Anthropocentrism and humanism of Renaissance philosophy. Anthropocentrism and humanism of the Renaissance Humanistic anthropocentrism of Renaissance philosophy
Distinctive features of the Renaissance worldview:
- human orientation (anthropocentrism). If the focus of medieval philosophy was the relationship between God and man, then the philosophy of the Renaissance was addressed to man. Formally, God remained at the center of the universe, but primary attention was paid to man, his nature, independence, beauty, creative abilities, forms of self-affirmation;
orientation towards humanism (from the Latin humanus - “human”), towards the recognition of a person as an individual, his right to creativity, freedom, happiness.
orientation towards art and postulation of the creative essence of man. In the process of creative activity, a person creates a new world and the highest thing that exists in the world - himself according to the laws of beauty. It is no coincidence that it was during this period that the idea of Prometheism appeared in philosophy;
orientation towards a personal-material understanding of the world. Everything that exists is understood in its projection onto a person with maximum regard for the bodily principle (the body is not a “shackle of the soul”, as it was in the Middle Ages; bodily life in itself is valuable in itself). The aesthetics of the Renaissance is characterized by syncretism of the spiritual and personal-material (painting and sculpture depict, first of all, the human face and the human body in harmony with the spiritual);
Chapter 1. The main features of the worldview of the Renaissance man.
1.1. Humanism and anthropocentrism as the main features of the Renaissance.The most important distinguishing feature of the worldview of the Renaissance is its focus on man. If the focus of the philosophy of antiquity was natural-cosmic life, and in the Middle Ages - religious life - the problem of “salvation”, then in the Renaissance, secular life, human activity in this life, on Earth, came to the fore. Philosophy is understood as a science that is obliged to help a person find his place in life.
The philosophical thinking of this period can be characterized as anthropocentric. The central figure is not God, but man. God is the beginning of all things, and man is the center of the whole world. Society is not a product of God's will, but the result of human activity. A person cannot be limited by anything in his activities. The Renaissance is characterized by a new level of human self-awareness: pride and self-affirmation, awareness of one’s own strength and talent, cheerfulness and free-thinking become the distinctive qualities of the progressive person of that time. Therefore, it was the Renaissance that gave the world a number of outstanding individuals with a bright temperament, comprehensive education, who stood out among people for their will, determination, and enormous energy.
The worldview of the Renaissance is clearly expressed humanistic character. Man is interpreted as a free being, the creator of himself and the world around him. Renaissance thinkers believed in God and recognized him as the creator of the world and man. Having created the world and man, God, in their opinion, gave man free will, and now man must act on his own, determine his entire destiny and win his place in the world. In the philosophy of this era, the motives of the sinful essence of man, the “depravity of his nature,” were significantly weakened. The main emphasis is not on God’s help - “grace”, but on man’s own strengths.
Optimism and faith in the limitless possibilities of man are inherent in the philosophy of this era.
1.2. The cult of human creative individualism.
In the Renaissance, any activity - be it the activity of an artist, sculptor, architect, navigator or poet - is perceived differently than in antiquity or the Middle Ages.
The ancient Greeks placed contemplation above activity (the exception was government activity). Contemplation, according to the Greeks, introduced a person to the essence of nature, to what is eternal. In addition, we should not forget that many activities were discredited by slave labor for the Greeks.In the Middle Ages, attitudes towards activity changed somewhat. Christianity views work as a kind of “atonement for sins.” That is, work is no longer a slave occupation. But, nevertheless, the highest form of activity is recognized here as that which leads to the salvation of the soul: prayer, worship, reading sacred books.
During the Renaissance, activity acquired a creative character. With its help, a person not only satisfies his needs, but creates a new world, creates beauty, and finally creates the highest thing - himself. The personality now, as it were, takes over and takes on the creative functions of God: it is able to control both itself and nature. Here the medieval mask falls off and a creative individual of the New Age appears before us, who creates according to his own laws. Such individual creativity in the Renaissance was often also understood as religious, but it is clear that this was no longer medieval religiosity. They now not only say about an artist that he must be an expert in all sciences, but also highlight his work, in which they even try to find a criterion of beauty. The artist gradually separates himself from church ideology. What is now most valued in it is technical mastery, professional independence, scholarship and special skills, a keen artistic view of things and the ability to create a living and already self-sufficient work of art.
In general, the artist in the Renaissance occupies a very high position and is characterized as a free creator of beautiful forms. “...Painting should be placed above any activity, since it contains all forms of both existing and non-existent in nature” - Leonardo Da Vinci.
Admiration for man gives rise to a special aesthetic mood - the cult of beauty. With the great artists - Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael - the worldview of the Renaissance receives its highest expression.
1.3. The problem of personality.
As noted earlier, during the Renaissance the value of the individual person as a unique being increased sharply. Dissimilarity from others has become a necessary sign of a great figure, a famous master artist. However, one cannot help but notice that the quality of uniqueness as such is not oriented towards either good or evil. The criterion of originality does not take into account the moral potential of a person. This is like looking at him from the outside, from the outside.This moral factor was not taken into account, especially since people who absorbed the ideas of the Renaissance did not so much evaluate themselves as they were proud and admired themselves, their, as it seemed to them, unlimited possibilities.
