The question of the origin of life on Earth has always interested people. We all imagined this process in different ways, formalizing our vision in theory and teaching. One of these interpretations is the concept of providence. Having emerged as a religious interpretation, today this trend claims to be among the natural sciences. What is the essence of these claims?
Definition
Providentialism is a religious teaching that the whole world is a creation of the will of God, which operates according to the “divine plan of salvation” of mankind with the obligatory “cleansing everything” apocalypse. The origin of the term is Latin and literally means "providence." And “providence” in religious circles is a designation of God or actions related to “higher beings”. Thus, in the Middle Ages, Archbishop Augustine created a religious doctrine, which was adopted by the church as a model of “right thinking,” or rather, belief. The concept of providentialism is the basis for the development of new ideas of historical figures, including M. Luther, J. Calvin, B. Pascal, S. Kierkegaard. Existentialism and creationism have also arisen on the basis of this religious worldview.
Creationism
The name of the theory comes from the Latin word creatio, which literally means “creation”. The teaching is based on the assertion that God created all living and nonliving things on Earth, all life forms and the Universe itself is a creation of the Almighty. Creationism and providence in modern society are the main theories of the followers of almost all religious movements. In this regard, attempts were made to calculate exactly when God created man. The author of this idea was Archbishop Asher of the city of Armagh. The monk applied his knowledge of mathematics in this case, however, the reliability of the calculations cannot be verified if only because the history of the creation of the Universe was recorded inaccurately, and it was copied many times.
Teocentrism
In the Middle Ages, the church secured a dominant position, so the philosophy of that time was dependent on Christianity. The main concept of the world in medieval philosophy was theocentrism. This worldview proclaimed God the center of the universe (the universe), to which we should strive, the source of everything that happens on Earth. The highest science in the Middle Ages was theology, in the service of which was philosophy. Applied sciences were assigned the lowest level of this ladder. The preachers of theocentrism claimed that man is God's creation, therefore it is impossible to fully know him. Only faith and service remain. It is worth noting that creationism, providentialism and theocentrism could play a dominant role in the worldview of people only against the backdrop of religious "dominance." Modern society cannot be called free from “remnants of the past,” since there are still adherents of a religious worldview, despite the achievements of science, the emergence of new technologies.
The History of Providence
If people of antiquity tried to uncover the laws by which the surrounding world works, then in the Middle Ages everything was turned upside down. Philosophy becomes the "servant" of theology. In addition to faith, which is undeniable and issued as an axiom, nothing is left to a person. The only true and “inviolable” printed work is Holy Scripture, all the rest is heresy. Reason is interpreted as the devilish evil inherent in the Gentiles and “weak spirit”.
On the basis of a change in worldview, a turn in the opposite direction occurs with respect to nature and surrounding reality. From now on, nature is not self-sufficient, since it was created by God and controlled by his will. Therefore, the laws of nature do not exist, but only the will of God. Natural phenomena are endowed with unusual symbolism, which connected them with the "higher" reality - religious and moral.
The worldview of antiquity is based on the concept of “macrocosmos” and “microcosmos”. Medieval providentialism denies these postulates, putting forward a new one - “sacred history”. The main and only source of knowledge of the historical process is Holy Scripture.
Medieval Providentialism in Philosophy is an attempt to interpret the course of history as a directed movement towards the "Kingdom of God." The founder of this teaching is Aurelius Augustine of Ippon, who is one of the fathers of the Christian church. In addition to following the dogma, in Providence there were certain rules:
- a peculiar description of the development of history (the period before and after Jesus);
- 6 “ages of the world” and 4 monarchies were determined;
- denial of any cause-effect relationships (perhaps only a description of what was happening without analysis);
- morality was the main function of historiography (which contributed to the formation of antihistorism from the point of view of science).
Claims for Science
It is often voiced that providentialism is a branch of philosophy. However, in the Middle Ages, philosophy could not boast of independence, because theology and theocentrism dominated. Thus, providence is a religious and philosophical trend of theocentrism.
But in the modern world, philosophy is a science that has a subject of study, a clearly structured methodology. Theology or theology is a systematic description and interpretation of religious doctrine or dogmas of religion (directions and branches of beliefs). In this regard, the theologians ’demand to assign the rank of scientific to religious studies along with philosophy, history and other sciences is puzzling.
It is believed that the last nail in the lid of the tomb of Providence was hammered by Karl Marx. In the works of K. Marx, on the basis of facts and analysis, all the postulates adopted “on faith” are destroyed. According to the author, the word "providence" does not carry any semantic load in the historical process.
Criteria of science
In order to distinguish science from pseudoscience, criteria were developed that correspond to scientific knowledge.
Theology and providence do not meet the criteria of truth, objectivity, intersubjectivity, reliability. There have been attempts to use the mathematical apparatus in the study of scripture, but after this study there were more questions than answers.
Scientific knowledge is a reliance on reason (analysis and planning, experimental confirmation), which is denied by providentialism and theology.
Conclusion
No matter how scientists try to forget the dried-up skeleton of Providentialism, there are philistines who are easier to “believe” than to “know”. And to be a “lost sheep,” and not a “researcher,” is not at all embarrassing. And the more such inhabitants, the louder the church’s statement about the “scientific nature” of theology and theocentrism.