Philosophical ideas of the Renaissance. Renaissance philosophy

From the 14th to the 17th centuries, new philosophical trends arose and developed in Europe. Gradually they united into a separate movement - the philosophy of the Renaissance. Its main ideas were taken from antiquity: apologists of the movement denied the authority of the Church and considered man as a separate person, endowed with limitless possibilities. The philosophy of the Renaissance is a unique historical stage that gave rise to the development of modern sociological sciences.

How did Renaissance philosophy begin?

The Renaissance (its second name is Renaissance) arose as a natural response to current human needs. In the Middle Ages, the authority of the Church was unshakable. Commoners were forced to pay huge taxes to support the clergy, and monarchs had no right to make any significant decisions without the approval of the Pope. The current situation did not suit either the first or the second.

Thanks to the active development of science in the 14th-15th centuries, people got the opportunity to travel, study natural phenomena, and get acquainted with other cultures. New trade ties emerged and strengthened. Society developed: the first parliaments and societies independent of church influence appeared. The level of education of the urban population has increased several times. Taken together, this led to the formation of a new society that had outgrown the forced imposition of dogmatic religion.

Basic prerequisites for the development of a new cultural era:

• political crisis - mass protests against feudalism arose in all European countries, and mainly in Italy, the cradle of Christian philosophy;
• technical breakthrough - invention and improvement of tools, the emergence of firearms, new medical equipment and treatment methods;
• strengthening of individual cities - infrastructure development turned them into independent commercial, industrial, military and cultural centers.

Faith in Christian postulates began to decline sharply. Church (scholastic) ideals were subject to increasing skepticism. Technological advances and the triumph of science over religious myths marked the beginning of a new perception of man. At the head of everything was the individual personality - significant and unique. Philosophers did not deny the existence of God, but rejected the idea of ​​his unlimited influence on man.

The essence of philosophy: main ideas and features

The specificity of the new philosophical direction is the rejection of servile worship of God as the supreme Creator, and a return to the ideals of Ancient Rome. It was characterized by humanism - a movement professing the principles of personal freedom, individualism and equality. Man is a new subject of study in the 14th century, and he is also the main source of knowledge.

Fundamentals of Renaissance philosophy:

1. Anthropocentrism, created on the postulates of ancient humanism. Man is the basis of the universe. According to humanists, God endowed the first man Adam with free will, the ability to independently determine his own destiny.
2. Priority attention to the development of science. Cognition is a way of understanding the world, its structure and hidden properties. Particular attention was paid to geography, physics, mathematics and literature.
3. Natural philosophy as the only perception of the world. According to it, nature is a whole organism; not a single object can exist on its own. It is possible to understand all natural processes and phenomena only through comparison and contrast. The famous natural philosopher Paracelsus viewed nature through the prism of alchemy - an occult movement designed to control the forces of nature with the help of secret knowledge.
4. Pantheism is a religious doctrine according to which God is equal to nature and merges with it into a single whole. It was intended to unite science and the church, which rejected any attempts to question Christian dogmas. Thanks to pantheism, the progressive development of physics, chemistry, and medicine became possible.

The founders of Renaissance philosophy were not recognized philosophers of that time, but representatives of bohemians: poets, rhetoricians, teachers, scientists. The new culture arose in communes, patrician houses and street meetings. It spread quickly and was readily accepted by representatives of different segments of the population, despite the active opposition of the Church.

Periods and their key achievements

The Renaissance is divided into 3 periods. Each of these periods of philosophy has its famous followers:

1. Humanistic stage. Began in the mid-14th century and lasted until the mid-15th century. The early century of the development of Renaissance philosophy focuses on man as a creator. He deserves a happy life and should strive for it. The highest task of man is to become like God.
2. Neoplatonic stage. Lasted from the mid-15th century to the mid-16th century. Philosophers sought to unite the image of God and man in the public consciousness. Contrary to church ideas about the value of the afterlife, they put forward the idea of ​​​​the mortality of the soul. Revolutionary calls were made to overthrow the ruling regime and establish social equality.
   Natural philosophical stage. Began towards the end of the 16th century and ended by
3. Natural philosophical stage. It began towards the end of the 16th century and ended towards the middle of the 17th century. During this period, natural sciences actively developed. For the first time, the theory of the infinity of the Universe was put forward.

By the end of the 17th century, the perception of God and the Universe as a single whole was finally formed. Attempts by the Church to prohibit the spread of new perceptions were unsuccessful. The basic ideas of Renaissance philosophy spread despite the emergence of the Inquisition, constant persecutions and executions.

Characteristics of the Renaissance

Among the common features that characterize the periods of the Renaissance, the following features can be distinguished:

1. Godlessness. Philosophers tried to find a compromise between their ideas about the world and the established views dictated by Christianity. They did not dispute the existence of God, but tried to move away from the concept of divine superiority.
2. A natural scientific way of understanding the world. The development of science is based on the principle of knowledge through experience. First, a hypothesis was put forward, then experiments were carried out, and the resulting result either confirmed or refuted the original version.
3. Rapid spread of new cultural trends. The foundations of the philosophical idea, which originated in Italy, penetrated into all European countries.
4. Charity. Based on the values ​​of humanism, a sharply negative attitude towards financial inequality gradually developed. Charity, as the idea of ​​sharing wealth equally, has found a keen response among many public figures.
5. Tolerance. Tolerance for others is a direct consequence of accepting the uniqueness of the human personality.
6. Denial of demagoguery. Any debate based on theoretical knowledge was considered a waste of time and an attempt to distract the human mind from its true purpose - the active study of the world.
7. Individualism. Self-development and satisfaction of one's personal needs, which might not meet social expectations, were encouraged.

Individual features of the Renaissance supported one general idea - only a free person can be happy.

Ideologies and their followers

The ideologies are based on ancient Greek ideas about the world and man. Among the numerous movements that emerged at the beginning of the 15th century, 4 main directions can be distinguished.

Ideologies of the Renaissance:

1. Humanism. An ethical position that presupposed a person's right to self-determination.
2. Secularism. A socio-political movement that proposed the separation of church and government.
3. Heliocentrism. According to this teaching, the Sun is the center of the world system. The earth revolves around him and is subject to his influence. Heliocentrism originated in ancient times, and during the Renaissance it was rethought and became widespread.
4. Neoplatonism. A branch of philosophy based on the teachings of Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher. It is based on the ideas of cosmic hierarchy and the ascent of the soul to the level of the primary source - God.

Followers

Among the famous philosophers of the Renaissance, there are the following:

1. N. Machiavelli. He became the first philosopher to criticize and reject the idea of ​​theocracy - the direct influence of the Church on the ruling monarchy. According to Machiavelli's ideas, the state should be based on the secular principle of governance. In his opinion, a person is greedy by nature and strives for selfish satisfaction of his desires. Only a state built on non-violent management methods, the absence of corruption and developed jurisprudence will make it possible to manage and improve the human essence.
2. D. Alighieri. Poet, author of The Divine Comedy. In his work, he describes a model of the world similar to the medieval one. According to it, the center of the universe is the Earth, and the only creator is God. But man’s main purpose was not to serve God’s will, but to achieve perfection within the framework of his earthly life. Dante believed in the greatness of man and his limitless possibilities.
3. F. Petrarch. He is called the "first humanist." Petrarch became famous as a lyric writer, author of sonnets, plays and madrigals. He also wrote philosophical treatises in which he promoted humanistic values. Refusing to study at a prestigious scholastic university, Petrarch chose self-education and became one of the most revered thinkers of his time.
4. N. Kuzansky. According to his teaching, God is a principle unattainable for man. A person is able to comprehend the secrets of nature and recognize the true essence of objects and phenomena. Reason is the thread that connects man with both God and nature. Kazansky outlined his ideas in the essays “On Scientific Ignorance” and “On Assumptions.”
5. E. Rotterdamsky. Known as the author of the teaching “Philosophy of Christ”. He argued that any person can follow the commandments of Jesus and become a Christian in the true sense of the word. He condemned the feudal system, complacency and war. In his essay “On Free Will,” he defended the human right to self-determination. His close friend and colleague T. More published the works “Utopia” with similar ideas. In it, More considered a social structure based on the principles of public ownership.
6. M. Montaigne. He explored questions of humanity. Montaigne outlined his ideas in his essay “Essays,” a monumental work that touches on many aspects of society. His views remain relevant and acceptable in the 21st century.
7. D. Bruno. He wrote several philosophical treatises in which he argued about the unity and infinity of the Universe. He is the author of the hypothesis about the continuity of space, time and matter. According to Bruno, the ultimate goal of human knowledge is the contemplation of the deity. It is available only to enthusiasts - active, purposeful people who do not accept hypocrisy and asceticism. He adhered to the ideas of pantheism and heliocentrism. For his views he was convicted and executed as a heretic.
8. G. Galileo. A scientist based on the principles of methodology. Studied geography, physics, chemistry. In his view, philosophy and science are inextricably linked and should develop in parallel. He wrote several scientific works on which scientists of the 18th and 19th centuries relied.

The Renaissance is the heyday of scientific thought. Thanks to him, the perception of human life as the highest value, the rejection of the medieval ascetic worldview, and the desire to create an equal society arose. The achievements of modern science became possible thanks to discoveries made from the 14th to the 17th centuries, and the names of their authors are known and revered to this day.

During the Renaissance, a new philosophical worldview was developed primarily thanks to the work of a whole galaxy of outstanding philosophers, such as Nicholas of Cusa, Marsilio Ficino, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Giordano Bruno and others.