Historians know that the Renaissance became famous for examples of everyday deceit, treachery, murders from around the corner, the struggle of passions and pride. Self-will and licentiousness reached extreme expressions in Renaissance Italy.
The rampant passions and crimes affected many famous and outstanding figures of the Renaissance.
“Humanists constantly competed and fought with each other, their polemics were peppered with insults and accusations,” A. F. Losev conveys the everyday mood of the era.
You can see that there is a certain tragedy of Renaissance existence here. The modern author B. G. Kuznetsov (1979) believes that such an assessment is associated with the experience of historical time, which “suddenly” swallowed up the seemingly unshakable thousand-year era of the Middle Ages. “The past no longer exists, the future does not yet exist, the present is the zero boundary between nothing and nothing.” Having destroyed the static canons of the Middle Ages, “The Renaissance was the apotheosis of local value, value now.”
1.4. Pantheism.
During the Renaissance, philosophy again turned to the study of nature. This is due to the development of production and science.Philosophy in this era is perceived primarily as natural philosophy, the philosophy of nature.
Pantheism is characteristic of the natural philosophy of the Renaissance. (Translated from Greek, this word means “all-God.”) The Christian God loses his extra-natural character; he, as it were, merges with nature. The latter is thereby deified and acquires the features with which it was endowed in antiquity.
The beginning of natural philosophy was laid by Bernardino Telesio (1509-1588). Telesio outlined his philosophical doctrine in his essay “On the Nature of Things According to Its Own Principles” (1565). Here, as it were, an application for a new method is given - to study nature in accordance with its own principles of existence. Formally, Telesio recognizes God as the Creator, but in reality the divine principle is excluded from nature and from the sphere of philosophical analysis. The natural scientist is interested in nature as it is. So, in particular, the cause of movement must be sought in nature itself. Celestial bodies are in motion because they are hot inside, fire is burning in them. But the state of fire is precisely movement. Many natural philosophers of this time saw in nature a kind of living whole, permeated with magical forces. This is what the famous German physician, alchemist and astrologer Paracelsus (1493-1541) believed about nature.
Chapter 2. The main representatives of the Renaissance.
2.1.The most famous figures of the Renaissance.
The works of Renaissance thinkers are permeated with the ideas of anthropocentrism and humanism. Man's place in the world, his freedom, his fate concern such thinkers as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Erasmus of Rotterdam, Machiavelli, Michel de Montaigne and others.Renaissance thinkers were characterized by a reluctance to analyze concepts, carefully distinguishing the smallest shades of categories. They strive to comprehend the very phenomena of nature and society, and not to argue about definitions.
Most of them rely on experience and reason rather than on intuition and revelation. A kind of skepticism is also developing (Michel de Montaigne). On the basis of the rational, the first utopias were created, depicting an ideal state - “Utopia” by Thomas More, “City of the Sun” by Campanella and others.
The main representatives of the Renaissance can be considered Nicholas of Cusa, Francesco Petrarca, Pico della Mirandola, Nicolo Machiavelli and many others.
2.2. Ideas of Nicholas of Kuzansky.
Nicholas of Cusa (1401-1464) is an outstanding philosopher of his time. Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa of the Roman Catholic Church is the founder of Renaissance Platonism.Among his works one can highlight “On Learned Ignorance (1438 – 1440), “On Proposals” (1440-1445), “On the Search for God” (1445).
In his philosophy, he paid special attention to the problems of astronomy, cosmography, mathematics, showed interest in ancient philosophy, turned to the dialogical form of presenting its problems; a high philological culture distinguishes the thinking of Nicholas of Cusa and allows his system to be attributed to the philosophy of the Renaissance.
Nikolai Kuzansky believed that knowledge was given to man by God. Since knowledge comes from God, and God is unknowable, that is, the limit of knowledge is God. Our human knowledge is finite, but God is infinite, therefore finite knowledge tries to understand infinity and the infinite God. Is such knowledge possible? Nikolai Kuzansky says that man has the idea of God. The infinite God can be thought of by finite man as a limit. God is the limit to which we can know, beyond this limit there is no knowledge, but there is faith, there is awareness of God. Since God is truth, truth is not cognized, but realized by man. It turns out that the path of human knowledge leads to “scientific ignorance”, to the denial of the possibility of comprehending the ultimate divine truths.
The central point of the philosophy of Nicholas of Cusa is the doctrine of the coincidence of opposites - the absolute maximum and the absolute minimum. The absolute maximum is unique, because it is everything, everything is in it, because it is the highest limit. Since nothing opposes it, the minimum coincides with it at the same time, and the maximum is thereby found in everything. And since it is absolute, it actually influences everything possible, without experiencing any limitation itself, but limits everything. This absolute maximum, according to Cusanus, is God.
Since God manifests itself in every smallest thing, process, he is the “minimum” of the Universe. Man, too (as God’s creation) is a “small world” that includes the “big world”. And a person is always unique, individual, personally unique, which is why he is valuable. Man, like the world, is a movement of opposites; man and the world are constantly developing, in motion. The individual has endless prospects for development and self-development. The human microcosm reflects the entire macrocosm, the entire Universe. Then the main thing in a person’s life is activity. The contemplative life becomes impossible, for man is an active being.
