The Early Modern Philosophy

Renaissance awakened sense of the dignity of every human being (Humanism), opened the real vision of reality (Natural philosophy), inspired optimism (Enlightenment) among European nations.

In Europe, it was shaken (поколебались) the thrones of absolute monarchies. Nobility (feudal lords) finally pushed to the marginal position of social and political life.

The Middle Ages finally retreated (отходить) into the past. The period of the Early Modern Time began to come.

Early Modern Time was a time of rapid development of science and based on it – applied knowledge. For European countries, this was the Age of Discovery.

As well as this was time of introduction of fundamentally new technologies of goods production and growth in labor productivity. Transport, science and communications use to be improved.

New time has come first in the spiritual area, and only then in real life. The beginning of the Early Modern philosophy put by an English philosopher Francis Bacon (1561-1626), Baron Verulamo.

He was born in London, the son of Sir Nicholas Bacon and the nephew of Queen Elizabeth’s advisor, William Cecil. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. His first job was a lawyer. He later became a Member of Parliament

“Greater recovery of Science”: “The New Organon”;
“New Atlantis”,
“The thoughts and observations”, etc.
He spoke an expression: “The truth is the daughter of her time!”

Bacon was one of the people appointed to plan the joining of England and Scotland together as one country.

Four factors hinder (мешать) the veridical cognition of nature, which he calls idols, or phantoms:
1) “Idols of the Tribe”, which are common to the race;
2) “Idols of the Den”, which are peculiar to the individual;

3) “Idols of the Marketplace”, coming from the misuse of language;
4) “Idols of the Theatre”, which result from an abuse of authority.

Bacon’s writings started and made famous a way of thinking about science. This way of thinking is now called the Baconian method. It is based on looking at the world by making experiments. After watching the results the scientist comes up with an idea to explain what has happened.

This idea is then further tested by more experiments. This way of thinking about science is called inductive methodology. In Bacon’s time these methods were linked with magic including hermeticism and alchemy.

From research and scientific knowledge Bacon excludes the supernatural substances (God, miracles (чудеса), other world)

Religion and science can be likened to two geometric planes that never intersect (пересекаться) with each other.

Empirics are ants: the leaves in one pile (куча)
Rationalists are spiders: a web from spider.
Real scientists are bees: collect nectar from different flowers, manufacture, and thus offer a high quality honey.

Deductive thinking can not enrich us with new knowledge in the new conditions. To do this we need inductive thinking.

In the book “New Atlantis” Bacon described the ideal society, in which people could live happily under guidance of wise men: “House of Solomon”.

Thomas Hobbes
(1588 - 1679)
was a philosopher from England, who mainly wrote about government and law.

Among all the sciences Hobbes singled geometry.
Unlike Bacon, Hobbes believes that the universal method can only be rational thinking: Logic.

Matter is the highest and the only “substance”, which is reflected in human consciousness.

Hobbes tried to show that the best kind of government has one Sovereign or an assembly of men with total power. But the most interesting thing about Hobbes was the way he argued. He started by looking at human nature.

“Homo homini lupus est” (man is a wolf to man)
Hobbes said that humans are very selfish (корыстные) and that we are willing to hurt (вредить) each other, if we think it will help us. Naturally, humans are all equal, because we are all strong enough to kill each other – even a child can kill a strong man, while he sleeps.

Bellum omnium contra omnes (the war of all against all)
Then Hobbes imagined what things would be like without a government. He said that it would be terrible – a “state of war”. Some people would fight each other, and everyone else would be very worried about their own safety.

Theory of Social contract
No one would be able to trust anyone else or make plans for the future. People would be alone, poor, and would not live for long.

Theory of Social contract
Next, Hobbes argues that it would be a good idea for everyone to stop fighting and choose a Sovereign, which could be one man or an assembly of men. Everyone should agree to obey the Sovereign, and give him all power of restraint under law.

Theory of Social contract
Next, Hobbes argues that it would be a good idea for everyone to stop fighting and choose a Sovereign, which could be one man or an assembly of men. Everyone should agree to obey the Sovereign, and give him all power of restraint under law.

Only through public and state violence people can live in community, to behave kindly with the relatives. That is why Hobbes calls state as supreme good for man. Only with emergence of state morality, culture, civilization arise.

Hobbes described his socio-political ideas in his well-known
“LEVIATHAN or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil”

Rene Descartes
(1596-1650)
was a French philosopher and physicist.
His dualism statement combined soul, mind, body theories, elements into one dualistic theory of mind and matter.

