European Thought: Renaissance to Enlightenment
Renaissance (15th-17th Centuries)
Renewal and Transformation
A period of economic, political, social, and cultural development in Europe. This era witnessed a shift in the European mindset, inspired by classical antiquity, leading to a new worldview.
Philosophical Revival
A return to the original meanings of classical philosophical systems. The established authority of Aristotle faced scrutiny, particularly his concepts of man and nature, which some theologians perceived as challenging Christian doctrine.
Key Figures
- Marsilio Ficino
- Pico della Mirandola
- Pomponazzi
Reformation (16th Century)
Religious Reform
A religious movement seeking to reform the Church. It criticized corruption and aimed to return to the simplicity, piety, and purity of the Gospel. The movement also opposed the excessive power of the Pope.
Key Branches
Lutheranism
Opposed the sale of papal indulgences and advocated for the free interpretation of Scripture. Recognized only two sacraments: baptism and the Eucharist. Other related movements included Anabaptists and Pietists.
Calvinism
Sought to revise and expand upon Luther’s reforms. Its central doctrine is the predestination of the saints, asserting that God grants salvation to whomever He chooses. Calvinism had a notable influence on the development of experimental science.
Scientific Revolution (17th-18th Centuries)
A New Era of Science
From Copernicus to Newton, this period introduced a new concept of science and a new image of nature, challenging Aristotelian views.
New Approaches
New scientists emerged with novel methodologies and attitudes. They rejected occult qualities, final causes, and the Aristotelian understanding of the physical world. Modern scientists viewed nature as the realm of quantity and the universe as a grand machine.
Key Discoveries
Copernicus proposed the heliocentric hypothesis, placing the sun at the center of the solar system with planets revolving around it in uniform circular motion. This system was further refined by Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, and Isaac Newton, who formulated the law of universal gravitation.
Rationalism (17th Century)
Reason as the Foundation of Knowledge
Rationalists believed that reason is the primary source of all true and necessary knowledge. They sought to deduce the entire system of the world from innate ideas.
God’s Role
God served as the ultimate guarantor of the knowledge of reality.
Key Figures
- Spinoza
- Leibniz
- Descartes
Empiricism (18th Century)
Challenging Rationalism
Empiricism opposed rationalism, arguing that reason has limitations in acquiring knowledge.
Experience as the Source of Knowledge
Empiricists believed that the only source of human knowledge is meaningful experience. They emphasized observation and inductive generalization, taking the natural sciences as their philosophical model.
Key Figures
- Locke
- Berkeley
- Hume
Descartes
Method
Descartes emphasized the need for a new method, applicable to all sciences. He sought a level of certainty comparable to mathematics. His method consisted of four rules: 1. Evidence (accept as true only what is known with absolute certainty); 2. Analysis (break down problems into their simplest elements); 3. Synthesis (reconstruct the problem in an ordered manner); 4. Enumeration (review thoroughly).
Substance
Descartes defined substance as that which exists in such a way that it needs nothing but itself to exist. He identified three substances: God (infinite substance), the self or “I” (spiritual substance), and the world (material substance). Attributes are the essential properties of substances, clearly and distinctly known. Modes are modifications of the attributes of material and spiritual substances.
Divine Veracity
To escape solipsism and acknowledge the existence of material bodies, Descartes addressed the possibility of a deceiving god. He demonstrated God’s existence through three types of ideas: adventitious, factitious, and innate. He used the ontological argument and the idea of God as the cause of the self’s existence. He distinguished between primary and secondary qualities, with God serving as the metaphysical guarantee of the world’s existence.
Hume
Phenomenalism
Hume argued that the existence of an external physical world as the cause of sensory impressions cannot be rationally explained; it is an object of belief. Belief is a strong feeling, instinct, or natural disposition. He considered the real existence of bodies inexplicable but irrelevant from the standpoint of knowledge. He did not objectively distinguish between primary and secondary qualities, viewing both as subjective. We can only reasonably assume the existence of perceptions in our minds, not objects in reality.
Causality
Hume questioned the principle of causality, which states that everything that begins to exist has a cause. He found no rational proof, neither intuitive nor demonstrative. He defined regular sequence as the natural and constant connection between two objects present in the mind (cause and effect). Knowledge of causal relationships cannot be achieved through a priori reasoning; it comes from experience, based on custom and belief. When two objects are repeatedly observed together, we tend to believe that one is the cause of the other. This leads us to expect that if the first object appears, the second will follow. There’s no inherent reason for this; only experience allows us to draw probable conclusions.