The identification of the unified with the boundless absolute maximum carried out by Nikolai Kuzansky destroys the picture of the Cosmos on which the ancient and medieval worldview was based. Ancient and medieval cosmology proceeded from the recognition of the center of the world and thereby its finitude. According to the views of Nicholas of Cusa, the center and circumference of the Cosmos is God, therefore the world is not infinite, but it cannot be thought of as finite, since it has no limits within which it would be closed. Thus, the idea is introduced that the world does not have a stable center, as the Earth was considered to be in medieval cosmology. Thus, Nikolai Kuzansky prepared the Copernican revolution in astronomy, which eliminated the geocentric system of the structure of the world.
2.3. Francesco Petrarch is the first humanist of the Renaissance.
Another outstanding representative of the Renaissance was Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374) - an outstanding poet, creator of the famous “Book of Songs.” Petrarch’s main philosophical works are as follows: “My Secret” (1342-1343), treatises “On the Solitary Life” (1346), “On monastic leisure" (1347), "Invective against the doctor" (1352-1353), "Senile letters" (1361), "Book of everyday affairs" (1366).
He is unanimously considered the first humanist. Already in the first decades of the 15th century this was obvious to everyone, and Leonardo Bruni wrote: “Francesco Petrarch was the first on whom grace descended, and he recognized and realized and brought to light the grace of the ancient style, lost and forgotten.”
Petrarch carefully analyzed the “depravity” and “godlessness” of his time and tried to determine their causes in order to correct them. The philosopher believed that:
1) in order not to become scattered in a superficial acquaintance with nature, it is necessary to return to oneself and to one’s own soul;
2) in order not to be scattered in empty dialectical exercises, we need to rediscover the charm of Cicero’s humanities.
Petrarch’s impeccably outlined program and his own method of “philosophizing” are as follows: true wisdom is knowledge of the path (method) of achieving this wisdom, which lies in the art of being free.
Petrarch insists on the fact that “dialectics leads to godlessness, and not to knowledge. The meaning of life is revealed not to the one who piles up syllogisms, but to the one who has mastered the art of being free. Dialectics, wisely applied, is not a goal, but an instrument of the spiritual education.Philosophy is, first of all, the science of man, his nature, life and death, and the ways of development of human society. Petrarch sees the origins of this philosophy in Plato’s dialogues.
The path of philosophy lies through knowledge about man to knowledge about the world. Knowledge, of course, has its source from God, knowledge comes from God, but the sources of wisdom are not only in Christian or biblical books, they are also in ancient (pagan) knowledge and in the works of Muslim scientists. Petrarch affirmed the value of human culture, human knowledge that can change the world for the better. The main thing in a person is his virtue, the active manifestation of good principles. True nobility is not in origin, but in a virtuous soul, in a person’s desire for knowledge of “conversations with the ancients,” in creative activity, and in the Christian faith.
Petrarch raised the dignity of the word, which is the most important for humanists, and this can be shown by his following reasoning: “Well, Socrates, who saw a beautiful teenager in silence, said: “Speak so that I can see you. Through the word, the human face becomes beautiful.”
2.4. Pico della Mirandola.
Also among the famous philosophers of the Renaissance, it is worth highlighting Pico della Mirandola (1463 - 1494).Pico was a deeply educated aristocrat who knew ancient languages, oriental languages and philosophy. He studied in Italy and France and was influenced by Platonism in his work. In 1486, Pico published “900 Theses for Defense at the Disputation in Rome,” which opened with the work “Speech on the Dignity of Man.” The most famous are his treatises “Heptapl” (interpretation of the seven days of creation) (1489), “On the Existing and the One” (1492), “Discourse against Astrology” (1494).Pico della Mirandola laid the foundation for a new understanding of philosophy and man's place in the world. Pico interpreted the well-known Christian thesis about the creation of man by God in his own image and likeness in the light of the ideas of ancient philosophy. Man is the center of the Universe, therefore man is superior to all mortal beings and can create his own nature. Man is free, his freedom is not limited by the intervention of God. God, having created other creatures, limited them to strict laws, which they certainly obey. Not so with a person. God created man free and allows him to create his own image. Man has free will, which is limited only by the “world order”. If a person violates the “world order”, he loses his high dignity. Of course, the will of God is higher than the will of man, but God does not suppress man, his creative potential, and provides him with freedom of action and thought within the framework of the laws of nature and society, i.e., the “world order.”
Pico highly valued philosophy as a path to “natural” happiness. When a person knows his nature, his activities, the laws of the world, the paths to truth and good, he is “naturally happy.” There is also “supernatural happiness” (highest happiness), which is given to a person through faith. All types of happiness are available to a person. First, through ethics - the science of good and evil, he is cleansed of his vices, then he improves his mind with philosophy and, finally, through theology he cognizes the divine. It is important that philosophy improves the mind and allows one to achieve and preserve human dignity and goodness. Without philosophy there is no person, Pico believed, therefore every person should engage in it. The study of philosophy ensures a person's arrival at virtue and eliminates vices.