With the transition to an urban lifestyle and the development of industry, the special significance of man, his originality, and his creative activity are revealed. There began to be an urgent need for new views, which were not long in coming. Of course, they did not develop in a vacuum; they retained the closest continuity with both the Middle Ages and antiquity. Many thinkers imagined that the ancient cultural heritage, which had been consigned to oblivion in the Middle Ages, was being revived. This idea gave the name to a whole era, the Renaissance or Renaissance (XIV - XVI centuries).

Basic principle of Renaissance philosophy- this is anthropocentrism (the view according to which man is the center and highest goal of the universe), which is realized in a set of anthropocentric Neoplatonic constructions.

In the Renaissance, the human personality is predominantly creative; it seems to take over the creative function of God and is able to master both itself and nature. Man personifies creativity, be it art, politics, religion, or even technical invention. Man is powerful like God, Ficino believes. If so, then he is capable of realizing the limit of all intelligence and beauty. But how? How to achieve this?

Man realizes his creations in the physical. Here the revivalists resume the ancient tendency to consider the unity of the spiritual and the physical. Moreover, it means that creation is as perfect as possible. But perfection is beauty. A Renaissance man is not just a creator, but a creator and an artist at the same time. He is an artist in the art historical sense, i.e. painter, musician, and creator in the aesthetic sense in general, i.e. technical worker.

In art the majority subjects are taken from the Bible, and the most favorite subject of Renaissance painting is the Virgin and Child; these paintings are replaced by images of Madonnas. The very choice of biblical motifs indicates the presence of the spiritual in the picture; it is expressed primarily by the beauty of the human body. The aesthetics of the Renaissance is characterized by the fusion of spirituality and the personal-material. The maximum aesthetic effect can be achieved in two ways. The first way is to rely on biblical stories. The second way is self-image. After all, the artist’s self-portrait most clearly expresses his spirituality, his attitude to the era.

But the painter’s initial teacher is not only the Bible, but first of all himself. An artist must be educated in every sense: philosophical, theological, mathematical.

Basic ideas of Renaissance philosophy:

Anthropocentrism : the attention of philosophers is directed mainly to man, while Neoplatonic constructs are cultivated in a new way.

Humanism , recognition of a person as an individual, his right to creativity, freedom and happiness.

Postulation creative essence of man : he imitates no one, neither God nor nature, he is active in himself, he creates, mostly hand-made, handicraft.

Personal-material understanding of the world : everything that exists is understood in its projection onto a person with maximum interest in the physical principle.

The idea of ​​dominance aesthetic understanding reality over moral and scientific ideas.

Antischolasticism : the desire to debunk imaginary authorities and the dogmas they propagate.

Geometric-structural understanding of the world , supplemented by the dialectic of transition characteristic of the infinitely small and the infinitely large and their relationship with each other.

The philosophy of the Renaissance is a set of philosophical trends that arose and developed in Europe in the 14th – 17th centuries, which were united by an anti-church and anti-scholastic orientation, a focus on man, faith in his great physical and spiritual potential, life-affirming and optimistic character.

The prerequisites for the emergence of Renaissance philosophy and culture were:

improvement of tools and production relations;

crisis of feudalism;

development of crafts and trade;

strengthening cities, turning them into trade, craft, military, cultural and political centers, independent of feudal lords and the Church;

strengthening, centralization of European states, strengthening of secular power;

the emergence of the first parliaments;

lag behind life, crisis of the Church and scholastic (church) philosophy;

increasing the level of education in Europe as a whole;

great geographical discoveries (Columba, Vasco da Gama, Magellan);

scientific and technical discoveries.

The main directions of philosophy of the Renaissance:

humanistic(XIV – XV centuries, representatives: Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarca, Lorenzo Valli, etc.) – placed the person in the center of attention, glorified his dignity, greatness and power, ironized the dogmas of the Church;

neoplatonic ( ser. XV - XVI centuries), whose representatives - Nicholas of Cusa, Pico della Mirandola, Paracelsus and others - developed the teachings of Plato, tried to understand nature, the Cosmos and man from the point of view of idealism;

natural philosophy(XVI - early XVII centuries), to which Nicolaus Copernicus, Giordano Bruno, Galileo Galilei and others belonged, who tried to debunk a number of provisions of the teachings of the Church and God, the Universe, Cosmos and the foundations of the universe, relying on astronomical and scientific discoveries;

reformation(XVI – XVII centuries), whose representatives - Martin Luther, Thomas Montzer, John Calvin, John Usenleaf, Erasmus of Rotterdam and others - sought to radically revise church ideology and the relationship between believers and the Church;

political(XV - XVI centuries, Nicolo Machiavelli) - studied the problems of government, the behavior of rulers;

utopian-socialist(XV - XVII centuries, representatives - Thomas More, Tommaso Campanella, etc.) - looked for ideal-fantastic forms of building a society and state, based on the absence of private property and universal equalization, total regulation by state power.

3. Characteristic features of Renaissance philosophy relate:

anthropocentrism and humanism - the predominance of interest in man, belief in his limitless capabilities and dignity;

opposition to the Church and church ideology (that is, the denial not of religion itself, of God, but of an organization that has made itself a mediator between God and believers, as well as a frozen dogmatic philosophy serving the interests of the Church - scholasticism);

moving the main interest from the form of the idea to its content;

a fundamentally new, scientific-materialistic understanding of the surrounding world (spherical, not flat, Earth, rotation of the Earth around the Sun, and not vice versa, infinity of the Universe, new anatomical knowledge, etc.);

great interest in social problems, society and the state;

the triumph of individualism;

widespread dissemination of the idea of ​​social equality.

Ticket 13 English empiricism of the 17th century. (F. Bacon, T. Hobbes, J. Locke)

Adherents of empiricism (from the Greek empeiria - experience) considered sensory experience (data from human senses) to be the only source of knowledge, rightly arguing that the process of cognition begins with sensations. Sensualism (from the Latin sensus - feeling) is a peculiar modification of empiricism. Adherents of sensationalism sought to derive the entire content of knowledge not just from experience, but from the activity of the senses. In the XVII-XVIII centuries. empiricism and sensationalism were developed by Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke

Francis Bacon was sure that the purpose of scientific knowledge is not in contemplating nature, and not in comprehending God, but in bringing benefit and benefit to humanity. Bacon considered theology to be the direct culprit for the break in unity between theoretical and practical activity, between philosophy and natural science. He believed that only a decisive liberation of scientific knowledge from the shackles of theology could return the sciences to their real strength, breathe life into them, and kindle the fire of creative inspiration. Science is a means, not an end in itself. Man is the master of nature, this is the leitmotif of Bacon’s philosophy. To subjugate nature, a person must study its laws and learn to use his knowledge in real practice. It was Bacon who owned the famous aphorism “KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!” Bacon orients science towards the search for truth not in books, but in practice, in direct observation and study of nature. Bacon considers knowledge that does not bear practical fruit to be an unnecessary luxury.

“Experience” is the main category in Bacon’s philosophy, because knowledge begins and comes to it, it is in experience that the reliability of knowledge is verified, it is he who gives food to reason. Without sensory assimilation of reality, the mind is dead, for the subject of thought is always drawn from experience. “The best of all proofs is experience,” writes Bacon. He identifies the main methods of knowledge, “one soars from sensations and particulars to more general axioms... The other deduces axioms from sensations.” This is nothing more than induction (from particular to general) and deduction (from general to particular).

Bacon's merit is in the philosophical justification of induction. Francis Bacon believed that the method of induction can provide reliable knowledge only when the consciousness is freed from

erroneous judgments (≪idols≫, “ghosts≫”). He identified four groups of such idols: “idols of the clan,” “idols of the cave,” “idols of the square,” and “idols of the theater.” “Idols of the race” are obstacles caused by the nature common to all people, the imperfection of the human mind; “Idols of the cave” - distortions, the source of which are the individual characteristics of the mind; “Idols of the square” - obstacles that arise as a result of people’s communication; “Idols of the theater” are obstacles born of people’s blind faith in authorities, their adherence to ancient traditions and erroneous opinions. It is very difficult for a person to free himself from such idol-errors; philosophy should help him with this.

Despite the fact that he attached great importance to science and technology in human life. Bacon believed that the successes of science concern only “secondary causes”, behind which stands an omnipotent and unknowable God. At the same time, Bacon constantly emphasized that the progress of natural science, although it destroys superstition, strengthens faith. He argued that “light sips of philosophy sometimes push towards atheism, while deeper sips return to religion.”

While exploring the question of the soul, he divided it into two parts: divine and sentient. The “sentient soul,” in his opinion, has a material origin from material elements and is akin to the soul of animals. However, there is a qualitative difference between the soul of animals and the soul of man and the soul of animals: the material sentient soul of man is an organ of consciousness, an organ of sensation, thought. Reason, imagination, memory, desire, will - the abilities of the sentient soul. Its main location is the human head and nervous system. The nervous system represents the pathways for the activities of the sentient soul.

Bacon's line was continued by Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), whose main ideas are set out in the works: “Leviathan” (1651), “On the Body” (1655), “On Man” (1658).

Thomas Hobbes created the first complete picture of mechanistic materialism in the history of philosophy, denying the existence of the soul as a special substance of the body. This position led him to a mechanistic understanding of man. According to Hobbes, people, like animals, are complex mechanisms whose actions are determined by external influences.

