Test in philosophy
Completed by Svetlana Evgenievna Sorokina, student gr. FZS (Mzh) – 030501 - 21 (k)
Udmurt State University Mozhga
Introduction.
The information provided to an individual by living religious experience concerns not only the nature of the essential characteristics, the properties of religion itself, but also the ultimate foundations of all things, including man in all the uniqueness and specificity of his being, ideas about the meaning and purpose of his life, the nature of relationships with nature, in within which his daily life is carried out, and with other people. Therefore, religion, mainly Christianity, just like philosophy, is a form of spiritual activity focused on consciousness and understanding of fundamental ideological issues related to man’s ideas about the world as a whole and man’s place in it.
For society taken as a whole, religion acts as a powerful tool social integration, uniting people, since common beliefs give the highest meaning to their activities. And in social terms, religion is realized as a special social institution - the church; at the first stages - simply as an association of believers, later (in almost all religions) - as a structure that unites individuals who are especially initiated into sacred secrets and act as a kind of “intermediaries” between the object of faith and people.
Taken in the unity and interaction of all these structure-forming components, religion performs a worldview-integrative function and provides certain explanations of nature, society and man, that is, the world as a whole. And here a certain similarity between religion and philosophy immediately strikes the eye. At the same time, religion also performs many other functions that philosophy lacks. Among the latter is the so-called saving-compensatory function, which promises a person hope of getting rid of all the hardships and adversities of the world. Everyday life. The important functions of religion also include the commutative-integrative function: religion facilitates communication, the unification of people who adhere to the same worldview. And, finally, the regulatory function, which gives a person certain norms and values of behavior, primarily ethical ones.
Let us recall that it was the Christian religion that contributed significantly to the development of a scientific worldview as a means or weapon in the fight against the occult. This process began already at the end of the Middle Ages, but acquired a special scope in the modern era, because the triumph of the scientific-mechanistic worldview was very important for Christianity: mechanism expelled spirits from nature. It is far from accidental that the scientific picture of the world was born precisely in Christian Europe, and not in Arab culture, which in many respects was very refined and high, and not in Chinese or Indian cultures.
According to Hegel, philosophy is the highest and final stage in the spiritual development of mankind, and, first of all, because religion is primarily focused on the feelings and ideas of man, while for philosophical consciousness and cognition the main tool, or instrument, is the concept.
1. Christian philosophy, its specifics and main features
1.1. Christianity as a source of Christian philosophy.
World religions include Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism.
Christianity is the largest world religion and one of the most widespread in terms of the number of adherents, who make up approximately 20% of the world's population and in terms of geographical distribution - in almost every country in the world there is at least one Christian community. Currently, the number of adherents of Christianity around the world exceeds about 2 billion.
At the center of Christian doctrine is the God-man Jesus Christ. The main book is the Bible - the Old Testament and the New Testament, which presents the life and suffering of Christ, stories about the acts of the holy apostles, as well as the revelation of St. John the Theologian with his painting doomsday, which awaits humanity.
Christianity originally emerged as the religion of the ancient Jews. The elimination of some elements of Judaism that were unpopular among other peoples (the rituals of circumcision, eating, the idea of God's chosenness of the Jewish people, the laws of Moses) caused an influx of pagans and converted Jews into Christian communities. The attractive aspects of Christianity were universalism, monotheism, the equality of all believers before God, the idea of the cleansing sacrifice of Christ, belief in reward in the afterlife, and the idea of resurrection.
Early Christianity was characterized by a refusal to participate in political life and government, preaching ascetic ethics. Until the beginning of the 4th century, Christianity was opposed by a state worldview based on the dominant pagan religion and on a picture of the world developed within the framework of philosophy. A philosophy that does not notice the two-thousand-year history of Christianity or deliberately ignores it is theoretically impossible and doomed to failure in advance. It is currently impossible to determine morality, justice, good, evil, the development and formation of European statehood and culture without taking into account the historical influence of Christianity on the life of human society.
By the 4th century, Christianity had strengthened ideologically, and after the decree of Emperor Constantine in 311 on freedom Christian denomination and the end of the persecution of Christians, theological disputes are transferred within Christianity, the most significant philosophical concepts and ideas are adapted to the needs of substantiating Christian teaching. Christianity becomes the officially recognized religion of the Roman Empire. A little more time will pass and the Council of Nicea in 325 will accept the final formulation of the main dogma of Christianity - the symbol of faith - the Trinity: God is one in essence, but trinity in persons (hypostases). This is God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit - all three persons are attributed the same divine properties (wisdom, eternity, goodness, holiness, etc.), but they have individual differences. God the Father is not born and does not come from the other persons of the trinity (the absolute origin), God the Son (Logos, the Word - the semantic principle) is eternally born from God the Father, God the Spirit (the life-giving principle) comes from God the Father. Christian rituals directly introduce divine principles into human life.
Christian morality is based on the intrinsic value of the individual (the individual is the “image of God” in man) and the inextricable connection between goodness, truth and freedom. At the same time, goodness and truth are not expressed in impersonal formal rules, but in the very person of Jesus Christ; hence the fundamental lack of formalizability of Christian morality, which in its very essence is the morality of freedom. Expressing human freedom, truly Christian faith is based not on fear and external debt, but on love directed towards Christ and towards each person as a bearer of the image of God. Good is created by man through the use of free will in the name of personality and love. Any other use of free will results in its self-denial and spiritual degradation of a person. Thus, human freedom contains not only the possibility of good, but also the risk of evil. Evil is the false use of freedom; the truth of freedom is goodness. Hence the specificity of Christian asceticism: it fights not against human nature itself, but against the sinful principle living in it. Human nature itself is god-like and worthy of spiritualization and immortality (this is how Christianity differs from Platonism, Gnosticism and Manichaeism).