Human knowledge of God and the world. Pico saw the basis of human dignity in the ability to create and understand the laws of the “world order.” However, the highest laws are available through faith, through the highest revelation. The laws of the world are understandable through reason. It is especially important to know not only Christian wisdom and ancient philosophy, but also Eastern wisdom set forth in Arabic books, the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus, as well as Kabbalah. The fact is that knowledge of God is associated not only with rational activity, but also with mystical and magical activity. Knowing the Hebrew language, Pico tried to combine the methods of Kabbalah (magical), the methods of Aristotelian logic and the methods of Platonic philosophy - dialectics - to understand God. In general, according to Pico, we will obtain holistic knowledge that will allow us to penetrate into the laws of nature and understand the divine essence.
2.5. Ideas of Nicolo Machiavelli.
Also, the ideas of Niccolo Machiavelli(1469-1527) - a famous political philosopher in Europe. His works are still relevant today. In his main works: “The Prince” (1503-1515), “History of Florence” (1520-1525), “Discourse on the first decade of Titus Livy” (1513-1519), Machiavelli substantiated the main principles of studying the laws of society, especially the political sphere.The philosophy of history is complemented by Machiavelli with the philosophy of man, the formation of new methods and principles for studying the foundations of government. In his work “The Prince,” Machiavelli expressed new ideas about the state and politics, widely drawing on the works of ancient historians, philosophers and contemporary political experience.
The state has a person as its material, and an ordinary person has a number of qualities that a sensible manager should rely on. These qualities, unfortunately, are negative: greed, vindictiveness, variability, etc.
“After all, one can say about people that they are ungrateful, fickle, cowardly in the face of danger, greedy for profit,” writes Machiavelli. This “man of the crowd” determines the existence of the state. The support of power is force, another support is the skillfully created “cult of personality” of the sovereign, the third support is a strong bureaucratic apparatus, etc. But in any case, the state must be built taking into account real facts and phenomena. The main fact is that the more power a sovereign has, the greater the threat of losing it. An absolute ruler can easily be replaced by another of the same kind. Another fact is that a political compromise that suits everyone is impossible because people's interests are too different. This means that power is always threatened by those whose interests are most affected. Religion and morality, according to Machiavelli, are only instruments of politics. But the state cannot live according to the rules of religion or morality.
Political life and political decisions should be made only on the basis of an analysis of the political facts themselves. Machiavelli does not deny either religion or morality. It’s just that politics has its own laws, the sovereign is not a private person, and what is unacceptable in personal life, in the family (lies, violence, cruelty, treachery) is quite acceptable in politics.
Machiavelli was able to say directly that the monarch could find himself in such conditions that he would have to use extremely cruel and inhumane methods. Extreme evil requires extreme measures, therefore one should avoid compromises that will serve nothing and, on the contrary, are only extremely harmful.
According to Machiavelli, man in himself is neither good nor bad, but rather tends to be bad. Therefore, a politician cannot rely on the positive in a person, but must accept the preponderance of the negative and act accordingly. Therefore, you should not be afraid of appearing intimidating, you should take the necessary measures to keep them at bay. Of course, the ideal sovereign must be both adored and feared at the same time. But these two things are difficult to combine, and therefore the sovereign chooses the most effective way to govern the state.
Conclusion.
In conclusion, we can say that the Renaissance was directly related to antiquity, which is proven by the translation of its name. It was at this time that people began to turn to the works of such famous ancient philosophers as Plato, Aristotle, etc. The Renaissance was characterized by many significant changes in the mentality of people compared to the Middle Ages. Secular motives in European culture intensified, art, philosophy, literature, education, and science became more independent and independent from the church. The focus of the Renaissance figures was on man, as a result of which people who studied anthropocentrism began to be called humanists, and the general movement was called humanistic.The life of the people of the Renaissance was closely connected with art, and the attention of artists was drawn to the real world.
People stopped depending on natural factors and no longer attached great importance to class levels, which made it possible to place emphasis on individual talents and abilities.
List of used literature:
V.P. Kokhanovsky, V.P. Yakovlev - “History of Philosophy” textbook for universities - ed. "Phoenix", Rostov-on-Don, 1999;Yu.I. Romanov, Yu. A. Sandulov - “A Brief History of Philosophical Thought” - ed. second, stereotypical "Fallow deer" St. Petersburg, 2003;
D. Reale, D. Antiseri - “Western philosophy from its origins to the present day”, part 2 - ed. St. Petersburg, 1994;
A.F. Losev - “General characteristics of Renaissance aesthetics” - M., 1999;
A.N. Markov - “Culturology” - third edition, ed. "Unity", 2001;
N.F. Buchilo, A.N. Chumakov - “Philosophy” - second edition, ed. "PER SE", 2001
A.A. Radugin - “Philosophy. Course of lectures" - ed. "Center" Moscow, 2004
Humanism and anthropocentrism are the essence of the Renaissance. It includes sociological and philosophical teachings during the formation of early bourgeois society (mainly in Italy) of the 14th-17th centuries. During this era, scholasticism remained the official philosophy, but the emergence of a culture of humanism and significant achievements in natural science contributed to the fact that philosophy ceased to be just a handmaiden of theology. The prospect of its development acquired an anti-scholastic orientation. It manifested itself primarily in ethics - the revival of the ethical teachings of Epicurism (Balla) and Stoicism (Petrarch), which were directed against Christian morality, began.
