History of Philosophy

Philosophy of the Modern Age

The Renaissance

The 15th and 16th centuries marked a turning point in European philosophy. This period saw the emergence of new realities unknown to Europe: artists and scholars migrated from Byzantium to Italy due to historical circumstances; in 1453, the Turks conquered Constantinople, leaving Western Europe as the sole free Christian world; in 1492, the Reconquista (the Spanish war for independence from Muslim rule) concluded; and that same year, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile united the peoples of Spain through marriage. Additionally, Christopher Columbus embarked on his first voyage, and Italian cities began thriving through intensive trade, amassing significant wealth. All of these events brought substantial changes to European life. However, the most significant transformation occurred within the philosophical discourse of this period. Thinkers of the time became captivated by Antiquity, viewing all things associated with it as epitomes of beauty and wisdom. They named their era the Renaissance, meaning "rebirth," as they aimed to revive ancient culture.

In art, the Renaissance resurrected the forms and styles of Antiquity, but it is more challenging to speak of a rebirth of ancient thought in philosophy. Late Medieval philosophy, which preceded the Renaissance, was grounded in the works of Aristotle, himself an ancient philosopher. This suggests that Antiquity had never truly vanished from medieval philosophy and thus could not be "reborn." Instead, Renaissance philosophy turned its focus to schools and movements that had received less attention during the Late Middle Ages, with Plato exerting the greatest influence on Renaissance thought.

The Renaissance shattered the intellectual paradigms solidified in the Middle Ages, opening new avenues for philosophical exploration. For this reason, the Renaissance can be regarded as the first steps of the Modern Age in European culture. Modern philosophy brought new quests for truth and innovative intellectual frameworks, which can be systematically grouped as follows:

• The Renaissance — 15th—16th century philosophy and the attempt to revive Antiquity.
• The Period of Great Systems — 17th-century philosophy, which gave rise to the systems of René Descartes, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Baruch Spinoza, and others.
• English Enlightenment — 18th-century English philosophy, characterized by empiricism in epistemology and a focus on society.
• French Enlightenment — 18th-century French philosophy.
• German Enlightenment or German Classical Philosophy — the work of Immanuel Kant and the German idealists.
• Post-Classical German Philosophy.

As with any new era, the Renaissance began with a critique of the preceding philosophical style, particularly Scholasticism and Aristotle. Scholars enamored with new ideas established alternative educational institutions, which, in homage to Plato, they called academies, in contrast to the traditional universities dominated by Aristotelian Scholasticism. The Renaissance contributed several notable figures and schools to the history of philosophy:

• Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa (1401—1464), a Catholic bishop and prominent scholar to whom Nicolaus Copernicus dedicated his astronomical research. Cusa dedicated much thought to the problem of knowledge. Humanity, he argued, cannot fully comprehend God, and since the world is a manifestation of God, it too is not wholly knowable. The greatest achievement in human cognition is the awareness of one's own ignorance. What we can understand about the world is best revealed through mathematics, as Cusa believed that God had written the book of nature in the language of mathematics.
• A different perspective on the possibility of knowledge was offered by the Italian scientist and artist Leonardo da Vinci (1452—1529), who held that the world can indeed be known, and that experience is the path to this knowledge. Leonardo conducted numerous experiments and investigations, allowing him to accumulate a vast body of knowledge.
• A distinct spirit was imparted to Renaissance philosophy by the humanists—philosophers who placed humanity at the center of their thought as the highest value, thereby giving the philosophy of this period an anthropological character. Renaissance humanists are categorized into several groups based on their areas of interest:

Humanist philologists — Renaissance thinkers proficient in classical Greek who worked on translating the texts of ancient philosophers and writers. Among them was Georgius Gemistus Pletho (1355—1450), a Greek who participated in the Byzantine delegation at the Council of Florence and introduced Italian scholars to the legacy of Greek philosophy. Marsilio Ficino (1433—1499) translated the works of Platonists and headed the Academy in Florence. The Renaissance Tradition of Platonism was also represented by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463—1494). Humanists also worked on new translations of Aristotle, the Stoics, Neoplatonists, Skeptics, and Epicureans.