1.2. The nature of Christian philosophy.
The very experience of philosophy was renewed by Christianity. The givenness which it has at its disposal is the world, the creation, the words, in which everything speaks of an infinite Mind to finite minds that know that they are minds, when philosophy, in the course of some long process, tries to soften the crisis, to disguise the paradox, to reveal the sublime givenness in the dialectic of reason or pure spirit, precisely and precisely from this moment it ceases to be Christian. Metaphysical thinking, thus turned to its true natural spirituality, will criticize these demands “in the name of higher demands” - in the name of the demands of truly pure reason. The position of philosophy has changed; it has been elevated by Christianity. It is in this connection that it should be said that faith leads and directs philosophy, while infringing on its autonomy, for philosophy always judges things according to its own laws, on the basis of its own principles and its own rational criteria, even about things that, being naturally accessible to the mind alone, would not have been actually recognized or preserved by the mind without the admixture of error, if the mind had not at the same time taken notice of their existence and strengthened itself by some vital continuity connecting it with the highest light.
Christian philosophy is not a definite teaching - it is philosophy itself, in the form in which it is in the conditions of its existence, the existence of a completely special one, into which Christianity introduced the thinking subject, and to his mind some objects are visible, and some of his statements are properly deduced, which in other conditions he more or less fails. It is this internal qualitative assessment that makes it possible to isolate and determine the distinctive features of a well-known group of teachings that are united by an internal connection. This connection is not accidental, it follows from the very nature of philosophy, its natural strivings for the fullest possible knowledge of its own objects, from the very nature of Christian teaching and Christian life, from the external and internal strengthening that it imparts to the mind. Christian philosophers have always been theologians at the same time.
The concept of Christian philosophy is the classic distinction between the sphere of specificity and the sphere of implementation, or else, within the limits that we adhere to, between nature and factual position, we must distinguish between the nature of philosophy, or what it is in itself and its position, that is, its actual, historically determined place in the life of a human subject, and what corresponds to the conditions of its existence and functioning in specific conditions. It goes without saying that this distinction presupposes that philosophy has its own nature and that it itself represents something determinate. We will talk about subjects that in themselves belong to the field of philosophy, but about which philosophers actually did not express a clear judgment and which Christian revelation brought to the fore: for example, the concept of creation, and also the concept of nature, which, being completely real and meaningful (which not seen by the Hindus), is not an absolute closed in itself and can (which the Greeks did not see) be completed by a supernatural order, then revelation should be understood not as everything that is revealed data, that is open, but only the elements of the natural order that it contains or which are connected with him, and once his attention is drawn to these elements, philosophy masters them in accordance with its own order, which is an ascending order.
Main features of Christian philosophy.
The expression “Christian philosophy” describes not just one essence, but a whole complex: an essence taken in a certain position. This necessarily implies a certain inaccuracy of this expression, which relates to several very real things.
In the history of human thought there is a current that appears in various forms and has different levels of development; its representatives can be found in almost any period of the existence of Christianity. This trend, the origins of which go back to a very distant past - one might say, to all the sacred wisdom of the ancient Jews - tends to deny human wisdom and philosophy, which has an autonomous character in relation to religious faith; in this case it is recognized that philosophy, insofar as it is the doctrine of truth, requires Christian faith, or at least some anticipation of a life of faith or some positive orientation towards this life; some Russian thinkers, for their part, believe that a person’s turn to faith changes philosophy in its very essence, gives it a new nature, new principles, a new pure light. Christian philosophy, in terms of the integrity and universality of the tasks it puts forward for itself, is a worldview, in the most direct and literal sense of the word, that is, the development and justification of ideas and views about the world as a whole: about nature, society, man in their interrelation and interaction with each other with a friend. It is in Christian philosophy that maximum creative freedom, rational understanding of the doctrines of faith, and a critical look at one’s own identity are allowed. Christian philosophy is a kind of school of reflection, the practice of asking questions in which objects are comprehended on the border of internal experience and the external world. Philosophy makes it possible to explicate the internal issues of the church to the outside world, to speak in a universally valid language.
1.4. Russian Christian philosophy.
Russian philosophy embodies the contradictory nature of the cultural and historical development of Russia, complex forms of interaction with European social and philosophical thought. Russian consciousness constantly existed in a situation of “schism”: between Christianity and paganism, between “us” and “strangers”, between mercy and justice, between Europe and Asia, between truth and truth. In truth, Western philosophy has never freed itself from Christianity: where it did not help philosophy in its formation, it was a stumbling block for it. It is in this sense that Nikolai Berdyaev said that all modern great philosophies (and even, of course, the philosophy of Feuerbach) are “Christian” philosophies, philosophies that without Christianity would not have become what they are.
The outstanding Russian theologian and philosopher V.V. Zenkovsky in his works “Fundamentals of Christian Philosophy” and “History of Russian Philosophy” defined his views as “the experience of Russian philosophy.” He believed that Russian Christian philosophy grew out of the Orthodox worldview of the Russian people and developed under the constant influence of Orthodoxy. Truly Russian philosophy has never broken with the Orthodox faith. All the best that was created in it is illuminated by the light of Orthodoxy. The creative power and freedom of a person depends on his faith in God. Only through Orthodox faith there is a restoration of the unity of the human spirit lost as a result of original sin (split of mind and heart), the transformation of humanity for eternal life. The essence of Russian Christian philosophy is the “acquisition of the holy spirit.”
Russian Christian philosophy is also represented by the names of P. Florensky and S. Bulgakov, who consistently developed the ideas of religious-scientific synthesis, defending the ideal of religious-philosophical universalism.