The role of natural philosophical concepts in the philosophy of the Renaissance
In the philosophy of the Renaissance, the greatest role was played by natural philosophical concepts (Paracelsus, Cordano, Bruno), which testified to the collapse of the old scholastic methods of knowledge of nature. The most important results of this natural science direction were:
- various methods of experimental and mathematical study of nature;
- the opposite to theological deterministic interpretation of reality;
- the formulation of scientific laws of nature, free from anthropomorphic elements (that is, from endowing human qualities with subjects with whom a person comes into contact).
What is characteristic of the natural philosophical movement?
The natural philosophical direction is characterized by a metaphysical understanding of indivisible natural elements as absolutely inanimate, without quality. It is also characterized by the absence of a historical approach to the study of nature and therefore deistic inconsistency, which preserves the separate position of God in the infinite world. Deism presupposes its existence as an impersonal cause of being, which does not participate in the further development of the world.
Anthropocentrism and humanism
The socio-economic changes of that time were reflected in various sociological concepts. In them, society was understood as the sum of isolated individuals. During the Renaissance, anthropocentric, humanistic motives came to the fore in the fight against the theocracy of the Middle Ages. Anthropocentrism is the idea that man is the center of the universe, as well as the goal of all events taking place in the world. Associated with this concept is the concept of humanism. Reflected anthropocentrism emanating from human consciousness is humanism. Its object is the value of a person. Knowledge of his mind and creative abilities, the desire for happiness on earth is replaced by contempt for earthly nature. Humanism begins when a person thinks about himself, about what role is assigned to him in the world, about his purpose and essence, about the purpose and meaning of his existence. All these arguments always have specific social and historical prerequisites.
What interests does anthropocentrism express?
In its essence, the anthropocentrism of the Renaissance always expresses certain class and social interests. The humanism of the Renaissance was manifested in revolutionary ideas aimed at the earthly, inner “divinity” of man, as well as in attracting man to life activity, in affirming his faith in himself. Humanism in the narrow sense of the word is an ideological movement, the essence of which is the study and dissemination of culture, art, literature and ancient languages. Therefore, Italian anthropocentrism of the Renaissance is often characterized as philological, literary.
Human and nature
During the Renaissance, there was an appeal to the harmonization of relations between nature and man. In the works of thinkers of this time, the theme of man is closely intertwined with the theme of nature. The latter is seen as something spiritual and living. Nature is not just the result of God's providence, but also something with self-sufficiency and creativity. Its laws are equivalent to divine institutions.
The anthropocentrism of Renaissance philosophy thus also changes man's relationship to nature. A person discovers its splendor and beauty, begins to view it as a source of pleasure, joy, as opposed to medieval gloomy asceticism. Nature also begins to be seen as a refuge that counters the wicked and corrupted human civilization. The thinker Jean-Jacques Rousseau (his portrait is presented below) directly said that the source of all our disasters is the transition from the natural, natural principle of man to the social. The anthropocentrism of Renaissance philosophy views man as an organic part of nature. He is a being operating according to natural laws. A person, comprehending the rationality of reality, learns the meaning and purpose of his own life.
Harmony in the world
Nature, according to the ideas of Renaissance thinkers, produces all forms of things itself. Harmony is the most ideal of them and corresponds to the essence of beauty. The world, according to their ideas, is filled with harmony. It manifests itself in everything: in the alternation of day and night, in the combination of colors of fields and forests that change depending on the time of year, in the presence of different species of birds and animals that complement each other. However, if the world created by the Creator is harmonious, then that means that the person who is part of it must also be so. We are talking here not only about the harmony of body and soul, but also about the harmony of the soul itself, which also obeys the universal laws established by nature. This is an important idea that Renaissance anthropocentrism puts forward. In the works of various Renaissance thinkers, it is worth noting that the concept of harmony is not just an element of aesthetic theory, but a principle of organizing education and social life.
About human nature
Under the influence of the capitalist relations that were emerging at that time, a new culture called humanism, and scientific knowledge, the philosophical anthropology of this era was formed. If medieval religious philosophy solved the problem of man in a mystical way, then anthropocentrism offers completely different ideas. The Renaissance brings man to an earthly basis and tries to solve his problems on this basis. Philosophers of this time, in contrast to the teaching that people are inherently sinful, affirm their natural desire for harmony, happiness and goodness. Humanism and anthropocentrism are concepts that are organically inherent in the Renaissance. God is not completely denied in the philosophy of this period. However, despite pantheism, thinkers place the emphasis on man. The philosophy of anthropocentrism is imbued with the pathos of human autonomy, humanism, and faith in the limitless possibilities of people.
It will not be wrong to say that the philosophical thought of the Renaissance created the preconditions for the emergence of European philosophy of the 17th century, and also gave a powerful impetus to the development of natural science knowledge. Thanks to her, a number of brilliant discoveries appeared, made already in modern times.
Return to the traditions of antiquity
In the formation of the philosophy of nature (natural philosophy) in a new form, as not theological, not religious, but secular understanding of the very essence of the existence of nature and the laws existing in it, a return to the traditions of antiquity was expressed. The view of philosophy in its traditional understanding as the “science of sciences” was still preserved.
Interpretation of the laws of existence of the world and nature
In understanding and interpreting the laws of existence of the world and nature, the natural philosophy of the Renaissance relies on the geographical and natural scientific discoveries of that period. Natural scientific theories and discoveries of Leonardo da Vinci, Nicolaus Copernicus (his portrait is presented below), G. Bruno in the field of the movement of celestial bodies and astronomy played a special role. The rationalistic and at the same time demonstrative understanding of the laws of being as a universal Unity, as opposed to the scholastic one, is strengthening.