Developing the empirical tradition laid down by Bacon, Hobbes considered feelings to be the true source of knowledge. But unlike Bacon, Hobbes highlighted the problems of scientific understanding of society, state, law, and religious tolerance. It was these questions that attracted the greatest attention of thinkers during the era of the bourgeois revolution in England

whose contemporary was the philosopher. Thomas Hobbes's teaching on state and law became widely known. This teaching is based on the difference between two states of human society - natural and civil. The natural state is the initial one, here everyone has the right to everything that they can seize, i.e. right coincides with force. Therefore, the state of nature is a state of “war of all against all.” Thomas Hobbes spared no expense in depicting the cruelty of people in their natural form, expressing this gloomy picture with the famous ancient Roman proverb “Man is a wolf to man.” This situation, according to Hobbes, threatens a person with self-destruction. From this followed the conclusion about the need for all people to change the natural state to a civil, state state. People are forced to enter into a social agreement to ensure universal peace and security, on the basis of which the state arises. And although one can hardly agree with Thomas Hobbes’s position on the primary aggressiveness of man, his ideas about the natural, rather than supernatural, origin of the state were, of course, a step forward towards the study of the problem.

The main question of philosophy - the question of the relationship of spirit to nature, thinking to being - Hobbes resolved strictly materialistically: the material world, the existing world of bodies independently of man, is primary, consciousness is secondary. By idea he understood reflections of material things that are imprinted in our imagination.

The outstanding materialist philosopher of the 17th century tried to deepen and concretize the empirical methodology. John Locke. Locke's main philosophical work, “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding,” is devoted to the problem of the method of cognition and the complex of issues of epistemology.

The treatise begins with a critique of the doctrine of innate ideas. Locke argued that there are no innate ideas either in theoretical thinking or in moral beliefs; all human knowledge comes from experience - external (sensations) and internal (reflection).

The idea of ​​sensations is the basis of our knowledge about the world. Locke divided them into two classes: the idea of ​​primary and secondary qualities. The ideas of primary qualities (density, length, fijypa, movement, etc.) are copies of these qualities themselves, while the ideas of secondary qualities (color, smell, taste, sound, etc.) are not similar to the qualities of the things themselves. Locke's doctrine of the difference between primary and secondary qualities is based on the opposition of objective and subjective. Its development later led to the formation of subjective idealism.

Just like Hobbes, Locke deduced the need for state power from the standpoint of the theory of “natural law” and “social agreement,” but in his own political philosophy he also expressed a number of fundamentally new, progressive ideas. He was the first to put forward the principles of division of state power into legislative, executive and federal (external relations). Locke's political philosophy became the basis of bourgeois liberalism in England and was reflected in the political theories of the French and American bourgeois revolutions.

Ticket 14 Rationalism of R. Descartes

Philosophy of Rene Descartes

The founder of rationalism is considered to be Rene Descartes (1596 – 1650), a prominent philosopher and mathematician. Descartes' merit to philosophy is that he:

o substantiated the leading role of reason in knowledge;

o put forward the doctrine of substance, its attributes and modes;

o became the author of the theory of dualism, thereby trying to reconcile the materialistic and idealistic directions in philosophy;

o put forward the idea of ​​the scientific method of cognition and “innate ideas.”

"I think, therefore I exist"

The basis of being and knowledge, according to Descartes, is reason, since:

o there are many things and phenomena in the world that are incomprehensible to humans, any phenomenon, any thing can be doubted => doubt really exists, this fact is obvious and does not need proof;

o doubt is a property of thought, which means that a person, doubting, thinks => thinking is the basis of both being and knowledge;

o since thinking is the work of the mind, then only the mind can lie at the basis of being and knowledge.

In this regard, Descartes became the author of a world-famous aphorism, which constitutes his philosophical credo: “I think, therefore I exist.”

Studying the problem of being, Descartes tries to derive a basic, fundamental concept that would characterize the essence of being - this is the concept of substance.

Substance is everything that exists without needing anything other than itself for its existence. Only one substance has such a quality, and it can only be God, who is eternal, increate, indestructible, omnipotent, and is the source and cause of everything. Being the Creator, God created the world, also consisting of substances. Substances created by God (individual things, ideas) also possess the main quality of substance - they do not need anything other than themselves for their existence. Moreover, created substances are self-sufficient only in relation to each other. In relation to the highest substance - God, they are derivative, secondary and dependent on him (since they were created by him).

Descartes divides all created substances into two types:

o material (things);

o spiritual (ideas).

Identifies the fundamental properties (attributes) of each type of substance:

o extension – for material ones;

o thinking is for the spiritual.

o This means that all material substances have a common attribute for all - extension (in length, width, height, depth) and are divisible to infinity. Yet spiritual substances have the property of thinking and, on the contrary, are indivisible. The remaining properties of both material and spiritual substances are derived from their fundamental properties (attributes) and were called modes by Descartes. (For example, the modes of extension are form, movement, position in space, etc.; the modes of thinking are feelings, desires, sensations.) A person, according to Descartes, consists of two substances that are different from each other - material (bodily-extended ) and spiritual (thinking).

o Man is the only creature in which both (material and spiritual) substances unite and exist, and this allowed him to rise above nature.

When studying the problem of knowledge, Descartes places special emphasis on the scientific method. Deduction is proposed in this capacity. The meaning of this method is that in the process of cognition, rely only on absolutely reliable knowledge and with the help of reason, using completely reliable logical techniques, obtain (derive) new, also reliable knowledge. Only by using deduction as a method, according to Descartes, can the mind achieve reliable knowledge in all spheres of knowledge.

Ticket 15 Spinoza's philosophy

Works of Spinoza

Of Spinoza's philosophical works, the main ones are his famous “Ethics”, “Treatise on the Improvement of Reason” (c. 1662) and “Theological-Political Treatise” (1670). In the Ethics, Spinoza set out to present a system of propositions about God, the human spirit and the material world, which in its steadfastness would resemble an unbroken chain of mathematical conclusions. That is why Spinoza used the geometric method in his work and, like Euclid, constructed a whole series of philosophical theorems, one of which relies on the other. He dispassionately analyzes human actions and, alien to any teleology (the doctrine of the active, purposeful guidance of being by a higher power), closes the world within the framework of unconditional necessity. Spinoza had an extraordinary gift for systematization. What he took from the philosophy of Descartes, he developed with courageous consistency and reduced all the diversity of world phenomena to a single substance - God, which, however, is devoid of arbitrary, free will in its usual understanding.

Spinoza on substance, its attributes and modes - briefly

The idea of ​​substance occupies a central place in Spinoza's philosophical system. Substance is absolute, infinite, independent. She is the cause of herself; it is that which makes things real, that by virtue of which they exist and arise. As the First Cause, it is called God, but Spinoza does not understand this word in the Christian sense. In his philosophy, God is not a supramundane personal Spirit, but only the essence of things. The attributes, that is, the properties of a single substance, are extremely numerous, but of these, a person knows only those that he finds in himself, namely, thinking and extension. Individual things, according to Spinoza, are devoid of any independence; they are only modes of infinite substance, changeable states of God. Things are not extracted from God either by creation or by emanation (the successive “outflow” of the higher from the lower). They necessarily follow from the nature of God, just as it follows from the nature of a triangle that the sum of its angles is equal to two right angles.

Spinoza on God - briefly

Things are in God. In Spinoza’s philosophy He is not a transcendent Creator, He is an active, creative nature (natura naturans) as opposed to the totality of finite things, as a passive, created nature (natura naturata). The activity of God, not depending on anything, determining itself, is subject to internal necessity, which follows from the nature of the Divine. This does not make the substance imperfect; on the contrary, arbitrariness and inconstancy, as defects, must be excluded from the idea of ​​God. Thus, affirming the position: “everything that exists is in God, and without God nothing can exist and cannot be represented,” Spinoza’s philosophy stands on the basis of the most decisive pantheism - the doctrine of the complete unity of the Creator and the World. Everything that happens in the world - this manifestation of God or nature (Deus sive natura) - is strictly determined, and the infinitely long series of causes ends only outside the realm of phenomena, ends in the divine First Cause.

(For more details, see the separate article God of Spinoza)

Spinoza on spirit and body - briefly

Since extension and thinking in Spinoza are not two separate substances, as in Descartes, but only attributes of a single substance, then body and spirit are, in fact, not two independent facts, but only two sides of the same whole. The soul is nothing more than the idea of ​​the body, and the body or movement is an object corresponding to a certain idea. To every idea there corresponds something corporeal; every body exists and is thought of as an idea. From this it follows that the order of action of our body is by nature simultaneous with the order of action of the soul; This is how Spinoza solves the problem of the relationship between spirit and matter in his philosophy.

(For more details, see the separate article Psychology of Spinoza)

Spinoza's Ethics - Briefly

In the field of human morality, Spinoza also sees rational necessity in everything. Ethics for him is the physics of morals. Spinoza rejects free will; he even denies the existence of will itself, which he identifies with reason. Good and evil do not exist at all in the world process; everything that is real is perfect in itself: good and evil, activity and passivity, power and powerlessness - these are just differences in degrees. The basis of virtue is the desire for self-preservation; the content of ethics is indicated by knowledge. Only that activity that is based on knowledge can, according to Spinoza’s philosophy, be truly moral. Only reason conquers passions, only through intellectual means do we achieve bliss. There are no blind moral instincts, and Spinoza's ethics are built on a rationalistic foundation. The highest good and the highest virtue lie in the knowledge of God and love for Him, knowledge and love, inextricably linked and in their synthesis forming intellectual love for God (amor Dei intellectualis). The life of the spirit lies in thinking, in the striving for perfect knowledge, in the comprehension of rational necessity, in accordance with which we must act if we want to be free in the true sense of the word. Whoever knows himself, his affects, according to Spinoza’s ethical views, is imbued with love for God, and in this joyful love spiritually merges himself with the eternal essence of God, nature, and the world.