Florensky’s peculiarity is not so much the demand for the unity of philosophy and theology, faith and reason, science and art, but rather the method of substantiating it, which the philosopher himself called “concrete metaphysics”, which is a hidden criticism of the “abstract principles” that underlie the entire Western European philosophical tradition . Considering the constitutive role of the idea, Florensky comes to the conclusion that in this process special role plays symbol and name. Defining a symbol as “a being that is greater than itself,” he believes that a symbol, like a name, takes on the energy potential of being. The manifestation of being is identical to its openness to man, which is consolidated through names and words, in which the energy of being and its symbolic completeness are accumulated. A word (name), synthesizing symbolic and energetic meanings, determines the very possibility of cognition and determines its form. The dichotomy of the word allows a person to go beyond the subjective limits of his consciousness and break through to the very “core” of the world, which is possible to know only by overcoming the psychophysiological limitations of a person. The word brings man to reality through and through the subjective act of will consciousness. The word is antinomic, like being itself. Florensky's philosophical anthropology is associated with the development of Orthodox personology. A person’s place in the world is derived from his Sophia nature. Sophia herself is interpreted by the thinker as the unity of several principles of the personal, subjective, hypostatic, existential, and theological. Truth is known through experience, mystical insight, and not through rational activity. It gives the mystical experience that the basis of truth and reality is love. Love is understood by Florensky as a transition to a truly integrated state; it is the unity of all forms, phenomena and states, “the realization of what is potentially possible in eternity.” The process of cognition itself acts as creativity, as a constructive activity. Human activity, which is associated with a constant increase in individualization, selfishness, and volitional arbitrariness, only aggravates world chaos.
S. Bulgakov made a complex transition from Marxism to idealism and to Christianity. His philosophy, associated with an attempt at critical reflection of Marxism and materialism, is aimed at justifying the possibility of religious and philosophical synthesis by including religious and theological issues and methodology and through the development of Orthodox doctrine, which requires more modern philosophical justification. Bulgakov tried to use religious experience at different levels to clarify philosophical issues. For Bulgakov, philosophy is an attempt to understand the innermost soul of the world, its hidden meanings. According to Bulgakov, the world evolves as a living being. Bulgakov's recognition of the activity of the world is later transformed into theocosmism, which interprets the presence of evil in the world as the fruit of created self-determination. For Bulgakov the theologian, evil was created by creation, the soul of the world is sick with demonism, hence the crisis that modern society is experiencing. Bulgakov believes that evil in history gives rise to eschatology, therefore it is wrong to talk about historical and cultural progress. History will end catastrophically, giving rise to transhistorical time. Man as a historical being is imperfect, but as the likeness of God he is the world master and demiurge, possessing the creative element. The true subject of historical creativity is not man, but humanity. Man is the “eye of the world soul.” Only in man does nature become aware of itself. However, a person’s creative potential is limited by his self; it can only be overcome by a person’s victory over himself. The self in nature is overcome by labor within the historical process. Bulgakov emphasizes that freedom is necessary to overcome selfhood. Unlike man, freedom is not created, it is pre-eternal, radiated from the “eternal light and freedom of God.” The inhumanity of individuality is Bulgakov's anthropological axiom.
Thus, the philosophical systems of Florensky and Bulgakov embody the most characteristic features of Russian religious philosophy, distinguishing it from Western European Christian philosophy: panethism, eschatology, soilness, an attempt to clarify all meanings to the end, synthetism, a certain mysticism.
Conclusion.
Christian philosophy is the understanding and expression of the Christian faith in the language of culture. In Christianity, moral standards are not addressed to external affairs (as was the case in paganism) and not to external manifestations of faith (as in Old Testament), but to internal motivation, to the “inner man”. The highest moral authority is not duty, shame and honor, but conscience.
The lessons of Christian philosophy are the lessons of translating the Gospel, “special revelation,” into the language of secular thought, in which the essence is not lost, on the contrary, it becomes clearer. Christian philosophy makes the spiritual wealth of Christianity accessible to an inquisitive consciousness. But it is also not unimportant that this same thought translates, reads, analyzes all the richness of human culture for Christianity, through the prism of its dogmas. If it is certain that all truth is from God, it is also certain that all this diverse and divided truth is worthy of attention and study. Christian philosophy presupposes not only a diversity of ideas, but also a free space of people united by the presumptions of faith, rationality, and culture; creativity. This is the ideological basis for the formation of the Christian intelligentsia, the ethnos of which is Christian humanism. In Christian philosophy, a synthesis of faith and reason, knowing faith and the mind of the believer is achieved. Here the possibility of another mind becomes obvious, not autarkic, not proud, but serving and loving, capable of breaking away from itself and becoming higher.
From these considerations it follows that philosophy, completely dependent on its formal subject, together with this subject, which belongs entirely to the category of the natural, draws from itself, it is subject to the same internal criteria, strictly natural or rational, and that, Thus, the name Christian applied to philosophy does not refer to what it constitutes in its philosophical essence: it does not depend on the Christian faith either in its subject matter, or in principles, or in methods.
Bibliography
V.V. Zenkovsky “Fundamentals of Christian Philosophy” M., 1994
V. G. Kuznetsov, I. D. Kuznetsova, V. V. Mironov, K. Kh. Momdzhyan textbook of philosophy M., “INFRA-M” 2010.
J. Maritain “On Christian Philosophy” trans. from French L.M. Stepacheva M., “Scientific World”, 1999
F. Mauriac “Life of Jesus” trans. from French edited by BEHIND. Maslenikova M., “World”, 1991
A. B. Ranovich “Ancient critics of Christianity” M., “Politizdat”, 1990
E. Renan “Life of Jesus” trans. from French M., Politizdat, 1991
textbook of philosophy, ed. Doctor of Philology, Prof. V.V. Mironova M., publishing house "NORMA", 2009
Topic 3. Christian philosophy
Transition to Christianity. Stages of development of Christian philosophy. Basic problems of Christian philosophy
Ancient philosophy, as noted, developed for about a millennium, from the turn 6th - 7th centuries BC to VI century AD Heyday systems of Democritus, Plato, Aristotle, V - IV century BC After them comes systematization, the development of particular aspects, the direction of philosophizing changes: not knowledge for the sake of knowledge, but knowledge for the sake of a happy life. Aristotle's point of view that philosophy is the most beautiful science, because it is the most useless, is replaced by another position: the most beautiful, because it is the most useful, since it is designed to ensure a good life, serenity, ataraxia.
