless, it is not difficult to see the seeds of individualism and secularism in the fertilizer that was classical thought.   Is there a direct line from the exceptionalism felt by the Ancient Greeks thinkers to the individualism that fed the ego of a Raphael or a Pope Julius II?  In what ways was the individualism of the Renaissance both a constructive and destructive societal force?