Ticket 16 Philosophy of G. Leibniz.

1. Gottfried Leibniz (1646 - 1716) - German mathematician, lawyer, philosopher - is considered the last prominent representative

philosophy of modern times and the predecessor of German classical philosophy.

Leibniz belonged to the philosophical school of rationalism. The main problems in the area of ​​his research were:

Substances;

Knowledge.

2. Having studied the theories of Descartes and Spinoza about substance, Leibniz came to the conclusion that they were imperfect.

Firstly, he did not accept Descartes’ dualism in the sense of his division of all substances (entities that do not need anyone or anything other than themselves for their existence), on the one hand, into the highest - God and those created by him, but independent substances, on the other hand - all created ones - into material (extended) and spiritual (thinking).

Secondly, according to Leibniz, Spinoza, having united all substances into one (Nature-God), did not overcome the dualism of Descartes, since he divided all modes (individual things - manifestations of substance) into two classes - extended and thinking; that is, what for Descartes were two types of substances, for Spinoza they became similar types of modes (manifestations) of a single substance.

In contrast to the theories of Descartes and Spinoza, Leibniz put forward a theory of monads (or the plurality of substances). The main provisions of this theory (monadology) are as follows:

The whole world consists of a huge number of substances,

having a non-dualistic (dual, like Descartes and

Spinoza), but a single nature;

These substances are called monads (translated from Greek - “single”, “unit”);

The monad is simple, indivisible, has no extension, is not

material and material education;

The Monad has four qualities: aspiration, attraction, perception, representation;

At its core, a monad is an activity, a unified one, continuously changing its state;

By virtue of the continuity of its existence, the monad is aware of itself;

Monads are absolutely closed and independent of each other (according to Leibniz: “they have no windows through which anything could enter or exit”).

Leibniz divides all existing monads into four classes:

“bare monads” - lie at the basis of inorganic nature (stones, earth, minerals);

Animal monads - have sensations, but undeveloped self-awareness;

Monads of a person (soul) - have consciousness, memory, a unique ability of the mind to think;

The highest monad is God.

The higher the class of a monad, the greater its intelligence and degree of freedom.

3. Another area of ​​Leibniz’s philosophical interests, along with the problems of being and the doctrine of substances (monads), was epistemology (philosophy of knowledge).

Leibniz tried to reconcile empiricism and rationalism and did it as follows:

He divided all knowledge into two types - “truths of reason” and “truths of fact”;

“truths of reason” are derived from reason itself, can be proven logically, and have a necessary and universal character;

“truths of fact” - knowledge obtained empirically (experimentally) (for example, magnetic attraction, the boiling point of water, the melting point of various metals); as a rule, this knowledge only states the fact itself, but does not talk about its causes, and is of a probabilistic nature;

Despite the fact that experiential (empirical, “truths of fact”) knowledge is probabilistic and not reliable (like “truths of reason”), nevertheless it cannot be ignored as knowledge. Thus, according to Leibniz, knowledge can be carried out not only by obtaining only one type of knowledge - either rational or experimental, but both types, and one of them - rational (obtained on the basis of reason) - will be reliable, and the other - empirical (based on experience) is only probabilistic.

Ticket 17 Philosophical views of F. Voltaire, J.J. Rousseau.

François Marie Arouet (1694-1778), who after his first creative triumph (1718) began to call himself Voltaire. Even in his youth, having opposed religious fanaticism and the existing social order, he was persecuted and was forced to spend a significant part of his life outside his homeland.

Works: “Philosophical Letters”, “Fundamentals of Newton’s Philosophy”, “Philosophical Dictionary”, “Candide”.

The main thrust of his works is anti-feudal, in the center of which is anti-clericalism.

The essence of views.

1. According to Voltaire, the essence of the new era (XVIII century) is reason, the highest embodiment of which was “Sound Philosophy”, based on science and art. Reason will increasingly extend its influence over human life.

2. Passionately opposing religion (“Crush the reptile!”), he saw the need to recognize the existence of God from a moral and ethical point of view in order to maintain order in society, keep people in obedience and strict moral boundaries (under the threat of God’s punishment).

3. Nature is characterized by a universal pattern, where the causal nature predominates.

4. Rejecting the proof of the existence of God, Voltaire recognized the purposeful structure of the world and an intelligent creator as the reason for this purposefulness (deism).

“If God did not exist, he would have to be invented.”

5. Consciousness - recognized as an attribute of matter, and explained the diversity of the world by the existence of a “universal mind.”

6. In knowledge, Voltaire accepted Locke's sensationalism and became one of its first popularizers.

7. In his writings, he defended the equality of people, but understood it only as political equality and equality before the law and justice.

Voltaire considered social and property inequality a prerequisite for maintaining social balance and normal development of society;

8. Voltaire introduced the term “Philosophy of History”, by which he understood the doctrine of the progressive development of humanity, and not as a manifestation of divine will, but as the creativity of people themselves.

Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) is one of the most prominent representatives of the French Enlightenment. He paid main attention to socio-political philosophy. Born in Geneva into the family of a watchmaker. Main works: “Discourse on the origin and foundations of inequality between people” (1755), “On the social contract” (1762), “Emile, or on education” (1762), etc.

The essence of views.

1. In philosophical views - a dualist, argued that matter and spirit exist from eternity as two principles.

2. God exists as the impersonal first cause of the universe (deism).

3. Matter is uncreated, passive, dead and always exists.

4. Man consists of a mortal body and an immortal soul.

5. In the theory of knowledge, he took the position of sensationalism, although he was convinced that man is not able to fully understand the world (the essence of things and phenomena).

6. He considered private property to be the main cause of contradictions and inequality in society.

7. The formation of inequality, according to Rousseau, took place in three stages:

the first - when private property arose (when someone fenced off a piece of land and said: “This is mine,” and everyone believed it);

the second - from the emergence of the state, when the poor and the rich entered into an agreement among themselves on the formation of state power;

the third is the transition of state power into despotism, which turns subjects into slaves.

9. In a just society, everyone should have equal rights, and private property should be equally distributed among all citizens.

10. Believing that the state is the result of an agreement between people, i.e. the formation of a collective whole, a people, then the people have supreme power and sovereignty.

11. Rousseau's political ideal is not representative, but direct democracy, in which laws are adopted by a direct assembly of all citizens.

12. In the future state, problems of education should occupy a significant place:

a) start from early childhood;

b) pedagogical influence should be carried out purposefully on the ideas of personal freedom, mutual respect, intolerance towards religion and despotism; teach professions and knowledge in sciences;

c) public education must be prescribed by the government;

d) aimed at developing love for the Fatherland;

e) any such cases must be proclaimed publicly.

Rousseau was one of the first to reveal the contradictory aspects of the development of civilization.

Ticket 18 Philosophical views of French materialists (J.O. Lametrie, K.A. Helvetius, D. Diderot, P. Holbach).

MATERIALISM (from Latin materialis material), a philosophical direction that proceeds from the fact that the world is material, exists objectively, outside and independently of consciousness, that matter is primary, not created by anyone, exists forever, that consciousness, thinking is a property of matter, that the world and its patterns are knowable. Materialism is the opposite of idealism; their struggle constitutes the content of the historical and philosophical process.

Denis Diderot (1713-1784) launched a program for the development of materialist philosophy of the Enlightenment. “I imagine the vast field of science,” he writes, “as a huge space, some parts of which are dark, while others are illuminated. Our works should have the goal of either expanding the boundaries of illuminated places, or increasing the focus of light... We have three main means: observation of nature, reflection and experiment. Observation collects facts, reflection combines them, experience verifies the results of combinations. It is necessary that the observation of nature be constant, the reflection deep, and the experience precise.” To achieve this and thereby increase the power of knowledge, a union of physics and metaphysics is necessary - experience and speculative, speculative philosophy. Thinkers must engage in activities with real objects, and the research of experimenters must, with the help of thinking, find a common goal, a direction illuminated by the idea of ​​the whole.

Diderot is convinced that our concepts are true only if they correspond to things outside of us, which is established only by experience, or reflections based on observation and experiment. But the weakness of human senses and the imperfection of the instruments used by scientists do not allow us to observe everything that exists. Because of this, all judgments made by our thinking are by no means absolute. Each of them is only a guess about what should happen, built on the basis of what has already happened. Therefore, we do not know and cannot know the essence of those things and phenomena with which we deal in experience. Our knowledge of nature is only its interpretation, interpretation - nothing more. According to Diderot, this does not mean at all that we do not have the right to assume what the essence of nature is and, based on what has been established experimentally, to attribute certain properties to this substance. Diderot defines nature as the general result of the combination of heterogeneous elements of inert matter, which is in constant motion. The transfer of motion from one body to another, occurring as a result of their causal relationship, connects all natural phenomena with each other in a great chain. Based on this, Diderot puts forward the hypothesis that nature is based on only one substance, necessary and sufficient to explain the world and man - matter. Its universal properties or attributes are the abilities of movement and sensation.

