Philosophy of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

Key Features of Renaissance Philosophy

The emergence of capitalist relations in the countries of Western and Central Europe during the 14th to 16th centuries led to the formation of a new system of value-oriented worldview orientations, resulting in the appearance of a historically new type of individual. The essence of the Renaissance was characterized by an anti-feudal direction, a secular anti-clerical nature, humanism, and anthropocentrism, which positioned humanity as the center and ultimate aim of the cosmos. Humanism rejected the ascetic idealization of suffering and the baseness of humanity, advocating for the right to joy and the enjoyment of real earthly life. In contrast to the Middle Ages, Renaissance philosophy transformed the living human being into an object of reverence. The humanistic orientation inherent in ancient philosophy experienced a revival. In Italy, humanism emerged as a powerful ideological current expressed in literature and philosophy.

During the Renaissance, a shift in moral orientations took place: the ideas of hedonism and eudaimonism were revived. Humanists dismissed the rigid confines of medieval dogma and urged a return to life itself, to the dynamic and empowered individual. Certainly, the figure of God remained present in the works of Renaissance thinkers, yet it took a backseat. The forefront of ethical thought was occupied by the corporeal, active, free, and creative individual. In Lorenzo Valla's treatise "On Pleasure," it is asserted that pleasure is the principal law of human life: in joy and enjoyment, rather than in asceticism, individuals find themselves. Valla embraced a pronounced principle of individualism, emblematic of the time. Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494) in his "Oration on the Dignity of Man" proclaimed that human fate is a consequence of its natural free activity. Humanity is a unique "microcosm," endowed with the exclusive right to create its existence according to its own will and choice. Thus, the central idea of Mirandola’s teaching posits a special position for humanity within the cosmos, as it partakes in all that is earthly and celestial, from the lowest to the highest. Coupled with free will, this grants humanity a cosmic unanchoring, a creative capacity for self-determination, akin to that of God.

Originality and vibrant individuality became particularly significant within the moral value system of this period. The individual of the Renaissance emerged as the creator of their own life and destiny, defining their place in the world and their relationships with it. These tendencies were also reflected in the works of Dante, Petrarch, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Cervantes, Shakespeare, and Erasmus of Rotterdam.

The doctrine of human freedom became the foundation of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola's philosophical anthropology. Humanity is a unique world within the cosmos. It lacks a predefined nature and must create itself within the conditions of free, and thus responsible, choice. In the freedom of choice, the thinker perceives the highest happiness for humanity, who is granted the power to possess what it desires and to be what it wishes. A similar stance is shared by Giannozzo Manetti, who in his treatise "On the Dignity and Supremacy of Man" asserts that humanity itself is a creator, akin to God, and even surpasses Him. He arrives at a heretical thought for orthodox religion, claiming that God's creation of the world was merely "the beginning and not yet complete," and that only later "was everything invented, crafted, and perfected by us," declaring humanity (and not God) as the true ruler of the world: "humanity is the richest and most powerful, as it can wield its own will, dominate all, and reign supreme." Such humanistic ideas permeated the works of prominent writers of the Renaissance, from Dante to Cervantes.

It is worth noting that Renaissance philosophy, with its spirit of titanic defiance (anti-God sentiment), affirming the omnipotence and omnipresence of humanity, which seemingly has everything granted and accessible to it, not only exalted humanity but also sowed the seeds of boundless pride and limitless individualism within it.

During the Renaissance, philosophy returned once more to the study of the world. Advances in the natural sciences shaped the character of philosophical deliberations. The leading trend of philosophical thought in the 16th century became natural philosophy, with notable representatives such as Giordano Bruno, Nicholas of Cusa, Galileo Galilei, and Nicolaus Copernicus. The doctrine of divine creation of the world and its closure transformed into a teaching about the infinity and uncreated nature of the world. Characteristic of philosophical views on nature was pantheism (from the Greek pan - all, theos - god), a doctrine asserting that God merges with nature, dissolving within it. In this way, pantheists affirmed the idea of kinship between absolute existence (God) and the existence of natural things, rejecting the theological notion of God's existence as an essence separate from nature. The Renaissance marked the beginning of the formation of a new science, which, freed from the shackles of medieval scholasticism, began to rely on experience and experimentation, on the practice of material production.

Social teachings occupied a prominent place during this period. The renowned Italian statesman and thinker Niccolò Machiavelli, in his widely known work "The Prince," describes the means of establishing a strong and powerful state. He was the first to separate morality from politics. Considering the strength and integrity of the state as the highest good, he even suggested the use of any means for the establishment of unlimited power based on the principle that "the end justifies the means." From his perspective, power and politics represent phenomena beyond the moral plane; thus, he believed that all means, including deception, cunning, treachery, and violence, are acceptable for successfully resolving political issues.

At this time, some philosophers focused on devising projects for an ideal state, though these were disconnected from reality, and hence they entered history as socialist utopians (Thomas More, Tommaso Campanella).

The Renaissance, a time when the process of liberating humanity from the medieval worldview began, is associated in our consciousness with the ideals of humanism and enlightenment. The merit of Renaissance thinkers lies in their overcoming medieval scholasticism and in establishing the foundations of modern philosophy.