But centuries of such philosophizing after Aristotle gradually showed that philosophy itself is not able to solve the problem of educating a person for happiness, inner independence and virtue with the help of correct knowledge.
Skepticism taught that knowledge of things gives a contradictory picture of the world and virtue consists more in the renunciation of knowledge than in knowledge itself.
The experience of the Stoics showed that the ideal of the sage cannot be realized more or less completely in any person.
Only the Epicureans showed that it is possible to live serenely and even with dignity in this crazy world with its wars, violence, and the threat of the individual being dissolved in the gigantic machine of the state. But this experience is suitable only for a few. Everyone cannot “live unnoticed,” as Epicurus suggested. The vast majority of people inevitably have to work, participate in battles, bear the burden of family, relatives, illness, taxes, endure state violence, etc.
Conclusion: through his own efforts, relying on his own reason, a person cannot achieve either knowledge, virtue, or happiness. This means the need for some kind of support from the outside, i.e. over. A limited and imperfect mind needs the authority of divine revelation; the path to it lies not through knowledge of the surrounding world, but through religious faith. Therefore, the old ancient world was internally, psychologically ready to perceive Christianity as a new, fresh force. And this force entered the outdated, tired Hellenic world.
Christianity entered the ancient world with its enormous cultural values philosophy, art, science, spiritual traditions, and it had to somehow relate to them. Two trends characterize Christianity's attitude toward these cultural values.
First - the desire to displace pagan values and replace them with new, Christian ones. Second - assimilation of these values, enriching their content with them and preserving them in this form. We can say this: it must be inevitable that Christian ideas will be filled with the meat and flesh of paganism. And indeed, a process of assimilation of the ideas of the Stoics, Plato, and Aristotle followed.
Stages of development of Christian philosophy. The first stage is apostolic . This refers to the development and mastery of the philosophical and worldview ideas of the Gospel and the Epistles of the Apostles. This I-ser. II century.
The second stage - patristics, from patres - fathers. These are philosophical ideas developed by the church fathers. Here we can distinguish a sub-period apologetics, approximately II - IV century. At this time, Christianity was persecuted in the Roman Empire, and the church fathers polemically defended Christian values in the face of the dominance of pagan philosophy and pagan ideas. Pagan, i.e. non-Christian. Just as for the Greeks and Romans all other peoples were barbarians, so for Christians all other religions and worldviews were pagan. Among the church fathers of this period one can name Tertullian and Clement of Alexandria.
Let us briefly describe Tertullian's ideas. Full name Tertullian Quintus Septimius Florence. Born in 160, died around 220. Converted to Christianity at the age of 35, lived in North Africa, in Carthage. His works: “Apology”, “On Idolaters”, “Against the Greeks”, “On the Flesh of Christ”, “On the Resurrection of the Flesh”.
He is a militant Christian, for him faith is unconditionally higher than reason. All philosophy is heretical and is the source of religious heresy. Philosophers do not know the truth, “they are looking for it, therefore they have not found it.” Truth is from God, and philosophy is from the devil. We do not need curiosity after Jesus Christ, nor research after the Gospel.
Tertullian is characterized by a paradoxical style of thinking; he emphasizes the gap between faith and reason. He agrees that the provisions of faith are absurd for reason, but this just means that they are true.
He is credited with the saying: “I believe because it is absurd.” The meaning of this provision is that the provisions of faith are incommensurable with reason, i.e. reason cannot determine their truth.
Quote from Tertullian: “The Son of God was crucified; We are not ashamed, because we should be ashamed. And the Son of God died; this is completely reliable, because it does not correspond to anything; and after burial he rose again; this is certain, because it is impossible.”
But not all apologists were so categorical in the opposition of faith and reason. Some tried to reconcile Christianity with Greek philosophy and tradition.
B IV century, Christianity became the dominant religion in the Roman Empire. Religious dogma begins to be brought into the system by the church fathers, relying on philosophy. Here you can name Gregory the Theologian, Gregory of Nyssa, Aurelius Augustine the Blessed.
From VI to XVIII centuries takes a period scholastics. Scholasticos - scientist, school. Scholium academic conversation, teaching. Scholasticism flourished in feudal society in Europe. Representatives of scholasticism: Peter Damiani, author of the expression “Philosophy handmaiden of theology”, Anselm of Canterbury, Abelard, Thomas Aquinas, Occam, Buridan.
Scholasticism dealt with the development of problems of the relationship between God and sensory reality; its peculiarity was its reliance on logic and reasoning.
Parallel to scholasticism, intertwined with it, the mystical line in Christianity developed the doctrine of direct supersensible communication with God and his knowledge through the experience of the human soul. Techniques and special techniques for such communication were developed. Here we can name the works of Augustine the Blessed, Origen, Boehme, the late Schelling, the Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyov, the American philosopher William James, and the French philosopher Henri Bergson.
Let us outline four cross-cutting problems of Christian philosophy.
First - proof of the existence of God. Second Theodicy, or justification of God. Third the problem of independence of the material world created by God. Fourth relationship between faith and reason.
Let's look at these problems in order.