The first attempt at a detailed presentation of materialist views in the 18th century belongs to Julien Aufray de La Mettrie (1709-1751). Like Diderot, La Mettrie shares Locke's thesis about the empirical source of all our knowledge and the belief that the essence of anything is unknowable. Based on general materialistic principles, he attributes to matter, along with extension, the property of motion. He interprets movement as the ability of matter to actively change its forms and the ability to feel, or feel. La Mettrie believes that all its modes depend on these attributes of matter, i.e. states of material bodies. From metaphysical extension are derived bodily size, figure, peace and position. From the driving force - the warmth and coldness of bodies. Not only sensations and perceptions, but also thinking depend on the ability to feel. According to La Mettrie, modes are forms of existence of matter. Only in their modifications does abstract matter and its attributes appear as something sensually existing, given in sensations and experience, giving any of our statements the power of evidence.

Based on these premises and the most important discoveries of anatomy, physiology and medicine of his time, La Mettrie argues that the soul is extended, because it reveals itself in the growth and movements of organic bodies. The seat of the sentient soul is the brain. It is concentrated in those parts of it that are influenced by impulses coming from the senses. The human soul can rise from sensations to perceptions and thinking. However, the very ability to think, like the ability to feel, depends on the physical organization of a person, for it becomes upset, weakens and fades along with his body. Therefore, La Mettrie concludes, our soul is material through and through. From his point of view, spirit is only very active and free matter, distinguished from its other forms by intangible subtlety and extreme mobility.

Claude Adrien Helvetius (1715-1771) attempted to determine the nature of the human mind and morality. Disputes about materialism would be much less fierce if the disputants recognized that people themselves created matter, which should be understood only as a set of properties inherent in bodies. Since nature consists of separate things that stand in certain relations with us and with each other, the knowledge of these external relations is what is called the human mind or spirit. In fact, all operations of our mind come down to judgment, i.e. to comparing our sensations with our ideas and finding similarities or differences between them. To judge means to speak about what I feel, says Helvetius. Since the sensations of objects can be pleasant or unpleasant, the judgments of individuals are ultimately dictated by their personal interests, which are backed by an attraction to pleasure and an aversion to pain. From these two feelings, rooted in human nature, akin to the nature of all other living beings, self-love or egoism arises. It is egoism, according to Helvetius, that is the primary impulse of all our actions and, therefore, the fundamental principle of human morality.

Just as the physical world is subject to the law of motion, so the moral world is subject to the law of selfish interest. Driven by selfishness, people strive only for their own good, i.e. fortunately. Since society, according to Helvetius, is only a collection of individuals, this pursuit of happiness is qualified either as a virtue if a person’s personal interest is consistent with the interests of society as a whole, or as a crime if it diverges from them. Thus, selfishness and the desire for happiness are that natural source of morality that is able to direct the passions of individuals to the common good without the interference of religion and the church. To do this, an enlightened sovereign must only issue laws that could ensure the coincidence of personal and public interests among the largest number of citizens. Ethics is an empty science if it does not merge with politics and legislation. But since the desire for personal good acts in a person with necessity, it is impossible to talk about the freedom of human will. “A virtuous person is not one who sacrifices his habits and strongest passions for the sake of the general interest, for such a person is impossible,” says Helvetius, “but one whose strong passion is so consistent with the public interest that he is almost always forced to be virtuous.” .”2

Baron Paul Henri Holbach (1723-1789) came up with a materialist doctrine of nature, summarizing the achievements of natural science of his era. He believed that the universe or nature as such is a system, i.e. a whole consisting of parts, each of which is also a whole, a system. These particular systems necessarily depend on the general system of nature, and it depends on its components. The basis of the universal interconnection of phenomena is, according to Holbach, a continuous chain of material causes and actions, closed in a beginningless and endless cycle of changes that different things, moving, constantly cause in each other. By virtue of motion, communicated and obtained according to the simple mechanical laws of attraction, inertia and repulsion, each thing comes into being, exists and disappears for a certain time, disintegrating into its constituent parts. From them another thing is immediately formed, subject to the same fate. Thus, in the eternal creation and destruction of its parts, the great whole of nature asserts itself.

The movements of individual bodies depend on the general movement of the universe, which, in turn, is supported by the mass of these particular movements. Therefore, there is no need to look for some supernatural source of movement or assume the creation of nature out of nothing. According to Holbach, in the universe, this huge conglomerate of everything that exists, there is nothing but matter and motion. In relation to us, matter in general is everything that in any way affects our senses, he claims. Movement is a way of existence of matter, expressed in the movement of bodies. Since there is nothing outside the all-encompassing whole of the universe, nature has no ultimate goal. There are also no miracles, accidents or free ones that violate the necessary mechanical connection of causes and effects, i.e. spontaneous movements.

Man, Holbach points out, is a part and product of nature. It is similar to all its other products and differs from them only in some features of its organization. Thanks to them, a person can not only exist, live and feel, but also think, desire and act, i.e. consciously pursue your goals. What is called the soul of a person is in fact his internal organ - the brain. The human brain, due to its specific structure, is capable of perceiving the influences of the external environment on the senses and combining them in its own way. Holbach calls these brain functions consciousness and reason. The mind is the totality of the various abilities of the brain, and the mind is the ability to demonstrate them. Thinking, therefore, is a way of being of matter, a certain movement in the human head. The spirit, interpreted by metaphysicians as an immaterial substance, simply does not exist.

Ticket 19 Philosophical views of I. Kant.

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) - the founder of German classical philosophy, the founder of critical, or transcendental, idealism.

Scientist in 1747-1755. - in the “pre-critical” period (before 1770) he created the “nebular” cosmogonic hypothesis of the origin of the Solar system from the nebula - the hypothesis of a large Universe outside our Galaxy - the doctrine of deceleration as a result of tidal friction - the daily rotation of the Earth - the doctrine of the relativity of motion and rest .

These studies, united by the materialistic idea of ​​the natural development of the Universe and the Earth, played an important role in the formation of dialectics. The philosopher in the “pre-critical” period under the influence of empiricism and skepticism of C. Hume:

1) outlined the difference between a real and a logical basis;

2) introduced the concept of negative quantities into philosophy;

3) ridiculed his contemporaries’ passion for mysticism and “spiritual vision.”

The role of deductive-formal methods of thinking in favor of experience is limited. In 1770 – I. Kant’s transition to the views of the “critical” period. “Critique of Pure Reason” - 1781, “Critique of Practical Reason” - 1788, “Critique of Judgment” - 1790.

This is the theory of knowledge, ethics, aesthetics and the doctrine of the purposiveness of nature.

I. Kant opposes the dogmatism of abstract philosophy (metaphysics) - without a preliminary study of the forms of knowledge and the boundaries of cognitive abilities.

Comes to agnosticism: the dualistic doctrine of the unknowability of “things in themselves,” which are the objective source of sensations. Only the “phenomena” through which things reveal themselves are known. Phenomena form a sphere of infinite possible experience. Reliable theoretical knowledge is available only in mathematics and natural science.

It is due to the existence of generally valid a priori forms that organize the chaos of sensations.

A priori forms of reason (concepts) + a priori forms of connection (synthesis) of feelings and concepts = the basis of the laws: constancy, interaction, causality.

I. Kant believed that opposite decisions can be justified equally:

1) the world is both finite and has no limits;

2) there are indivisible particles (atoms) - and there are no such particles;

3) all processes (actions) proceed as causally determined and are performed freely;

4) there is an absolutely necessary being - and there is no such being.

So, reason is antinomic by nature - it bifurcates in contradictions. But they seem to. The solution is to limit knowledge in favor of faith, to distinguish between “things in themselves” and “phenomena,” and to recognize “things in themselves” as unknowable. Immanuel Kant's teaching on the antinomy of reason became the impetus for the development of positive dialectics in the idealism of German classical philosophy. The mind contains a desire for knowledge, arising from the highest ethical demands. Under pressure from this, reason strives to resolve questions about processes in the world, about God.

The ideas of God, freedom, immortality, theoretically unprovable, are postulates of “practical reason”, a prerequisite for morality. The central principle of I. Kant's ethics, based on the concept of duty, is the categorical imperative, a rule that, regardless of the morality of an act, could become a universal law of behavior.

Renaissance

Renaissance- a period in the cultural and ideological development of the countries of Western and Central Europe. In Italy the Renaissance began from the 14th-16th centuries, in other countries from the 15th-16th centuries. Most researchers associate the emergence of the Renaissance with the transition from the Middle Ages to the New Age, i.e. from feudalism to capitalism.

Distinctive features of the ideology of the Renaissance:

1. anti-feudal orientation

2. secular character (against the church)

3. humanistic worldview

4. appeal to the cultural heritage of antiquity.

Humanism and then natural philosophy became the ideological basis.

The Renaissance is a revolution, first of all, in the value system, in the assessment of everything that exists and in the attitude towards it.

The conviction arises that man is the highest value. This view of man determined the most important feature of Renaissance culture - the development of individualism in the sphere of worldview and the comprehensive manifestation of individuality in public life.

One of the characteristic features of the spiritual atmosphere of this time was a noticeable revival of secular sentiments. Cosimo de' Medici, the uncrowned ruler of Florence, said that he who seeks support for the ladder of his life in heaven will fall, and that he personally always strengthened it on earth.

A secular character is also inherent in such a striking phenomenon of Renaissance culture as humanism. In the broad sense of the word, humanism is a way of thinking that proclaims the idea of ​​the good of man as the main goal of social and cultural development and defends the value of man as an individual. This term is still used in this interpretation. But as an integral system of views and a broad movement of social thought, humanism arose in the Renaissance.

The ancient cultural heritage played a huge role in the formation of Renaissance thinking. The consequence of the increased interest in classical culture was the study of ancient texts and the use of pagan prototypes to embody Christian images, the collection of cameos, sculptures and other antiquities, as well as the restoration of the Roman tradition of portrait busts.

