The meaning of the term "revival" is due to the fact that it is in the XIV that renewed interest in ancient culture, art, philosophy. At the same time, the emergence of a new distinctive culture of Western Europe. The philosophy of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance are very different from each other mainly due to a decrease in interest in Christian culture.
Features of the philosophy of the Renaissance
The first and main difference of the new understanding of the world is a change in attitude to the problem of man. He becomes the center of knowledge and thinking. Philosophers of that era were equally interested in both material nature and the spiritual qualities of man. This is especially pronounced in the visual arts. Philosophers begin to actively promote the idea of harmonious development of man, his physical and spiritual qualities. However, they paid more attention to the formation of the spiritual world. This was the development of history, literature, visual arts and rhetoric.
The philosophy of the Renaissance for the first time begins to put forward the idea of humanism. This view recognizes the value of a person as a person, with his right to freedom of expression, development and happiness. One of the basic principles of the ethics of the Renaissance is the desire for nobility, the valor of the human spirit. The philosophy of the Renaissance considers man not only as a natural being, but also as a creator of himself. At the same time, confidence in the sinfulness of man is weakening. He no longer needs God, since she herself becomes a creator. The center of this trend was Florence.
The philosophy of the Renaissance is also characterized by doctrine - pantheism. It is based on the identification of God with nature. Philosophers adhering to this trend claim that God is present in all objects. The creation of the world by God is also denied. The philosophy of the Renaissance fundamentally revises the concepts of nature, man and God. According to the teachings, the Universe was not created by God, but exists constantly and cannot disappear. God is in nature itself, as its active principle. The most prominent representative of this thought was Giordano Bruno.
Natural philosophy is also one of the main philosophical currents of the Renaissance. This philosophy deals with the solution of the problems of the infinity and eternity of the Universe, the existence of various worlds and the self-motion of matter. At this time, matter begins to be perceived as an active creative principle, full of vitality. Moreover, the internal ability of matter to change was called the soul of the world. It is inside matter itself and dominates everything. At the same time, new approaches to the movement of celestial bodies were expressed, which were very different from theology. The most famous representatives of this thought are Nikolai Copernicus, Nikolai Kuzansky, Erasmus of Rotterdam.
Such a new attitude towards God and criticism of the official church led to the condemnation of the Catholic doctrine itself. The philosophy of the Renaissance elevates the teachings and principles of knowledge of ancient thinkers into absolute. According to the conviction of the new philosophy, it is science that should become the basis of religion. Magic and occultism are beginning to be considered the highest forms of scientific knowledge. Philosophers showed great interest in ancient religious teachings.
The practical criterion of truth, put forward by the Renaissance philosophers, is the basis of the modern methodology of the natural sciences. Developed by the philosophers of that time, the idea of the continuity of man and nature, space and the Earth were taken as the basis by the next generations of philosophers. Also, the Renaissance became the impetus for the development of utopian socialism. The ideas expressed by humanists exerted a large-scale influence not only on culture, but also on the entire public consciousness.