Bruno Giordano: Philosophy in the Renaissance

Perhaps one of the most famous and brilliant in all senses of the Renaissance thinkers was Bruno Giordano, whose philosophy was distinguished by pantheism and inspired Enlightenment scholars to develop these non-standard ideas.

Brief biography

He was born in Italy, near Naples, in a small provincial town of Nola, for which he gave himself the nickname of the Nolan and sometimes signed them his works. Childhood and the young years of the future philosopher passed in a favorable atmosphere of contemplation and study of nature.

At the age of ten, Bruno moved to Naples for his relatives, who kept a boarding school, and continues his education, already relying on the knowledge of teachers. Then, reaching the age of fifteen, he becomes a novice of the Dominican monastery in the hope of expanding the boundaries of his education. At the same time, he tries himself in literature, writing the comedy "The Lamp" and "Noah's Ark", deriding the mores of the modern writer of Neapolitan society.

Because of his views on Catholicism and somewhat greater freedom of action than was for the Dominican monk, Bruno was persecuted by the Inquisition and forced to leave Naples. After a long journey through the cities of Italy, he reached Geneva. But I could not find work there, although I was warmly welcomed by Calvinists, why I went to Toulouse for teaching philosophy and astronomy at the university. Because of the radical views on Aristotle's teaching, criticism and open attacks on the ancient thinker was betrayed by ostracism among his colleagues and took the leading positions in the love rating of students who liked the unusual approach to learning.

In the end, he has to go to Paris. There Giordano Bruno is engaged in scientific and literary activity, which attracts the attention of King Henry III. The latter, for exceptional merits, appoints the philosopher as an extraordinary professor and encourages him to continue his scientific research. Despite all the hospitality rendered by the monarch, the radical views and the difficult position of the heretic in the eyes of the Catholic Church compel Bruno to leave France and go to England. But the Inquisition also persecutes him there, although not to the extent that it is on the mainland. In the end, he nevertheless returns to Italy, lives quietly for a while, publishing his scientific and literary works. However, in 1600 the church "police" arrested Bruno, charged him and sentenced him to be burnt. The philosopher took the decision to execute stoically and on 17 February was publicly executed at the Flowers Square in Rome.

Fundamentals of knowledge of matter and nature

Relying on pre-Socratic philosophers and hermeticists, Bruno Giordano, whose philosophy was aimed at changing the notion of a single divine beginning and the structure of the cosmos, begins to form his own idea of the structure of the world, the solar system and the place of man in it. He believed that the Sun - this is not the center of the universe, as this idea put forward by Aristotle and his scientific school, and the star around which the planets are located. And that there are many similar stars, having their own planetary systems and intelligent life inside them. The main idea from which the whole chain of Bruno's theses can be logically traced was that the surrounding world, spirit and matter, being, the beginning of everything is not an act of divine creation, but a living embodiment of it, present everywhere.

From metaphysics to natural philosophy

The starting point of all things, the cause of the formation of the universe can not be understood, Giordano Bruno asserted. His philosophy not only denied the existence of God, it rather led away from its personification and identification with a specific person. Truth can be known only by the consequence of its presence in the surrounding world, by the traces that it leaves in matter and spirit. Therefore, in order to know God, it is necessary to study nature in its very essence, as far as it is possible proceeding from the possibilities of the human mind.

Cause or reason dualism

God was the beginning of everything, as the philosophy of the Renaissance affirmed . Giordano Bruno made an amendment to this thesis: the original cause and the primordial are one in the image of God, but in nature they are different, since the primary reason is pure intelligence, or the universal mind that embodies in nature its ideas, and the initial is matter which under the influence of the cause Takes various forms. But at the moment of the birth of the Universe for the very first incarnate idea, the world mind took matter not from outside but from within, thus creating an animated matter that is capable of taking forms in itself, without the participation of the intellect.

Realizing the complexity of the philosophy of nature, Giordano Bruno briefly (or not) outlined its essence in his work "On the cause, the beginning and the one." This book impressed both the educated public, thirsting for new ideas, and the Inquisition, which saw heretical thoughts.

Cyclicity and completeness of nature

The philosophy of nature Giordano Bruno in the Renaissance was characterized by the integrity of the concept that there is a universal intelligence that is present in every matter that is already deterministic and subordinates the transformation and movement of this matter. Therefore, in nature everything is logical and complete, everything has its own cycle of existence, at the end of which it again turns into a single matter.

Unity of concepts

The life path of Bruno Giordano is interesting, philosophy, science and religious verbal battles determined his views on the divine principle as a unity of being and form, matter and intellect, since, according to him, they are identical with each other in God. Without this, it would be impossible to define the world as a single whole, subject to general laws and representing constantly changing matter.

Natural similarity

The pure mind, as Hegel later calls it, is "possessed" by the idea of creation, animated by it. And in this he is like a divine essence, although it is not personified, and is defined as something that is accessible to knowledge. Giordano Bruno, whose brief content of philosophical ideas is a denial of classical religious dogma, was the first to put forward such a thesis. For this was condemned by scholars who adhered to the scholastic theory and did not want to think otherwise.

Constancy and variability

Contradiction with the established views of Bruno Giordano, the philosophy of nature, which he adhered to, and a certain definite mood of society determined the future for these ideas. The philosopher argued that the universal mind is simultaneously one in the whole universe and is different in the forms that matter takes, it is everywhere and at the same time nowhere. And, in order to comprehend this idea, one must learn to think contradictorily. After the death of Giordano Bruno, this philosophy will be transformed into a stage of cognition, one of which will be the search for the common in opposites to achieve harmony and the birth of a new pair of opposites. And so in the recursive infinity of the study of matter.

Delusion and exaltation

Nature "becomes simpler" to matter, and reason "rises" to know it in all planes. After the dualism of all that exists is realized and accepted by the mind as a unity and the beginning of everything, it is easy to find the points of union in pairs of opposites and build a logical chain of conclusions that will lead us to the truth, Giordano Bruno asserted. Philosophy briefly described the path by which such enlightenment and understanding can be achieved. But not everyone could dare to start this difficult and responsible journey.

The pantheistic philosophy of Giordano Bruno, whose brief content gave the uninitiated an opportunity to see the boundaries of the spiritual and material, was the first step to understanding the process of cognition. He was at the forefront of developing science, which broke into the Age of Enlightenment and prompted outstanding minds for the further development of their theories. To the best of their ability, inevitably limited not only by the scholasticism that is firmly established, but also by the slow progress of technological progress, they were more likely to make conclusions on the basis of their observations than real science. Everyone knows these names: Galileo Galilei, Nicolaus Copernicus, Giordano Bruno. Philosophy briefly gives an idea of their role in the knowledge of the world and the popularization of this knowledge. Exposed to the persecutions of the Inquisition, forced to conceal their own works, popularize them secretly, they have duly passed this path, leaving a tangible mark in history.