The revival of antiquity, in fact, gave the name to the entire era (after all

Renaissance is translated as rebirth). Philosophy occupies a special place in the spiritual culture of this time, and it has all the features that were mentioned above. The most important feature of the philosophy of the Renaissance is the anti-scholastic orientation of the views and writings of thinkers of this time. Another characteristic feature is the creation of a new pantheistic picture of the world, identifying God and nature.

Finally, if the philosophy of the Middle Ages is theocentric, then a characteristic feature of the philosophical thought of the Renaissance is anthropocentrism. Man is not only the most important object of philosophical consideration, but also the central link of the entire chain of cosmic existence. An appeal to man and his earthly existence marks the beginning of a new era, which originated in Italy, and at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries. is becoming a pan-European phenomenon.

Renaissance Humanism

The term “humanism” comes from the Latin “humanitas” (humanity), which was used back in the 1st century. BC. famous Roman orator Cicero

(106-43 BC). For him, humanitas is upbringing and education

of a person, contributing to his rise. In improving the spiritual nature of man, the main role was given to a complex of disciplines consisting of grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, and ethics. It was these disciplines that became the theoretical basis of Renaissance culture and were called “studia humanitatis” (humanitarian disciplines).

The poet and philosopher Francesca Petrarch (1304-1374) is unanimously considered the founder of humanism. His work marks the beginning of many paths along which the development of Renaissance culture took place in Italy. In the treatise “On the Ignorance of His Own and Many Others,” he decisively rejects the scholastic scholarship inherent in the Middle Ages, in relation to which he demonstratively proclaims his supposed ignorance, for he considers such scholarship to be completely useless for the man of his time.

The aforementioned treatise reveals a fundamentally new approach to the assessment of ancient heritage. According to Petrarch, it is not the blind imitation of the thoughts of remarkable predecessors that will allow us to achieve a new flowering of literature, art, and science, but the desire to rise to the heights of ancient culture and at the same time rethink and in some way surpass it. This line, outlined by Petrarch, became the leading one in relation to humanism towards the ancient heritage. The first humanist believed that the content of true philosophy should be the sciences about man, and throughout his work there is a call to reorient philosophy towards this worthy object of knowledge. With his reasoning, Petrarch laid the foundation for the formation of personal self-awareness of the Renaissance. In different eras, a person perceives himself differently. A medieval person was perceived as more valuable as an individual, the more his behavior corresponded to the norms accepted in the corporation. He asserted himself through the most active inclusion in a social group, in a corporation, in a divinely established order - such is the social valor required of an individual. The Renaissance man gradually abandoned universal medieval concepts, turning to the specific, individual.

Humanists are developing a new approach to understanding man, in which the concept of activity plays a huge role. The value of a human person for them is determined not by origin or social affiliation, but by personal merit and the fruitfulness of its activities.

A striking embodiment of this approach can be, for example, the versatile activities of the famous humanist Leon Battista Alberta (1404-1472). He was an architect, painter, author of treatises on art, and formulated the principles of pictorial composition - balance and symmetry of color, gestures and poses of characters. According to Albert, a person is able to overcome the vicissitudes of fate only through his own activity. “He who does not want to be defeated easily wins. He who is accustomed to obey endures the yoke of fate.”

However, it would be wrong to idealize humanism and not notice its individualistic tendencies. The work of Lorenzo Valla (1407-1457) can be considered a true hymn to individualism. In his main philosophical work, “On Pleasure,” Valla proclaims the desire for pleasure to be an essential property of man. The measure of morality for him is personal good. “I cannot sufficiently understand why someone wants to die for their homeland. You are dying because you do not want your homeland to perish, as if with your death it will not perish either.” Such a worldview position looks asocial.

Humanistic thought of the second half of the 15th century. enriched with new ideas, the most important of which was the idea of ​​personal dignity, indicating the special properties of man in comparison with other creatures and his special position in the world. Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494), in his powerful Oration on the Dignity of Man, places him at the center of the world:

“We do not give you, O Adam, neither your place, nor a certain image, nor

special duty, so that you have both a place, a person, and duties

own desire, according to his own will and his own decision" It is argued that God (contrary to church dogma) did not create man according to

his own image and likeness, but gave him the opportunity to create himself

myself. The culmination of humanistic anthropocentrism is Pico's idea that the dignity of man lies in his freedom: he can become whoever he wants. Glorifying the power of man and his greatness, admiring his amazing creations, the thinkers of the Renaissance inevitably came to bring man closer to God. “Man tames the winds and conquers the seas, knows the count of time... In addition, with the help of a lamp, he turns night into day. Finally, the divinity of man is revealed to us by magic. She creates miracles with human hands - both those that nature can create and those that only God can create.”

In similar arguments of Giannozzo Manetti (1396-1472), Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499), Tommaso Campanella (1568-1639), Pico (1463-1494) and others, the most important characteristic of humanistic anthropocentrism was revealed - the tendency to deify man. However, the humanists were neither heretics nor atheists. On the contrary, the overwhelming majority of them remained believers.

But if the Christian worldview argued that God should come first, and then man, then the humanists put man in the foreground, and then talked about God.

The presence of God in the philosophy of even the most radical thinkers of the Renaissance presupposed at the same time a critical attitude towards the church as a social institution. The humanistic worldview, therefore, also includes anti-clerical (from the Latin anti - against, clericalis - church) views, i.e. views directed against the claims of the church and clergy to dominate society.

The works of Lorenzo Valla, Leonardo Bruni (1374-1444), Poggio Bracciolini (1380-1459), Erasmus of Rotterdam (1469-1536) and others contain statements against the secular power of the popes, exposure of the vices of church ministers and the moral depravity of monasticism. However, this did not prevent many humanists from becoming ministers of the church, and two of them - Tommaso Parentucelli and Enea Silvio Piccolomini - were even erected in the 15th century. to the papal throne.

Until the middle of the 16th century. persecution of humanists by the Catholic Church is an extremely rare occurrence. The champions of the new secular culture were not afraid of the fires of the Inquisition and were known as good Christians. And only the Reformation forced the church to go on the offensive.

Renaissance pantheism

Pantheism- from Greek theos, which means god. These are religious and philosophical teachings that identify God and the world as a whole. Pantheistic tendencies manifested themselves in the heretical mysticism of the Middle Ages. Pantheism is characteristic of the natural philosophy of the Renaissance and the materialist system of Spinoza, who identified the concepts of “God” and “nature”.

Such an attitude towards man marked the emergence of new forms of self-awareness and Renaissance individualism. In the philosophy of revival, the emphasis was placed on ethical issues, the doctrine of the free will of the individual, directed towards goodness and the common good. A kind of rehabilitation of man and his mind took place. It rejected the medieval theological attitude towards man as a sinful vessel doomed to suffering in life. The purpose of earthly existence was declared to be joy and pleasure. The possibility of a harmonious existence of man and the surrounding world was proclaimed. Humanists contributed to the development of the ideal of a perfect, comprehensively developed personality, whose virtues were determined not by nobility by birth, but by deeds, intelligence, talents, and services to society. From the very beginning, Humanism contained natural philosophical tendencies that received special development in the 16th century. The main problem that occupied natural philosophers was the relationship between God and nature. Considering it, they sought to overcome the dualism of medieval thinking and understood the world as an organic connection of matter and spirit. Recognizing the materiality and infinity of the world, they endowed matter with the ability to reproduce itself, and at the same time with life, creating the doctrine of the living cosmos. Thus, in the philosophical systems of the Renaissance, a pantheistic picture of the world was formed. The idea of ​​the universal animation of the universe called into question the existence of the supernatural, otherworldly, since everything miraculous was declared natural, natural, potentially knowable: as soon as it was discovered and explained, it ceased to be miraculous. Such judgments ran counter to church dogma. Medieval scholasticism, which relied on book knowledge and authorities, was opposed by humanism and natural philosophy with rationalism, an experimental method of understanding the world, based on sensory perception and experiment. At the same time, the animation of the cosmos led to the idea of ​​a mysterious connection between man and nature, and to the recognition of occult sciences. Science was understood as natural magic, astronomy was intertwined with astrology, etc. In general, the understanding of nature as an internal master, acting independently, living according to its own laws, meant a break with the established medieval ideas about the creator God and led to the emergence of a new natural religion. At the heart of this ideological revolution was the rise of productivity, material production, science and technology. All this led to the progressive development of Europe.

Renaissance philosophers

* Nikolai Kuzansky(1401 - 1464) - cardinal, the largest German thinker of the 15th century, philosopher, theologian, scientist, mathematician, church and political figure.

He contributed to the development of ideas that paved the way for natural philosophy and pantheistic tendencies of the 16th century. Unlike the Italian humanists of his time, in developing philosophical questions he turned not so much to ethics, but, like the scholastics, to problems of the world order. Understanding God as the creator, “the form of all forms,” the German thinker made extensive use of mathematical analogies and the dialectical doctrine of the coincidence of opposites to illuminate the relationship between God and nature in a new way. The name of Nicholas of Cusa is also associated with important natural philosophical ideas about the movement of the Earth, which did not attract the attention of his contemporaries, but were appreciated later.

The most famous works: treatise “On the squaring of the circle” 1449.

* Leonardo Bruni(1370 or 1374 - 1444), Italian humanist, writer and historian, one of the most famous scientists who graced the century of the Italian Renaissance.

