Hugo Grotius
Political-legal ideas of the Renaissance
Giordano Bruno
Natural-philosophical period
Lorenzo Valla
(1407-1457),
(“On the pleasure”)
He was a philosopher, reviving (возрождающий) Epicurean philosophy.
George Gemistus Plethon(1355–1452) – an orthodox priest from Constantinople.
He prefers the emanation vision of the world instead of creationism.
Pico della Mirandola(1463-1494). (“900 theses”).
The world has three levels: the angelic, celestial (небесный) and elemental. These worlds are eternal, because God is eternal.
Man is the fourth world, he is absolutely free and can therefore put himself at every level of this world.
Nature has a causal structure that can be described by the language of mathematics.
Younger contemporary (современник) of humanists was Nicholas of Cusa(Nicolaus Krebs) (1401–1464) – “On Learned Ignorance”
He is trying to return to the spirit of the early church fathers (Origen). We can not say anything on God, so we can not know the truth. This is our ignorance.
Man is a microcosm.
Nicholas of Cusa is a pantheist, and in a question on interaction of faith and reason he accepts a position of “two truths”.
Leonardo da Vinci(1452-1519)
One of founders of applied (опытного) natural sciences.
Nature is a creative active beginning, God is the Supreme artist. Anticipating (предвосхищая) Copernicus asserted (утверждал) that the Earth isn’t the Universe center.
Nicolaus Copernicus(1473-1543)
The author of a heliocentric systemof the world. He entered a self-movement principle.
(1548-1600)
The central category of his philosophy is Integrity(Единое)
Integrity is being which is the reason of itself. The Universe is infinite and motionless, it isn't created by God. But within Universe all is incurred (подвержено) to development, change and destruction
He used Neoplatonic terms: “single”, “mind”, “soul”, “matter”
The conception of plurality of the worlds.
God and the world are identical essences.
Because God is infinite, so far the world is infinite.
God is the maximum and minimum, so He exists at each point of the world.
Galileo Galilei
(1564-1642)
Has laid the foundation for classical mechanics, has formulated a principle of a relativity of movement, has offered the idea of energy, the law of free falling of bodies. At the heart of the nature is the unity of material substances existing under the laws of mechanics.
Human nature, customs of the people and the history are put forward
(1583-1645)
The main work «On the Law of War and Peace: Three books». State is result of the agreement. Republic is most ancient and the optimum form of a governmental system
Niccolo Machiavelli(1469-1527).
(“The Prince”). God is completely excluded by him from public life: a person himself creates a policy, based on terrestrial interests
States appear and disappear according to the laws of fortune.
People – self-preservation – society – rulers – army – political laws. Politics and morality are incom’patible (несовместимы).
Christianity too believes in the afterlife and does not appreciate reality.
Politics is completely au’tonomous, morality and religion are products of politics. Therefore, the political aim is the highest one.
Philosophy of RENAISSANCE
in northern Europe
Desiderius ErasmusRoterodamus(1469-1536) (Holland)
Important for Erasmus is the upbringing (воспитание) and education of man.
He opposed super’stitions (суеверие), pseudoscience, scholastic philosophy and theology.
He also defended the existence of human free will.
Martin Luther(1483-1546) “Faith alone justifies man”
In October 1517, Martin Luther exhibits (выставлять) at the door of church in Württemberg his famous 95 theses on in’dulgences, (era of the Reformation).
Man has no free will, all his actions are predetermined from over.
After the Fall man’s will was imperfect and began to be focused onto evil.
The most significant philosopher of the Renaissance in France is Michel de Montaigne(Монтень) (1533-1592).
“Essays”
Philosophy of everyday life through self-knowledge.
Montaigne calls to renounce (отказаться) all authorities and schools, because they can not lead a person to knowledge.
Ethics of Montaigne is similar to the Epicurean ethics