1. Evidence for the Existence of God. God is directly revealed in the souls of believers and in Holy Scripture, so he does not need proof. But on the other hand, the human mind is so structured that it strives to rationally justify even what is directly given to us. Therefore, already in ancient times, proofs of the existence of God began to be developed.
We will give three types of evidence for the existence of God: cosmological, teleological and ontological.
Cosmological proof. From the word “space”, i.e. the world in general. It is based on the fact of the existence of movement in the world. Every movement has its own reason, but the reason is always found outside of its investigation. Thus, a separate body begins to move under the influence of a push from another body, which is located outside the first body.
The world as a whole is inherent in movement, this movement must also have some kind of common cause, which must be outside the world as a whole. The world is material, therefore a cause located outside the entire material world cannot be material, therefore, it has a spiritual nature. Only God can be such a reason. Therefore God exists.
This proof is already contained in the works of Plato and Aristotle, as well as in the Bible.
Teleological proof. From the word “telos”, i.e. target. It is based on the fact of the presence of purposefulness in nature, its orderliness. Nature is not structured in a random way, it is not chaotic, there are reasonable laws in it, for example, planets move in orbits that can be described by mathematical equations. Therefore, there must be an intelligent organizer of the world who brought order to the world. This rational organizer can only be God. Therefore God exists.
Thus, tables and chairs arranged in a certain order in the audience indicate that someone was in the audience and arranged the tables and chairs in this particular way and not otherwise.
In XX century, teleological proof can rely on discovered by physicists anthropic principle. It turned out that the world is indeed structured in a non-random way; it is based on such laws and physical constants that ensure the presence of its observer in the world, i.e. person. Thus, the presence of man, a rational being who knows the world, is embedded in the laws of nature.
Teleological proof was already developed by the Greeks Socrates, Plato, the Stoics.
Ontological proof. From the word “ontos”, i.e. being, existing.
Let us indicate two versions of the ontological proof. The first was put forward by Anselm of Canterbury, but there is a mention of it among the Stoics. It is constructed in the form of the following reasoning:
First premise: God a perfect being. Second premise: perfection includes real existence. Conclusion: God exists.
The second premise is based on the understanding of the perfect as something that maintains itself, ensures its own existence.
Another version of the ontological proof, more sophisticated. We perceive the world around us as imperfect. But you can evaluate something as imperfect only if you have an idea of perfection. This idea cannot be extracted from an imperfect world. Consequently, it was put into our consciousness by someone who himself is not part of this imperfect world; it can only be God. This means God exists.
Let's draw a parallel with the reasoning of the hero from George Orwell's novel “1984,” which describes a totalitarian society. The reasoning is as follows: “All my life I have lived in a society in which the entrances smell of sauerkraut, cigarettes crumble in my fingers, gin gives me heartburn, even razor blades are distributed on coupons. I don't know any other life. And I clearly understand that such a life is not normal. Where did I get this understanding from if I didn’t live a different life?” The hero makes the assumption that the idea of a normal life was passed on to him genetically from past generations who lived in a different society. The problem here is the same as in the ontological proof of the existence of God. The problem is to explain the presence in our consciousness of the idea of the norm or perfection.
2. Theodicy . Translated as justification of God. This is a set of teachings that seek to reconcile the idea of an all-good and all-intelligent God with the presence of evil and injustice in the world he created. Theodicy tries to answer the question: if God is all-good and just, then why does evil, wars, earthquakes, diseases, and epidemics exist in the world he created? Why do the evil triumph and the good suffer defeat?
In ancient philosophy, the problem of theodicy did not arise, since the existence of many gods was recognized, these gods limited each other, they were characterized by purely human shortcomings envy, jealousy, they interfered with the world and brought their own imperfections into it. Evil was also explained from matter as an independent principle, which was also the source of the imperfection of the world.
However, in Christianity, God is one, he is the creator of everything, including matter, therefore he determines everything that happens in the world. This means that God is responsible for everything that happens in the world, including the evil that is present in it. In this case, it turns out that people can do whatever they want, and God is responsible for everything. However, it is not clear how a perfect God could create an imperfect world.
For example, it is obvious that the imperfection of a table made by a carpenter indicates the imperfection of the one who made it, i.e. the carpenter himself. But God cannot be imperfect!
Let us present two versions of the theodicy. First in Protestantism. The all-good God predetermines absolutely everything in the world. How can we understand the presence of evil in the world? The answer of Martin Luther, one of the founders of Protestantism, is this: if this could be rationally understood, then there would be no need for faith. Thus, it is necessary believe to the goodness of God, no matter what.
Second option - in Catholicism and Orthodoxy. Based on the principle of free will. God proves his goodness by creating a free human personality in his own image and likeness. Freedom, to be complete, must include possibility of evil.
Adam, having received freedom from God, chose evil by eating the forbidden fruit, thereby plunging himself and the whole world into a state of sinfulness and imperfection. Thus, the imperfection of the world is the result of the excessive initial perfection that the all-good and all-kind God endowed man with. Therefore, it is not God, but man himself, who is responsible for evil in the world.
3. About how independent the material world is. First, let's give some explanatory material. The world is a collection of individual things that we perceive through our senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch, etc. These individual things correspond to general concepts.
For example, there is a chair, a sofa, an armchair, a table... The concept of “furniture” corresponds to them. There are specific dogs Tuzik, Jack, Charlie... The concept of a dog as such corresponds to them. There are Ivanov, Petrov, Napoleon, Ophelia... The concept of man as such corresponds to them.
General concepts are united by more general concepts. A dog as such, a deer as such, a person as such are covered by the concept of mammal. This concept is together with the concepts of fish, insect, bird, etc. is united into the more general concept of animal, which, together with the concept of plant, is united into the concept of living being, which in turn, together with the concept of inanimate nature, is covered by the concept of nature in general. All nature as the material world is united together with the ideal world (thoughts, ideas, concepts) by the extremely general concept of “Being”, covering everything that exists.