Nicholas of Cusa, for example, puts forward the idea that not only God is infinite, but also the Universe and nature, since he is invisibly present in them. Therefore, God is an infinite maximum, and nature is also a maximum, albeit limited. Since it consists of finite quantities, individual objects, there is no gap between finitude and infinity, these are simply different sides of the same essence of the world. The dialectic of the finite and the infinite is inherent in nature - the infinite consists of everything finite, and the latter passes into the infinite.
Reasoning this way, one can involuntarily draw a conclusion about the eternity of nature, as well as the infinity of individual things. Not only is God eternal, but so is nature. Cusansky, adhering to the point of view of the creation of the world by God, who is perfect, argues that nature is also such, since the Creator does not create imperfect things.
More about man and nature
In the idea of man as a perfect and beautiful individuality, which is expressed by the humanism and anthropocentrism of the Renaissance, attention is focused on the fact that man by nature is not only a perfect being, but also a rational being, which determines his perfection. This is not a vicious or sinful creature. The principle of anthropocentrism assumes that people, as natural beings, are equal to each other, each is a perfect and harmonious individual.
Many Renaissance thinkers, as you can see, touched on the concept of the harmony of nature and the harmony of man, but not everyone saw their unity. However, at this time, some points of view were also put forward, which can be considered as the idea of \u200b\u200bthe harmony of man and nature. For example, Bruno (his portrait is presented below), adhering to the principle of pantheism, understands nature as God in things.
Therefore, if God is present everywhere and in everything, then we can also assume that he is not present anywhere. And if the world is a series of creatures from lower to higher, then man is one with the world of nature. The spiritual and the physical are directly connected. There is unity between them and there is no gap. Consequently, human life is carried out according to the laws of nature. Harmony here rather appears not as the interaction of nature and man, but as a correlation between the part and the whole.
Scientists who studied the Renaissance saw the expression of changes in culture, first of all, in clearly manifested anthropocentrism. In the Middle Ages, as is known, the theological view was dominant, according to which man is in principle flawed, totally and initially sinful, incompetent from birth to death, for he is led in life by God's providence, fate, and is haunted by the machinations of the devil. It was believed that man was not intended for this life, but for the salvation of the soul. Then the ideal person is an ascetic, a monk, a saint, who has renounced earthly vanity, earthly joys, and pleasures. After all, true life and the real life of the soul are beyond the boundaries of earthly bodily existence.
The humanists of the Renaissance strengthened a different idea of man. They emphasized that man, created by God, is his best creation. Man is therefore divine and a free being, unlike plants and animals. One of the Italian humanists, G. Pico della Mirandola, argued that man was placed by God at the center of the world. God gave him no specific place, no image, no duties. And a person must create a place and responsibility for himself according to his own decision. And a person's real happiness lies in becoming what he wants to be.
Theologians of the Middle Ages argued that earthly life is a vale of weeping and lamentation, an expression of the futility of human efforts and worries, that man is just a wanderer on the road of life, on the way to the only valuable eternal blissful life. Humanists of the Renaissance began to consider earthly life as an incomparable value, as the only given opportunity to express, realize oneself, one’s originality, uniqueness; as a life in which a person can do something that will immortalize him. The Renaissance affirms the importance of a person's personal merits and highly values fame as a consequence of these merits.
Human physicality also began to be highly valued (again, after antiquity): the physical health of both men and women. The human mind is truly declared to be divine. It was also given to man by God. Feelings and passions began to seem divine. Humanists believed that a person should not be ashamed of natural feelings and aspirations. Moreover, he can be proud of himself. Renaissance culture began to become intimate. It becomes commonplace to keep diaries, personal notes, write letters, biographies, express oneself in love lyrics, humorous short stories.
During this period, the idea appears that knowledge and science are capable of creating miracles, changing life, its structure, and managing its processes. Along with knowledge, the expression of a person’s ability to self-sacrifice and improve the world, art, creativity, and mastery began to be considered. It was the Renaissance that gave birth to the idea of human progress, including the human spirit. Therefore, the meaning of humanism was revealed not in the love of humanity of the Christian sense, but in a broadly interpreted anthropocentrism, when everything human suddenly became highly valued. The values created by people began to be considered as the highest.
In addition to such anthropocentrism and along with it, the Renaissance was characterized by an interest in ancient civilization and culture, an orientation towards antiquity. It was in antiquity that they found an already developed apology for rationality, a secular worldview, and much more. etc. But the Renaissance was not, of course, in any sense a return to antiquity. The use of forms and elements of ancient culture, its various achievements, created opportunities for expression for the meaningful turning point that took place in European culture, prepared by the Middle Ages.
The main features of Renaissance philosophy are anthropocentrism and humanism. Since the 15th century The Renaissance, a transitional era in the history of Western Europe, begins, which created its own brilliant culture. In the field of economics, feudal relations are disintegrating and the rudiments of capitalist production are developing; The richest city-republics in Italy are developing. Major discoveries follow one after another: the first printed books; firearms; Columbus discovers America; Vasco da Gama, having circumnavigated Africa, found a sea route to India; Magellan, with his trip around the world, proves the sphericity of the Earth; geography and cartography emerge as scientific disciplines; symbolic notation is introduced in mathematics; scientific anatomy and the basics of physiology appear; “iatrochemistry” arises, or medicinal chemistry, striving for knowledge of chemical phenomena in the human body and for the study of drugs; Astronomy is achieving great success.