The basis of the scientist’s worldview is faith in the limitless creative possibilities of man and his eternal desire for good. Bruni also preached the idea of ​​comprehensive personal development and condemned asceticism.

* Marsilio Ficino(143 - 1499) Italian humanist, philosopher and astrologer, founder and head of the Florentine Platonic Academy. One of the leading thinkers of the early Renaissance, the most significant representative of Florentine Platonism - a movement associated with renewed interest in the philosophy of Plato and directed against scholasticism, especially against the scholastic teachings of Aristotle.

The most famous works: Treatise “Plato’s Theology on the Immortality of the Soul” 1474.

* Pico della Mirandola(1463 - 1494) Italian thinker, representative of early humanism.

Pico's philosophical anthropology substantiates the dignity and freedom of man as the sovereign creator of his own self. By absorbing everything, a person is capable of becoming anything, he is always the result of his own efforts; preserving the possibility of a new choice, he can never be exhausted by any form of his existing existence in the world.

The most famous works: “900 theses on dialectics, morality, physics, mathematics for public discussion” 1486, “Heptapla, or on seven approaches to the interpretation of the six days of creation” 1489, “Reasoning against divinatory astrology” (published in 1496).

* Lorenzo Valla(1407 - 1457), Italian humanist, founder of historical and philological criticism, representative of the historical school of scholars. He substantiated and defended ideas in the spirit of Epicureanism. He considered natural everything that serves self-preservation and human happiness.

The most famous works: “On the beauties of the Latin language”, treatise “On free will”, “Message to Bartoli on mottos and heraldic signs”, he spoke out against asceticism in two treatises: “On true and false good” 1432, “On the monastic vow ", "On the deeds of Ferdinand, King of Aragon" 1446.

* Manetti(1396-1459) Italian humanist.

* Pietro Pomponazzi(1462 - 1525) Italian scholastic philosopher.

The most famous works: treatise “On the immortality of the soul” (In the question of the immortality of the soul, two aspects should be highlighted: the question of knowledge and the question of morality. Since knowledge, that is, thinking, depends on the body and the soul does not experience anything without the body, then the soul is form of the body, therefore the mind is inseparable from the body, and the soul is material and mortal.)

* Jean Bodin(1529 or 1530 - 1596) French politician, philosopher, economist, jurist, member of the Parliament of Paris and professor of law in Toulouse. Many researchers are considered the founder of the science of politics because of the theory of “state sovereignty” he developed.

The most famous works: “Demonomania of Sorcerers” 1580, “Heptaplomeres” (or “Conversation of Seven Participants”).

* Montaigne(1533 - 1592) famous French writer and philosopher, author of the book “Experiences”. Montaigne's "Experiences" are a series of self-recognitions arising primarily from observations of oneself, together with reflections on the nature of the human spirit in general. According to the writer, every person reflects humanity in himself; he chose himself as one of the representatives of the clan, and studied in the most careful manner all his mental movements. His philosophical position can be described as skepticism, but skepticism of a very special nature.

* Thomas More(1478 - 1535) English thinker and writer. Holy Catholic Church.

The most famous works: “Utopia” 1516.

* Erasmus of Rotterdam(1466 - 1536, Basel) one of the most outstanding humanists, whom, together with Johann Reuchlin, his contemporaries called “the two eyes of Germany.”

Most famous works: "in praise of stupidity"

* Martin Luther(1483 - 1546) Christian theologian, initiator of the Reformation, translator of the Bible into German. One of the directions of Protestantism is named after him.

The most famous works: “Lectures on the Epistle to the Romans” 1516, “On the Jews and Their Lies” 1543, “Large and Small Catechism” 1529.

* Campanella(1568 - 1639) Italian philosopher and writer, one of the first representatives of utopian socialism.

* Giordano Bruno(1548 - 1600) Italian Dominican monk, philosopher and poet, representative of pantheism. He gravitated towards mysticism.

Age of Enlightenment

Age of Enlightenment- one of the key eras in the history of European culture, associated with the development of scientific, philosophical and social thought. This intellectual movement was based on rationalism, freethinking and humanism. Starting in England, this movement spread throughout Europe, including Russia. The French enlighteners were especially influential, becoming “masters of thought.” Enlightenment principles formed the basis of the American Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. The intellectual and philosophical movement of this era had a great influence on subsequent changes in the ethics and social life of Europe and America, the struggle for national independence of the American colonies of European countries, the abolition of slavery, and the formation of human rights. In addition, it shook the authority of the aristocracy and the influence of the church on social, intellectual and cultural life.

Actually, the term enlightenment came into Russian, as well as into English (The Enlightenment) and German (Zeitalter der Aufklärung) from French (siècle des lumières) and primarily refers to the philosophical movement of the 18th century. At the same time, it is not the name of a certain philosophical school, since the views of Enlightenment philosophers often differed significantly from each other and contradicted each other. Therefore, enlightenment is considered not so much a complex of ideas as a certain direction of philosophical thought. The philosophy of the Enlightenment was based on criticism of the traditional institutions, customs and morals that existed at that time..

There is no consensus regarding the dating of this direction. Some historians attribute the beginning of this era to the end of the 17th century, others to the middle of the 18th century. In the 17th century The foundations of rationalism were laid by Descartes in his work “Discourse on Method” (1637). The end of the Enlightenment is often associated with the death of Voltaire (1778) or with the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars (1800-1815). At the same time, there is an opinion about linking the boundaries of the Enlightenment era to two revolutions: the “Glorious Revolution” in England (1688) and the Great French Revolution (1789). General characteristics

There are many contradictions in the views of thinkers of this era. The American historian Henry May identified four phases in the development of philosophy of this period, each of which to some extent denied the previous one.

The first was the moderate or rational Enlightenment phase, associated with the influence of Newton and Locke. It is characterized by religious compromise and the perception of the Universe as an orderly and balanced structure. This phase of the Enlightenment is a natural continuation of the humanism of the 14th-15th centuries as a purely secular cultural movement, characterized, moreover, by individualism and a critical attitude towards traditions. But the Age of Enlightenment is separated from the Age of Humanism by the period of religious reformation and Catholic reaction, when theological and ecclesiastical principles again took precedence in the life of Western Europe. The Enlightenment is a continuation of the traditions not only of humanism, but also of advanced Protestantism and rationalistic sectarianism of the 16th and 17th centuries, from which it inherited the ideas of political freedom and freedom of conscience. Like humanism and Protestantism, the Enlightenment in different countries acquired a local and national character. The transition from the ideas of the Reformation era to the ideas of the Enlightenment era is most conveniently observed in England at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries, when deism developed, which was to a certain extent the completion of the religious evolution of the Reformation era and the beginning of the so-called “natural religion”, which was preached by the enlighteners of the 18th century. V. There was a perception of God as the Great Architect who rested from his labors on the seventh day. He gave people two books - the Bible and the book of nature. Thus, along with the caste of priests, a caste of scientists comes forward.

The parallelism of spiritual and secular culture in France gradually led to the discrediting of the former for hypocrisy and fanaticism. This phase of the Enlightenment is called skeptical and is associated with the names of Voltaire, Holbach and Hume. For them, the only source of our knowledge is the unprejudiced mind. In connection with this term there are others, such as: enlighteners, enlightenment literature, enlightened (or enlightenment) absolutism. The expression “philosophy of the 18th century” is used as a synonym for this phase of the Enlightenment.

The skeptical phase was followed by a revolutionary phase, associated in France with the name of Rousseau, and in America with Paine and Jefferson. Characteristic representatives of the last phase of the Enlightenment, which became widespread in the 19th century, are philosophers such as Thomas Reed and Francis Hutcheson, who returned to moderate views, respect for morality, law and order. This phase is called didactic.

Historical meaning

Pan-European significance in the 18th century. received French educational literature in the person of Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Diderot and other writers. Their common feature is the dominance of rationalism, which directed its criticism in France to issues of a political and social nature, while the German enlighteners of this era were more concerned with resolving religious and moral issues.

The main aspiration of enlightenment was to find, through the activity of the human mind, the natural principles of human life (natural religion, natural law, the natural order of the economic life of the physiocrats, etc.). From the point of view of such reasonable and natural principles, all historically established and actually existing forms and relations (positive religion, positive law, etc.) were criticized. Under the influence of the ideas of enlightenment, reforms were undertaken that were supposed to rebuild the entire social life (enlightened absolutism and the French revolution). At the beginning of the 19th century. Enlightenment provoked a reaction against itself, which, on the one hand, was a return to the old theological worldview, on the other, an appeal to the study of historical activity, which was greatly neglected by the ideologists of the 18th century. Already in the 18th century. Attempts were made to determine the basic nature of education. Of these attempts, the most remarkable belongs to Kant (“Beantwortung der Frage: was ist Aufklärung?”, 1784). Enlightenment is not the replacement of some dogmatic ideas with other dogmatic ideas, but independent thinking. In this sense, Kant contrasted enlightenment with enlightenment and stated that it was simply the freedom to use one's own intellect.

Modern European philosophical and political thought, such as liberalism, largely derives from the Enlightenment. Philosophers of our day consider the main virtues of the Enlightenment to be a strict geometric order of thinking, reductionism and rationalism, contrasting them with emotionality and irrationalism. In this respect, liberalism owes its philosophical basis and critical attitude towards intolerance and prejudice to the Enlightenment. Famous philosophers who hold similar views include Berlin and Habermas.