In his Discourse on Method (1637) Descartes wrote about the scientific method that deals with scientific approach – thinking.

He also wrote about shapes (Geometry), light (Dioptrics), and the weather (Meteorology).
He then came up with a way of describing shapes now known as the Cartesian coordinate system, and a theory of what a rainbow is.

In his Meditations on First Philosophy (1641) Descartes found that he himself must be real (exist), because he felt that he was thinking; and if he was thinking, then he must be real. He shortened this view, saying in Latin, COGITO ERGO SUM
(I think, therefore I am)

Descartes believed that in the world there is nothing but matter. Philosophy denies the existence of emptiness. Matter is divisible to infinitely small quantities (величина).

Everything is in motion, as movement is inherent quality of matter. But Descartes could not explain the essence of human thought through the mechanical motion.

So along with matter, Descartes assumes the existence of a special “substance” which thinks (God).

Thus, there are two substances in the world:
1) extended (протяженный)
2) thinking.

Benedict (Baruch) Spinoza (1632-1677)
was a Dutch philosopher.
Works:
“Ethics”,
“Theologico-Political Treatise”
Citation – Freedom is conscious necessity.

Spinoza believed that only from the standpoint of mind we can search for truth. An important idea is God and Nature (everything that exists) are the same thing (Pantheism).
Opposing Dualism, Spinoza said that the body and the mind (soul) are two of God’s infinite attributes.

Thus, Spinoza was a monist. He acknowledged existence of only one fundamental principle of world, which he named SUBSTANCE and identified it with the material nature. The reason of nature is in nature (Causa sui). Attributes of substance are extension and thinking.

Two types of thoughts, or emotions:
1) Active – when a person acts from his own nature. Active emotions lead to happiness and an understanding of God, as well as to Freedom.
2) Passive – when a person is being influenced by another person, or a thing.
The goal of every person is to intellectually love God (that is, understand Nature).

John Locke (1632 - 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, known as the Father of Liberalism
Sensual theory of cognition.

The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.
John Locke.

Mind a newborn is “Tabula rasa”.
Two kinds of cognition:
perception
analysis of sensual experience.
He acknowledged cognition through intuition

Locke, writing his “Letters Concerning Toleration”, formulated a classic reasoning for religious tolerance.

Gottfried Leibniz
(1646 -1716)
was a German intellectual who wrote mostly in French and Latin.
“Monadology”

According to Leibniz, every monad has eternal nature. They appear and exist due to continuous fulguration (излучение) of supreme Monad: Godhead.

His conclusion is that our universe is the best possible one God could have made.
Thanks to God, pre-established (предустановленный) harmony prevails among monads. Leibniz stood on positions of rationalism, arguing that truth is only available to reason.

David Hume
(1711 - 1776)
was a philosopher and historian from Scotland.

He wrote a series of large books called The History of England.
Other works:
A Treatise of Human Nature
An Enquiry concerning the Human Understanding
An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion

Hume said that many of our beliefs do not come from reason. Instead, they come from our personal experience, our instincts or feelings.
All our knowledge has experiential origin. Only truths of mathematics have a rational origin.
Agnosticism

French Enlightenment materialists and atheists 18th century

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) was a famous French speaking philosopher. He was born in Geneva, Switzerland.
Works:
Emile: or, On Education
The New Eloise
Social Contract

Rousseau tried to explain the reasons for social inequality and its types.
He believed that men were born good and innocent, and that corruption and sadness happened because of life experiences in society. He believed that if society was gone, man would be happy and pure once again.

Francois Marie Voltaire (1694-1778) was a French philosopher.
Works:
Treatise on Tolerance
Candide: or, The Optimist

In theory of knowledge, he was a supporter of sensationalism. He criticized Leibniz’s “Monadology”, based on the latest discoveries in physics, in particular – the Newton’s teachings.

Voltaire did not like the church and thought that people should be allowed to believe what they want.
However he did not like democracy either and thought that a country needed to be lead by a wise and strong king.

History is the process of gradually increasing role of mind.
Voltaire believed in God but did not believe in a god personally involved in people’s lives, like the Christian god. This is called Deism.

Charles Montesquieu (1689 - 1755) was a French political thinker.
Geographical determinism

Montesquieu is famous for his theory of the separation of powers in government. He helped make the terms “feudalism” and “Byzantine Empire” popular.

Montesquieu’s most radical work divided French people into three classes, or groups:
The monarchy
The aristocracy
The commons
Montesquieu said that there are two types of powers in government: the sovereign and the administrative.