By Vasila Alif Ibadli

Renaissance philosophy.
Starting from the 14th and 15th centuries, a number of serious changes began in European
countries. These changes mark the beginning of the era known as the Renaissance. In the economic
sphere, the collapse of feudal relations and the development of the embryos of the first bourgeois
relations are taking place. The flourishing of trade in the Mediterranean basin caused the rapid
development of city-republics in Italy, which had a favorable geographical position in this region.
Huge discoveries replace each other: book printing; gun; Columbus' discovery of America; Vasco
de Gama's discovery of the sea route to India by circumnavigating Africa; Magellan's world
journey visually proved that the Earth is spherical; formation of geography and cartography as a
scientific discipline; the introduction of symbolic signs in mathematics; formation of the
foundations of scientific anatomy and physiology; the emergence of "iatrochemistry", or medical
chemistry, which attempts to understand chemical processes in the human body and study drugs;
achieving great success in astronomy. The most important thing is secularization in all spheres of
social and cultural life, or liberation from religious and church institutions, weakening of church
dictatorship. It was an important condition for the flourishing of culture during the last Renaissance
period.
Renaissance perceives itself as a revival of ancient culture, ancient way of life, way of thinking
and perception. The word "Renaissance" also comes from here (fr. "renaissance" - revival).
However, Renaissance man and Renaissance culture are significantly different from those of
antiquity. Because, although the Renaissance opposes itself to the Christianity of the Middle Ages,
it actually arises as a logical conclusion of the culture of the Middle Ages (it is no coincidence that
the Dutch culturologist Y. Heizinga called this period "the autumn of the Middle Ages"). That is
why features that are not characteristic of antiquity are reflected in it
It would be a mistake to say that ancient culture was completely denied in the Middle Ages. It is
known that medieval philosophy was first influenced by Platonism and then by Aristotelianism.
However, if in the Middle Ages antiquity was viewed as an authority, in the Renaissance it was
perceived as an ideal. The artist of the Renaissance - painter, poet, scientist, philosopher - is
considered as a hero of ancient history, saints of the Middle Ages.
The main mechanisms of the worldview of the Renaissance are inclined to its art: the Middle Ages
are characterized more by religion, and the Renaissance tool is characterized by artistic-aesthetic.
If ancient focus was on natural-cosmic life (cosmocentrism), in the Middle Ages God and the idea
of salvation related to him (theocentrism), during the Renaissance, Man was placed at the epicentre
of artistic-aesthetic and philosophical thought: that is why it is called "anthropocentric".
As a whole, the culture of the Renaissance is a magnificent synthesis of ancient, Christian and
Eastern cultures. Mixing of various religious, scientific, literary and mystical traditions during the
Renaissance, the future Western European cultural upheaval was formed.
During the Renaissance, three gains were developed on the basis of socio-philosophical thought:
humanism, natural philosophy, and ideal strategies.
By Vasila Alif Ibadli