• Humanist Psychologists — These Renaissance philosophers focused primarily on the art of living. One representative of this direction was Michel de Montaigne (1533—1592). As a skeptic, Montaigne believed that understanding the essence of the world and humanity was akin to holding water in one’s hands. Since humans cannot acquire certain knowledge, they should focus on the art of living, aiming to derive the maximum pleasure from life. Pleasure, according to Montaigne, is attained when one’s life aligns with nature and one is free from dependencies.
• Humanist Theologians — These thinkers sought to apply humanist principles to theology. A notable representative of this approach was François de Sales (1567—1622), who became the Bishop of Geneva in 1602. He believed that expressions of religious faith should vary from person to person: the piety of a monk differs from that of a peasant or a craftsman. Since people are diverse, each individual should express their faith differently.
• A distinctive concept of natural philosophy was proposed by Giordano Bruno (1548—1600). He posited that the world is infinite, but from this erroneous premise, he concluded that the world is unknowable, as the finite human mind cannot encompass the infinite world. The world is composed of an infinite number of independent metaphysical units — monads. Each monad has a soul, and therefore is living and free. Since monads are free, the world should be governed by freedom, making any form of coercion unacceptable. Despite the diversity and freedom of the monads, the world is harmonious, as it reflects the divine.
• The greatest Renaissance thinker was Sir Francis Bacon (1561—1626), Lord Chancellor of England. In his works "Novum Organum" (1620), "The New Atlantis" (1626), and others, he classified the sciences into three groups according to the three faculties of the soul: history (memory), poetry (imagination), and philosophy (reason). As theology deals with supernatural reality, Bacon placed it within the realm of faith and excluded it from his classification. The task of science is to increase knowledge, which Bacon understood not only as mental speculation but as the ability to change the world. This is the sense in which Bacon’s phrase "knowledge is power" (scientia potentia est) should be understood. In "The New Atlantis," Bacon described an ideal world where people are happy because science and technology ease their lives. Science has two tasks: destructive and constructive. Every person accumulates knowledge throughout their life; usually, this knowledge is erroneous and misleading. One must eliminate these errors before commencing scientific exploration of the world. The destructive task involves purging knowledge of errors, which Bacon identified as four types: errors of the tribe (natural human tendencies), errors of the cave (those arising from upbringing and education), errors of the marketplace (those arising from language), and errors of the theater (those arising from false philosophical systems). Once knowledge is cleansed of these errors, constructive science — the accumulation of accurate knowledge — can proceed, achieved through experimentation and induction. Bacon was an empiricist, believing that experience is the source of knowledge.
• The Italian Galileo Galilei (1564—1642) presented a contrary view to Bacon’s. Renowned as a scientist-astronomer, inventor, and philosopher, Galileo is credited with inventing the telescope and discovering the laws of falling bodies. He believed that science should not be limited to mere fact collection; reasoning is essential for science. For Bacon, experimentation was the foundation of science, while for Galileo, it was only a preparatory stage, accumulating material that the mind then interprets and transforms into knowledge. Galileo altered the foundations of science. Whereas medieval science sought to penetrate the essence of things, Galileo believed that the role of science was more modest: to describe the properties of things. This allowed him to make discoveries unattainable in the Middle Ages. For example, Galileo, by focusing on observable phenomena rather than seeking essences, noted the dark spots on the sun. Medieval astronomers believed the sun was a source of light, so any darkness would be contrary to the sun's nature. Description of phenomena is impossible without mathematics, which thus occupied a special place in Galileo's system.
• Philosophical questions traditionally associated with Scholasticism did not vanish during the Renaissance. Many philosophers continued the medieval university discourse without embracing new ideas. However, some sought to reconsider Scholastic problems in a new spirit. A prominent representative of this second direction was the Spanish philosopher Francisco Suárez (1548—1617).

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