Being
material world, perfect world
living being, inanimate nature understand-
Tia
mammal, bird, fish, insect...
dog, man, deer, horse...
Tuzik, Jack, Charlie... Ivanov, Petrov, Napoleon, Ophelia...
Separate things
So, on the one hand, there are individual material things perceived by our senses, on the other hand, general concepts corresponding to these individual things.
Now let's move on to Christian philosophy. Two directions emerge in it: realism and nominalism.
Realism - from the word realia, this is how general concepts were called in Christian philosophy: man as such, bird as such, etc. According to realism, general concepts, or realities, express the essence of individual objects. These concepts have an existence independent of individual things and are determinative in relation to individual things. The more general a reality is, the more reality it has.
For example, a dog as such has greater reality than an individual dog, which we perceive with our senses as a specific living being. The mammal as such has an even greater reality. A living being in general has an even greater reality. The most real is the concept of Being, which coincides with God, who embraces everything that exists.
This position may seem, at first glance, strange to a modern person who values first of all what can be touched with his hands. But consider the following example. Let's say you go to the dean's office of your faculty. Which is more correct to say: go into the dean’s office or into the room where the dean’s office is located? And where is he located?
The decanate cannot be perceived as a separate sensory thing through sight, hearing, etc. And yet it is undoubtedly real. The dean's office can move from this room to another, all employees in the dean's office can change from dean to secretary. But as a reality, the dean’s office remains, and it is more real than those who work in it. The same reality, which is not perceived by the senses, but is perceived by our mind, is any institution: a university, a school, a state, which also cannot be seen or touched. It is clear that the state is something more real than any citizen who exists today and is no longer there tomorrow, since people are mortal, imperfect, etc.
And what does it mean to “visit the Petrov family”? Well, let's go, and where is the Petrov family? We can only see the rooms in which she lives, her members, who are alone today and different tomorrow: today this family is complete, and tomorrow it is incomplete, or the number of family members is increasing, etc. But the family as a special reality remains, lives and exists.
So, we are talking about a special type of reality, different from the reality of individual objects that can be perceived with the help of the senses. Realism goes back to Plato's doctrine of ideas. But as a movement it arises within patristics and becomes dominant in scholastic philosophy. He was theoretical basis to understand the nature of God and his properties.
Representatives of realism: Plato, Aurelius Augustine, Anselm of Canterbury. A moderate realist who recognized the relative independence of individual things was Thomas Aquinas.
The opposite trend was nominalism, from lat. words nominalis , i.e. relating to titles, names. According to nominalism, general concepts do not exist as a special reality. Only certain sensory things that surround us that can be touched, seen, heard, etc. have reality.
There are extreme and moderate nominalism; the first considered general concepts to be verbal fictions playing the role of useful abbreviations. In order not to list all the people: Ivanov, Petrova, Nikolaeva, Napoleon..., they use the word “person” as an abbreviation. The second type of nominalism recognized the existence of general concepts, but only as names in the mind of the knowing subject.
Nominalism proposed to stop endlessly arguing about concepts, but to explore real properties real world, develop experiential knowledge. In this way he contributed to the development of science. But ultimately he made science itself impossible. The fact is that science studies the world around us in order to understand its general laws. For example, an experiment is set up to reveal a law or general causal relationship. But just these general patterns for nominalism they were verbal fictions. The world was presented as a simple collection of things and facts unrelated to each other.
Nominalism undermined the most important provisions of the Christian religion. For example, in accordance with the dogma of the Holy Trinity, God is one and at the same time exists in three persons, which are unmerged and inseparable. But according to nominalism, it is necessary to choose: either God is one, or there must be three Gods. But first This is Islam, Allah is one and there is no one but Allah. Second polytheism, i.e. paganism. The specificity of Christianity disappeared. Therefore, the church persecuted nominalism and nominalists.
Its representatives: Roscelin, Occam, Buridan, John Duns Scott.
4. The relationship between faith and reason. K XII century, several points of view emerged on the relationship between faith and reason, all of which did not satisfy the church. Let's give three points of view.
Rationalistic(from ratio , i.e. intelligence). Representative Abelard (1079-1143). According to this view, all articles of faith must be subjected to the examination of reason, and that which does not agree with reason must be discarded.
Dual truth theory , Averoes (1126-1198). Faith and science have different areas of knowledge; area of the first Divine revelation, area of the second nature. Thus, everyone has their own truth. Contradictions between faith and science arise when they begin to intrude into areas other than their own, i.e. when faith begins to judge nature, and science about religious positions. This position made it possible to free science and philosophy from the control of the church.
Complete denial of the value of science and reason. Representatives - Tertullian (ca. 160-220) and Peter Damiani (1007-1072). Reason contradicts faith, since it is sinful and imperfect, therefore the provisions of faith seem absurd to it. But this absurdity for reason means the truth of the provisions of faith. There is no need for any special theological science based on reasonable grounds; the whole truth is already present in the Gospel.
This point of view also did not satisfy the church, since it turned out that the church itself as a mediator between believers and God is not needed, everything is already in the Gospel, and each believer can figure everything out for himself.
The solution to the question of faith and reason was entrusted to Thomas Aquinas, who coped with this task quite satisfactorily.
According to Thomas, reason, i.e. science and philosophy perform only service and auxiliary functions in relation to theology; reason can be relied on to better explain the provisions of faith, in order to make it easier for the weak human mind to understand them. Thus, Jesus switched to the language of parables when he explained his truths to the common people. If the provisions of faith and science contradict each other, this is a sign that science is mistaken in its reasoning.