The ideas of the Enlightenment also underlie political freedoms and democracy as the basic values ​​of modern society, as well as the organization of the state as a self-governing republic, religious tolerance, market mechanisms, capitalism, and the scientific method. Since the Enlightenment, thinkers have insisted on their right to seek the truth, whatever it may be and whatever it may threaten the foundations of society, without being threatened with being punished “for telling the truth.”

After World War II, with the birth of postmodernism, certain features of modern philosophy and science came to be seen as shortcomings: excessive specialization, inattention to tradition, unpredictability and the danger of unintended consequences, and an unrealistic assessment and romanticization of Enlightenment figures. Philosophers such as Michel Foucault object to the demonization of opponents of rationalism. Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno even believe that the Enlightenment indirectly gave rise to totalitarianism. Avram Chomsky sees in the philosophy of the Enlightenment the foundations not only for liberalism, but also for anarchism and socialism. The connection between the Enlightenment and these relatively later movements can be traced in the works of Humboldt, Kropotkin, Bakunin and Marx. The modern American philosopher Ken Wilber actively points out the negative features of the Enlightenment. He talks about the inadmissibility of denying art, consciousness and morality on the grounds that they cannot be discovered by a rational empirical scientific approach.

Introduction

The Renaissance (XV-XVI) centuries is a period of transition from the Middle Ages to the New Age. The search for new life guidelines that correspond to new social conditions, starting in Italy, in its city-states, somewhat similar to the city-states of Ancient Greece, is then transferred to France, Germany, and other countries of northern Europe. The spiritual ferment that has engulfed European countries is stimulated and, in turn, stimulates the processes of destruction of feudal orders, the formation of national states, and church reforms. This is the era of the emergence of new art, the first steps of modern natural science, new political and social concepts, and socialist utopias. And although the Renaissance did not leave behind great philosophical systems, and philosophical creativity unfolded mainly in the form of “modernizing memories,” it substantiated the idea of ​​​​trust in the natural human mind, laid the foundations of a philosophy free from religious and ideological prerequisites.

The revival comes from ancient and medieval ideas, but at the same time the context of their use radically changes. Philosophy sought to understand reality as it is, delving into the structures of the knowable world and finding provisions that explain the foundations of the universe.

The value of an individual person increases, his originality and dissimilarity begin to be emphasized. Interest in natural philosophy is growing, and its revival is taking place on a new basis.І

The purpose of this work is to examine the main ideas of natural philosophy of the Renaissance in the teachings of N. Cusansky and G. Bruno.

To achieve this goal, the following tasks were set:

give a brief description of the Renaissance period and its representatives;

consider the main provisions of the teachings of Nicholas of Cusa;

consider the main provisions of the teachings of Giordano Bruno.

1. Brief summary of the history of Renaissance philosophy

Throughout the Middle Ages, the prevailing idea was that a person’s earthly life has no independent value, that it is only a preparation for the afterlife, carried out under the guidance and guidance of the church. Such a judgment, based on the opposition of the natural and the divine, which corresponded to the mass feeling of life of people of late antiquity and the Middle Ages, was reflected in the famous medieval treatise of Deacon Lothair (later Pope Innocent III) “On the contempt of the world and the insignificance of man.” It was this idea that was undermined by the work of two great poet-thinkers of Italy - Dante and Petrarch, who became the heralds and initiators of humanistic thought - one of the most characteristic phenomena of this era.

In Dante's "Divine Comedy" (1265-1321), which represents the result of the development of medieval culture, a great synthesis of poetry, philosophy, theology, the foundations of a new understanding of life are laid in his articles. Without rejecting the doctrine of creation, using Neoplatonic reasoning schemes, Dante teaches that man has a dual nature - mortal and immortal - that he is the middle link between the corruptible and the incorruptible and therefore has a double purpose, “predestined to two ultimate goals.” One of them is achieved in this earthly life and consists in the manifestation of one’s own virtue, the other is achieved only posthumously and with the assistance of the divine will. Two paths correspond to two goals: the path of “philosophical instructions” and the path of “spiritual instructions that surpass human reason.” The first path is open thanks to natural reason, and man's earthly destiny is fulfilled in civil society, according to the instructions of philosophy, under the leadership of an earthly sovereign. The second way is open “thanks to the Holy Spirit,” it is based on faith in revelation, and the church, headed by the supreme high priest, leads to the goal. Dante teaches about the freedom of human will, the freedom that underlies personal responsibility for one’s actions and determines human dignity. Appealing to natural reason, he follows Thomas Aquinas, before whose authority he sincerely bows, believing, however, that the light of natural reason must be directed not so much to theological as to ethical problems.

During the Renaissance, the transition of Western Europe from feudal orders to a new, capitalist system began. Therefore, economics, trade, politics, navigation, culture are a bizarre interweaving of old and new, dying and emerging. It was at this time that a new type of person began to take shape, primarily at the top of society, who was characterized by the desire to prove himself not in religious zeal, but in activity in earthly affairs. A person is born who dreams of receiving a reward not in eternal life, but already here on Earth. More and more people appear at the top of society who are greedy for wealth, fame, high social status, personal happiness, although they have not yet lost the foundations of the Christian faith, respect for the authority of the church, and respect for scholastic wisdom. It is they who create the direction of culture, called “humanism” and covering all spheres of spiritual life.І

Humanism begins with Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), who in his philosophical treatises “The Feast” and “Monarchy” exalted the earthly purpose of man, his mortal and immortal nature, civil society and the church. Francesca Petrarch (1304-1374) called for a return to oneself and one’s own soul and to discover the charm of Cicero’s humanities. True wisdom is knowledge of the way to achieve it, which lies in the art of being free.№

The humanistic program outlined by Dante and Petrarch was developed and formalized by Salutati (1331-1406), who was a friend of Petrarch and considered himself a continuator of his work. The main thing for Salutati is to raise a new person with humanitas - a property that he interpreted as the ability to perform virtuous actions. According to Salutati, although earthly life is given to people by God, their own task is to build it in accordance with the natural laws of goodness and justice.

The basic idea of ​​humanism about the intrinsic value of earthly life, about the possibility of cultivating the ability to act virtuously, about the role of philosophy in this process developed and deepened in the works of public and church leaders, scholars and thinkers: Bruni (1370-1444), Lorenzo Balla (1407-1457) , Ficino (1433-1499), Pomponazzin (1462-1525), Picodella Mirandola (1463-1494), etc. They followed different paths to a common goal. Justifying the idea of ​​​​freedom and human dignity, Bruni and Pompoiazzi draw on a new - anti-scholastic and anti-Thomist - reading of Aristotle, Lorenzo Balla, as well as later one of the last representatives of the Northern Renaissance Gassendi (1592-1685) - Epicurus, Ficino, founder of the Platonic Academy in Florence , - Plato, and Picodella Miraidol - and Plato, and Aristotle, and Kabbalah (mystical teaching in Judaism). The latter, as well as Hermeticism and Zoroastrianism, which substantiate the possibility of magical influence on nature, also attracted the attention of representatives of humanistic thought. Thus, not only ancient philosophy was revived, but also ancient mysticism.

Humanism manifested itself primarily in art and literature, praising the beauty of man, human love, and the thirst for knowledge. The awakening interest in earthly nature becomes the source of the desire to understand the world as the living environment of people, and this gave impetus to the emergence of accurate knowledge about the universe. Particularly important for this process, which ultimately led to the emergence of modern science, was Work II. Copernicus (1473-1543) “On the revolution of the celestial spheres”, who substantiated the heliocentric picture in which the Sun is at the center of the world, one of whose satellites is the Earth, previously considered the center of the Universe. This system, which revolutionized views on the structure of the world, was developed by the outstanding thinker of the Renaissance D. Bruno (1548-1600).No.

During the Renaissance, the line between science as a comprehension of existence, practical technical activity or art and artistic fantasy was blurred. Man in God’s creation, that is, in natural things, strives to see the law of their construction. This was the discovery of man, the discovery of the constructive and positing power of his inner world, and the conviction in the relativity of human manifestations, abilities and opinions was rooted in the feeling of the absoluteness of man, not reducible to something specific.

The beginning of natural philosophy goes back to Bernardino Telesio (1509-1588), who studied nature in accordance with its own principles, excluding the divine principle from nature. The cause of movement is the “own essence” of nature, not God. For Francesc Patprizi (1529-1597), the origin of all things is “space, light, flow and heat,” and the all-encompassing and all-penetrating light demonstrates the unity of the world and God. God merges with nature, nature is deified. Paracelsus (1493-1541) sees in nature a kind of living whole, permeated with magical powers.

These ideas were developed by Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472), Lorenza Balla (1407-1457), Pica della Mirandola (1463-1494), Michel Montaigne (1533-1592), Erasmus of Rotterdam (1469-1536). Philosophy descends from heaven to earth, questions of morality and philanthropy, heightened interest in one’s own “I” become the main topic of discussion. Thomas More (1478-1535) in his “Utopia” argues against egoistic selfishness and for the ethical ideal of universality. He sees the root of evil in private property. He believes that the ideal social system destroys it. More presents production as idealized medieval manual labor. However, he also has the idea of ​​electing officials, a high appreciation of art, and optimistic morality. The political views of Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) affirmed political realism associated with anthropological pessimism, a new concept of the “virtue” of the sovereign, opposing “fate” and effectively managing the state. Machiavelli's ideal is monarchy in the form of a lifelong, one-man and unlimited dictatorship. The new natural sciences and sciences, prepared by the development of the philosophy of humanism, ensured a person’s well-founded faith in the ability to understand the world and himself. This was reflected in the works of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) and Giordano Bruno (1548-1600), which prepared the scientific revolution XVIII century No.