But most importantly, the dictatorship of the church was broken. This was precisely the most important condition for the flourishing of culture during the Renaissance.
Secular interests, the full-blooded earthly life of a person were opposed to feudal asceticism, the “otherworldly” ghostly world. Petrarch, who tirelessly collected ancient manuscripts, calls for “healing the bloody wounds” of his native Italy, trampled under the boots of foreign soldiers and torn by the enmity of feudal tyrants. Boccaccio in his “Decameron” ridicules the depraved clergy and the parasitizing nobility, glorifying the inquisitive mind, the desire for pleasure and the seething energy of the townspeople. The satire “In Praise of Folly” by Erasmus of Rotterdam, the novel “Gargantua and Pantagruel” by Rabelais, the witty, full of mockery and ridicule “Letters of Dark People” by Ulrich von Hutten express humanism and the unacceptability of the old medieval ideology.
The remarkable Italian painters, sculptors and architects Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti had a huge influence on the development of the ideas of humanism. Leonardo da Vinci dedicates his creations - works of painting, sculpture and architecture, works on mathematics, biology, geology, anatomy to man and his greatness. As the author of The Last Supper, La Gioconda and a number of other world-famous masterpieces, he had a powerful influence on the humanistic principles of Renaissance aesthetics.
The entire culture of the Renaissance, its philosophy, is filled with recognition of the value of man as an individual, his right to free development and manifestation of his abilities. A new criterion for assessing social relations is being approved - human. At the first stage, Renaissance humanism acted as secular free-thinking, opposed to medieval scholasticism and the spiritual domination of the church.
A new culture and philosophy appeared in Italy. Subsequently, the Renaissance also spread to a number of European countries: France, Germany, etc. It was the role that ancient culture played in the formation of the culture of a new era that determined the name of this era itself, as the Renaissance, or Renaissance.
What are the main features of Renaissance philosophy? Firstly, this is the denial of “book wisdom” and scholastic word debates based on the study of nature itself, secondly, the use, first of all, of the materialistic works of ancient philosophers - Democritus, Epicurus; thirdly, close connection with natural science; fourthly, the study of the human problem. Transformation of philosophy into anthropocentric in its orientation. Researchers distinguish two periods in the development of Renaissance philosophy: 1. Restoration and adaptation of ancient philosophy to the requirements of modern times - the 15th century. 2. The emergence of its own unique philosophy, the main trend of which was natural philosophy - XVI century.
The philosophical views of the Italian humanist Lorenzo Valla (1407-1457) are noteworthy. He created an ethical doctrine, one of the sources of which was the ethics of Epicurus. The basis of all Lorenzo Valla's thoughts on ethical topics is the idea of the desire of all living things for self-preservation and the elimination of suffering. Life is the highest value. and therefore the entire process of life should be a desire for pleasure and good, as a feeling of joy.
Valla refuses to consider man in the spirit of the Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition, according to which man was considered to participate in God through the dual character of the soul as unreasonable and rational, mortal and immortal. Valla believes that the soul is something unified, although he singles out its functions such as memory, reason, and will. All the faculties of the soul are recognized in the senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. Valla is a sensualist: he considers sensations the only source of knowledge of the world and moral activity.
Sensations are of fundamental importance in his ethical teaching. He tries to comprehend such feelings as gratitude, affection for a person, pleasure, anger, greed, fear, vindictiveness, cruelty, etc. Pleasure is defined by Valla as “a good that is strived for everywhere and which consists in the pleasure of soul and body,” and It is pleasure that is declared to be the “highest good.”
Lorenzo Valla emphasizes the difference between how he understands the highest good and what Augustine understands by the highest good. For Augustine, the highest good is bliss associated with the knowledge of the highest absolute truths and God himself. For Valla, the highest good is any pleasure received by a person in his life, if it is his life goal. In Valla’s works we come across such concepts as “personal benefit”, “personal interest”. It is on them that relationships between people in society are built.
He contrasts ascetic virtues with secular virtues: virtue is not only in enduring poverty, but also in using wealth wisely; not only in abstinence, but also in marriage; not only in obedience, but also in ruling wisely. The attempt to derive morality from human nature was very important for the ideology of humanism. Researchers believe that in the development of ethical problems Lorenzo Valla occupies a place between Epicurus and Gassendi.
M. Montaigne is called “the last humanist.” If we list the titles of the chapters of his book “Experiments”, we will understand that Montaigne writes something like a “textbook of life”: “The hour of negotiations is a dangerous hour.” “On the punishment for cowardice”, “The benefit of one is the detriment of another”, “On moderation”, “On the laws against luxury”, *On the frugality of the ancients”, “On age”, “The same thing can be achieved by different means”, “ About parental love”, “On glory”. “On cruelty”, “On conceit”, “On three types of communication”, etc. Initially, “Experiences” were conceived as a presentation of instructive things he extracted from the moral and philosophical works of antiquity (Plutarch, Seneca) examples, anecdotes, aphorisms... However, he soon felt that they needed comments, and quite thorough ones, based on personal experience.