Further, Thomas divided all provisions of faith into two types. The first propositions are reasonably comprehensible and can be rigorously proven. This the existence of God, his unity, the immortality of the soul. The second propositions are rationally incomprehensible because they are super-reasonable, cannot be proven, but nevertheless they are true. These are provisions about the creation of the world from nothing, about original sin (according to which Adam’s sin is transmitted to all generations, despite the fact that the soul of a newly born person is pure and sinless), about the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary, who, having given birth to a baby, still remained a virgin , about the Trinity of God, etc.
The philosophy of Thomas lies at the basis of modern Catholicism, it is called Thomism (Fomism) after its creator.
2/ Basic principles of religious and philosophical thinking and worldview
Z/ Knowledge as likeness to God. Mysticism and scholasticism 4/ Religious intellectualism and religious anti-intellectualism. The problem of the relationship between reason and faith
Christian apologetics: main issues and ideological origins
In historical science, the Middle Ages in Western Europe are dated to the V-XV centuries. However, in relation to philosophy, such dating is not entirely correct. Medieval philosophy in Western Europe is Christian philosophy. Christian philosophy began to take shape much earlier. The first Christian philosophers - Athenagoras, Theophilus, Irenaeus, Justin, Tatian and others developed and propagated their ideas in the 2nd century. n. e.
The philosophy of early Christianity was called apologetics, and its representatives are apologists. They received this name because their writings often bore the name and character of apologies, that is, writings aimed at defending and justifying Christian doctrine and the activities of Christians. The early Christians solved two interrelated problems: directly practical and ideological-theoretical. The essence of the first was the need to protect Christian communities from persecution, defend the right to profess a new religion, strengthen their organizational unity, prevent its adherents from abandoning Christianity, and attract broad sections of the population to it. The solution to this problem involved clarifying the relationship of supporters of the new religion to the state and society, and their religious beliefs - to the state religion and the requirements of civic duties, to public morality, to the fight against rumors spread about Christians as atheists, sacrileges, immoral people performing cannibalistic rituals , to prove the superiority of Christianity over other religions, etc. In writings addressed primarily to government officials - Roman emperors, governors, Christian apologists convince them of the loyalty of adherents of the new religion.
In the face of constant persecution, the ideologists of early Christianity sought out legal arguments to defend the right to civil existence for their religion. At that time, they appealed to natural and civil law, advocated for the uniform application of laws to all citizens of the empire, regardless of their religion, and demanded the application of the principle of freedom of conscience. Addressing adherents of Christianity, apologists sought to encourage them, to instill in them the idea of exclusivity and God's chosenness. Often, the ideologists of primitive Christianity deliberately pushed their “brothers in faith” to martyrdom. They used suffering and fanatical self-sacrifice, as a manifestation of the high moral and volitional qualities of adherents of the new religion, as an argument in missionary activity.
Along with solving immediate practical problems related to ensuring the normal functioning of Christian organizations and conducting missionary activities, Christian apologists paid a lot of attention to the development and theoretical justification of their faith. The fact is that Christian apologetics appeared and began to function at the moment of the formation of the church. At that time, Christianity still existed in the form of scattered communities or episcopal churches that did not have a single, generally accepted creed. It was only necessary to create this creed.
Where did the necessary mental material come from? First of all, the object of understanding by Christian apologists were numerous mythological images and ideas of empirical religious consciousness, partly borrowed from the Middle Eastern, Greek and Roman religions, partly re-formed in the Christian consciousness under the influence of new social and spiritual factors. Hellenistic philosophy of late antiquity also provided great material for philosophical reflection. Christian apologists had to organize all this heterogeneous material, bring it into some kind of system, if possible, clarify the most important provisions, make them accessible to the perception of their adherents and protect them from attacks by opponents of Christianity.
When developing the foundations of religious doctrine, Christian philosophers did not need to reinvent the conceptual apparatus and methodology for operating with these concepts; they could and did use the conceptual language of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy. Researchers of the history of Christianity note that the direct theoretical sources of early Christian philosophy were Hellenistic philosophy of the 1st-2nd centuries, primarily the system of the Judeo-Hellenistic philosopher from Alexandria Philo and vulgarized Greek, especially Stoic philosophy.
Philo's philosophy was based on the idea of God as a supreme being, standing outside of time and space, transcendent to the world (located beyond the world). Due to his transcendence, God could not come into direct contact with the world; for this, an intermediary was needed. At the mythological level, this problem was resolved in Christianity through the image of the lamb - Jesus Christ, who accepted the sacrificial death of the three threes of humanity in the name of its salvation. However, the emerging Christian philosophy needed to provide a solution to this problem on a theoretical level. On this basis, the so-called Christological problem was formed, which with particular force stimulated theological searches and opened up a wide field for philosophical reflection.
In ancient philosophy, certain approaches had already been developed to solve the problem of overcoming the dualism of the world and its essence. The Pythagoreans, Plato and his followers laid down the basic methodological principles of the doctrine of the spiritual unity of the world. But neither the classics of ancient philosophy nor the Neoplatonists created the concept of God as a person. They interpreted the One as a certain original, which produced all being from itself, as an absolute abstract impersonal individuality. Personal Understanding of God first given by Philo of Alexandria.
That which is personal, unique and indestructible is not composed of something impersonal, Philo reasoned. An attempt to explain personality causally and genetically leads to a transition from one element to another, ad infinitum. With this fragmentation, personality is lost. Consequently, in order to preserve the personality in all its individuality, originality and unity, it is necessary to admit that it can be created out of nothing, without any prerequisites. Personality, like God, is without prerequisites. If God is an absolute beginning, then He cannot but be a person, for if He is not a person, then something preceded Him, and therefore He is not an absolute beginning. Thus, God is a person and requires a personal relationship and understanding.