1) Humanist thought during the Renaissance. The term "humanism" is derived from
the Latin word "humanitas" which means "humanity". This term was first used by the famous
Roman orator and politician Cicero. For him, humanitas means upbringing and education that will
serve the rise of man. Special importance was attached to the complex of subjects consisting of
grammar, philosophy, poetry, rhetoric, ethics and history for the improvement of the spiritual
nature of man. It was these subjects that became the theoretical basis of Renaissance culture and
received the name "humanities" (studia humanitatis). From the 14th century, those who studied
these subjects were called "humanists". Later, the term "humanism" acquired a wider meaning. In
a broad sense, humanism means humanity, the maximum development of human abilities and
attempts to create decent living conditions for a person.
The founder of humanism is the Italian poet and philosopher Francesca Petrarch (1304-1374).
In his work, the beginning of the development of the Italian Renaissance was laid. In his treatise
"On the Ignorance of Myself and Many Others", he categorically denies the scholastic
scholarship characteristic of the Middle Ages, and declares that this scholarship is useless for the
people of his time.
The above-mentioned treatise reflects a fundamentally new approach to the assessment of ancient
heritage. According to Petrarch, the development of literature and art is possible not by the
spontaneous impersonation of prominent predecessors, but by rising to the top of ancient culture
and rethinking it, leading it in certain issues. This path set by Petrarch has been the leading
principle of humanists in relation to ancient heritage.
The first humanist believes that the main content of true philosophy should be the science of man.
In all his works, he called for the orientation of philosophy towards the worthy object of cognition
- man.
With his judgments, Petrarch laid the foundation for the formation of personal self-awareness of
the Renaissance. At different times, a person perceives himself differently. As a person of the
Middle Ages, he prefers the principles that his behaviour corresponds to the norms of a certain
social group. The Renaissance man gradually abandons the universal concepts of the Middle Ages
and turns to concrete, individual values.
Humanists are developing a new approach to understanding people. For them, the value of a
person's personality is determined not by his origin or social affiliation, but by personal services
and the productivity of his activities, individualism is brought to the fore. The work of another
prominent humanist, Lorenzo Valla (1407-1457), can be considered a true manifesto of
individualism. In his treatise "On Pleasure", his main work, he declares the desire for pleasure as
the main characteristic of man. Then the measure of morality is personal happiness.
L. Valla is the first humanist who addressed Epicurean philosophy, especially his moral teaching.
He saw Epicurean teaching as a source for the justification of a new humanistic ethics. From his
point of view, a person should follow his nature, which predisposes him to pleasure, and should
take care of not only his mental health, but also his physical health. In general, pleasure is the main
stimulus that motivates all human activity in Vallan's tract. Pleasure is the supreme good. Valla
praises all the human senses that will give pleasure to man, and even laments that man has only
five sense organs, not fifty.
Essentially, Valla formulated the "apology of pleasure" which will be one of the basic principles
of morality. However, pleasure at this time is not understood only as the satisfaction of some vile
carnal needs. On the contrary, like Epicurus, he perceives the idea of pleasure as the harmony of
the spiritual and physical beginnings, which are equally inherent in man.
By Vasila Alif Ibadli

At the same time, Valla also warns people to only indulge in physical pleasure: "It should be noted
that despite my talk about the fact that pleasure is always good, I still seek God, not pleasure,
pleasure is love, and God gives this pleasure."
As a result, "apology of pleasure" becomes a leading theme in all humanistic literature. Through
Epicurean ideas, new humanist ideas about the essence of human personality, as well as about the
interaction of man with God and other people are expressed.

2) Renaissance natural philosophy.

Nikolay Kuzaly. Nicholas of Kuzaly (1401-1464), a philosopher, theologian, scientist, church-
political figure, a close adviser of Pope Pius II and a cardinal, was born in the southern German
city of Kuza, in a fisherman's family. He studied at various European universities, worked as a
cleric, and was elected a cardinal in 1448.
In the scientific and philosophical works of N. Kuzaly, he gave a new interpretation of existence
and cognition. According to this interpretation, there is no difference between God and His
creatures, that is, the world is one, God and the surrounding world, the Universe, are the same.
"One" (God) and "infinite" (His creations) are related to each other as minimum and maximum -
opposites. Since God and His creation coincide, the minimum and maximum also coincide. Based
on this, Kuzaly formulated the law of coincidence of opposites: since opposites coincide, form and
matter also coincide. Therefore, essence (essence) and existence (existence) are inseparable and
are a single entity. Only actual infinity is all-encompassing and truly exists. The universe is
infinite, it has no beginning, no end, and no center. The sense of the universe is changeable,
absolute and perfect God - God is not in the surrounding world, the world, nature, all existence is
in God. Such an explanation of the relationship between God and the world characterizes Kuzaly's
philosophical teaching as pantheism (Greek: pan - everything, theos - God). The main feature
of pantheism is the impersonality of the single Divine beginning and its maximum closeness to
nature.
In Kuzali's philosophy, infinity unites opposites, and this is proved from a mathematical point of
view (if we increase the angles of a square drawn inside a circle to infinity, it will become a circle).
The infinity of the universe and the surrounding world leads to the infinity of cognition. Absolute
(complete) knowledge cannot be obtained, the growth of knowledge does not lead to truth, but
only to knowledge. Kuzaly called this with his unique term - "scientist's ignorance".