Throughout his life, Montaigne corrected and supplemented the Essays, so they contain different points of view of the author, a certain inconsistency that Montaigne sought to eliminate. He was looking for the truth.
He opposed the theocentric concept, which comes from Thomas Aquinas: God is an absolute being, and man, as his creation, is an exceptional being, who is given, using the means of reason, to endlessly approach this being, to penetrate into the “first cause,” into the very essence of things ... Montaigne does not agree with such anthropocentrism; his anthropocentrism is different: he proposes to consider a person “taken by himself, without any other help, armed only with his human means and deprived of divine grace and knowledge, which in fact constitute all his glory, his strength, the basis of his being...”.
One of the first social philosophers of the Renaissance to reject the theocratic concept of the state, according to which the state depends on the church as the supposedly supreme power on Earth, was Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527). He is responsible for the rationale for the need for a secular state: he argued that the motivation for people’s activities is selfishness and material interest. People, Machiavelli declared, would rather forget the death of a father than the deprivation of property. It is precisely because of the original evil of human nature, the desire to get rich by any means, that there is a need to curb these human instincts with the help of a special force, which is the state. In his works “Discourses on the first decade of Titus Livy”, “The Prince”, the Florentine philosopher comes to the conviction that it is the law, the legal worldview of people, which can only be educated by the state, and not the church, that will create the necessary order in society.
Machiavelli states that the church shook the foundations of state power, trying to unite spiritual and secular power in its hands, and weakened the desire in people to serve the state.
Machiavelli comes to the conclusion that all means are permitted to achieve political goals, and although the sovereign must be guided by generally accepted norms of morality in behavior, he may not take them into account in politics if this will help strengthen state power. A prince who has embarked on the path of creating a strong state must be guided by the “carrot and stick” policy, combining the qualities of a lion and a fox. Bribery, murder, poisoning, treachery - all this is permitted in a policy aimed at strengthening state power.
The social and philosophical thought of the Renaissance was also associated with the names of Thomas Münzer (1490-1525), a German revolutionary, leader of the peasant masses in the Reformation and the Peasant War of 1524-1526. in Germany; English humanist Thomas More (1478-1535) - author of the book “Utopia”, which made him the first representative of utopian socialism; Italian philosopher Tommaso Campanella (1568-1639), who wrote the famous essay “The City of the Sun”.
Since the 15th century A transitional era in the history of Western Europe begins - the Renaissance, which created its own brilliant culture. The most important condition for the flourishing of culture during the Renaissance was the destruction of the dictatorship of the church.
Anthropocentrism- the doctrine according to which man is the center of the Universe and the goal of all events occurring in the world.
Humanism – a type of anthropocentrism, a view that recognizes the value of man as an individual, his right to freedom and happiness.
Secular interests, a full-blooded earthly life of a person were opposed to feudal asceticism:
– Petrarch, who collected ancient manuscripts, calls to “heal the bloody wounds” of his native Italy, trampled under the boots of foreign soldiers and torn by the enmity of feudal tyrants;
– Boccaccio in his “Decameron” he ridicules the depraved clergy, the parasitic nobility and glorifies the inquisitive mind, the desire for pleasure and the seething energy of the townspeople;
– Erasmus of Rotterdam in the satire “In Praise of Stupidity” and Rabelais in the novel "Gargantua and Pantagruel" they express humanism and the unacceptability of the old medieval ideology.
The following also had a huge influence on the development of humanist ideas: Leonardo da Vinci(his works of painting, sculpture and architecture, works on mathematics, biology, geology, anatomy are dedicated to man and his greatness); Michelangelo Buonarroti(in his painting “The Lamentation of Christ”, in the painting of the vault of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, in the statue “David” the physical and spiritual beauty of man, his limitless creative possibilities are affirmed).
The philosophy of the Renaissance is filled with recognition of the value of man as an individual, his right to free development and manifestation of his abilities.
Stages of development humanism:
– secular freethinking, which opposes medieval scholasticism and the spiritual domination of the church;
– value-moral emphasis of philosophy and literature.
A new culture and philosophy appeared in Italy, then covering a number of European countries: France, Germany, etc.
The main features of Renaissance philosophy:
– denial of “book wisdom” and scholastic word debates based on the study of nature itself;
– use of materialistic works of ancient philosophers (Democritus, Epicurus);
– close connection with natural science;
– study of the problem of man, the transformation of philosophy into anthropocentric in its orientation.
Niccolo Machiavelli(1469–1527) - one of the first social philosophers of the Renaissance to reject the theocratic concept of the state.
He substantiated the need for a secular state, proving that the motivation for people's activities is selfishness and material interest. The evil of human nature, the desire to get rich by any means reveal the need to curb human instincts with the help of a special force - the state.
The necessary order in society is created legal worldview people who cannot be educated by the church, but only by the state, this is the main idea of Niccolo Machiavelli.
Questions that Machiavelli considers:
- “Which is better: to inspire love or fear?”
- “How should sovereigns keep their word?”
- “How to avoid hatred and contempt?”
- “What should a sovereign do to be revered?”
- “How to avoid flatterers?” and etc.