G. Bruno. Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno (1548-1600) developed the philosophical ideas
of Copernicus. Therefore, the Sun is only the center in relation to the Earth and not the center of
the Universe. The universe has no center and is infinite. The universe consists of galaxies - clusters
of stars. Stars are celestial bodies like the Sun and have a planetary system. All celestial bodies:
planets, stars, etc. they are in perpetual motion. God co-exists with the Universe. The universe and
God are one. So Bruno was also a pantheist. His teaching was burned at the fire because he did
not agree with the principles of his official Church. It should be noted that Kuzali was also a
pantheist. However, the pantheism of these two philosophers has a fundamental difference. If in
Kuzali all nature meets God, then in Bruno God meets nature.
By Vasila Alif Ibadli

3) Concepts of the ideal society of the Renaissance period.

The great thinkers of the Renaissance also shaped new visions of social life. They were no longer
satisfied with religious-scholastic views of society and government, including the doctrine of the
church described by St. Augustine as the kingdom of God. For them, society is primarily a
necessary environment for human life. For this reason, society should be built taking into account
human nature and for each person. Theories about the state of Renaissance figures had a great
impact on the history of philosophical thought and the historical fate of European nations. This is
mainly their teachings about the monarchy and the communist system. The doctrines of monarchy
later helped to establish Absolutism in Europe, and the ideas of communism helped to create
various types of communist theories, including Marxist communism.
Niccolo Machiavelli. Italian poet, historian and statesman Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) was
one of the thinkers who made a great contribution to the socio-political thought of the time. He
believed that:
"Christianity has weakened the world with its teaching and given society into the hands of hateful
people." Therefore, the interest of individual people should be subordinated to the state, and the
interest of the state to the monarch. The duty of the monarch should be to force everyone to work
for the society and not allow anyone to play with the whims of the elite. He called the elite: nobles,
churchmen and state officials "brutal enemies of civil power". "Those who want to build a republic
in a country with a large number of elites must first destroy this elite." For the interests of the
society, the monarch should ignore the moral principles in the activities of his state, and should
use falsehood, treachery, cunning and similar imperfect human qualities. This principle put
forward by Machiavelli became famous as the thesis "The end justifies the means".
Thomas More. One of the philosophers who reflected the social ideals of Renaissance humanism
in his work was Thomas More (1478-1535). Born in a family of lawyers in London, he received
his first education at a religious school, but later continued his studies at Oxford University. He
was engaged in professional politics from his early youth: he became a member of parliament from
1504, the chairman of the house of commons in 1523-29, and in 1529 he became the lord
chancellor of Great Britain (the highest office of the state after the king). T. Mor, a staunch
supporter of Catholicism, was executed in 1535 for refusing to recognize the king as the head of
the Anglican Church independent of the Roman Pope.
Since he was engaged in professional politics, he was closely familiar with the problems of the
state, and he saw the cause of failure and dissatisfaction in society in private property. He
interpreted the ideal state model in his work "Utopia" (Greek: utopos - no place), in which he
wrote the main socio-political views. He argued that: "Where there is private property, where
everything is measured by money, it is hardly possible to successfully carry out state affairs." In
the country described by him in "Utopia", everyone works according to their ability and taste, and
buys according to their needs. There are neither rich nor poor in the country, because the common
product of the joint labor of the people of this country belongs to everyone. The fact that everyone
is engaged in labor allows the entire population to live in abundance, which is why the six-hour
workday is established. Women and men have equal rights. Those with scientific abilities are
exempted from labor. All officials in this country are determined in elections.
Tommaso Campanella. Another concept of the ideal society was the Italian philosopher and poet
T. Campanella (1568-1639). The Dominican-monk, who spent 27 years of his life in the prisons
of the Catholic Inquisition, fell with his work "The City of the Sun" based on the history of social
and political thought. The events in the work take place in a fantastic city of the sun. Residents of
By Vasila Alif Ibadli

this city - solariums have built an ideal society based on the principle of social justice, enjoy life
and work and lead a happy life.
According to Campanella, there is no private property in the City of the Sun, which is the source
of all social injustice. Each solariary engages in productive labor, the result of which becomes the
common property of the community, which is then divided equally among its members. Work is
carried out in parallel with education. Here, the main focus is on the upbringing of children:
newborns are taken from their parents and brought up in special schools, acquire various scientific
knowledge, get used to collective life and are taught other rules of the Sun City. The City of the
Sun is ruled by Metaphysic, a judge who has mastered all the professions and knowledge of the
era and was elected by the Solarians for life.