The characterization of God as a person was a significant step forward in the direction of the Christian worldview, but it did not completely bridge the gap between God and the world. To bridge this gap it was necessary to introduce mediating forces. For this purpose, Philo uses one of the central concepts of ancient philosophy - the concept of Logos. Just as in ancient philosophy, Philo’s Logos is endowed with a rational-logical and structural-ordering function. Logos is world order, beauty and harmony. This is the law that brings all the diversity of things to unity. From him is all form, all stability and certainty. Taken by itself, in abstraction from bodily Shchvy, Logos is the kingdom of eternal intelligible ideas, identical with divine thoughts. The world is created by God according to the model of these ideas and serves as their reflection.
But unlike ancient philosophy, Philo’s Logos appears as a spirit created by God, which is originally the divine mind. After the creation of the real world, the divine mind became immanent in the world. Accordingly, ideas and logos, as divine components, also become immanent to the world. In Philo's view of Logos All that was missing was his identification with the Messiah - Christ. The Logos, identified with Christ, appears shortly after the death of Philo, in the Gospel of John:
“In the beginning was the Word [Logos in the original Greek] and the Word was with God and the Word was God” (John 1:1). And further, the author of the work brings Jesus Christ closer to God through the Logos. “The Word became flesh and dwelt in him” (John 1:4). Thus, a version arises that the eternally existing Logos was incarnated in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is interpreted as God, but the concept of “God” is not identical to the concept of “Christ”. There is a certain difference between them, for otherwise it is difficult to understand the meaning of the earthly existence of the Logos, its purpose and purpose in the world. God the Father is invisible, and Logos the Son must incarnate among people so that through him they learn about the Father.
The doctrine of the divine Logos was also developed by representatives stoicism. However, the main contribution of Stoicism in the formation of the Christian worldview is that it represented Christianity system of moral values. Stoicism is characterized by the preaching of apolitism, disregard for the realities of concrete social life, the denial of the values of the objective-corporeal and the opposition of the physical to the spiritual, as a higher sphere of vital interests. One of the most important tasks of philosophy is, according to Seneca, the task of establishing a special community between people, imbued with an invisible, but the strongest connection, a community of holy righteous people, uniting the divine world and the human world. Such a community, he thought, could be created by people who embodied the ideals of the sage - the Stoics. These people, free from all kinds of passions and needs, are real masters of themselves, possessing all the virtues, always doing the right thing and achieving all these qualities by an attitude of non-resistance and religious submission to the providential order of the world.
Basic principles of religious and philosophical thinking and worldview
The main provisions of the Christian faith take the form of guiding principles that determine the way of perception, comprehension and processing of mental material, that is the form of the basic principles of religious and philosophical theorizing and worldview.
The dominant idea of the Christian worldview is the idea of God. If the ancient worldview, in its essence, is cosmocentric, then the medieval one is theopentric. The reality that determines everything in the world for Christianity is not nature, space, and the supernatural beginning - God. The idea of the real existence of the supernatural and the possibility of establishing certain relationships with it is one of the essential aspects of all developed religions, including Christianity. Christian thinkers give the supernatural the role of a determining principle in all processes occurring in the world, making the existence of nature, man, and society dependent on it.
The idea of the real existence of the supernatural forces us to look from a special angle at the development, the meaning of history and the universe, human goals and values, gives them their own special, as if supra-worldly perspective, rising above finite everyday and historical situations, rooted in something eternal, absolute , eternal, located beyond everything earthly, relative, temporary, transitory. This point of view on everything that happens in the world, enshrined in the doctrine and cult practice of religious institutions, takes in theology and religious philosophy the form of a guiding attitude, which determines the way of perception, comprehension and processing of all mental material, and acquires the status of the main principle of religious and philosophical theorizing - supranaturalism(from Latin super - above and natura - nature). The principle of supranaturalism is carried out in theology and religious philosophy through the entire system of concepts, worldview schemes and more particular attitudes: creationism, theism, providentialism, etc.
Acting as the most important attitude, a fundamental element of the religious philosophical style of thinking, supranaturalism is concretized in Christian theology by a number of other principles. Among these principles, special mention should be made soterio- Logism (from Lat. soter - savior) - the orientation of all human life activity towards the “salvation of the soul.” Jesus Christ is seen as the savior of the world and humanity, who atoned for the sins of humanity with his martyrdom on the cross. Salvation itself is interpreted as a process of deification, the union of man with God in the so-called “divine kingdom.”
In Christian theology, in accordance with soteriologism, there is a reduction of man as a subject of activity, knowledge and communication to the object and subject of “salvation”. The meaning of human existence, from the point of view of Christian theorists, is not in the knowledge and transformation of nature and society, but in union with God in the so-called “divine kingdom.” With this approach, all aspects of human life are viewed through the prism of religious values, as factors that favor or hinder “salvation.” As a result, a person’s life in religious concepts receives, as it were, two dimensions: the first is a person’s relationship to God, the second is a person’s relationship to nature and other people.
Of course, one cannot categorically assert that human social activity, his knowledge and transformation of the world completely lose their own meaning for religious thinkers. In various philosophical and theological systems, these aspects of human life are given unequal importance. But the main thing that defines them is given to the first attitude, since it is in it that the meaning of human life is revealed, it is here that everything good and moral is acquired. The second relationship acquires significance for a person only insofar as it contributes to the formation of his spiritual world and acts as a means of spiritual ascent to God.
Another important principle of understanding and processing mental material in Christian theology is closely related to supranaturalism and soteriologism - Relationism, or the principle of divine revelation(from Latin revelatio - revelation). The transcendence and incomprehensibility of God, the finitude and sinfulness of man - these are the principles of Christian philosophy, on the basis of which religionism functions.
The principle of revelation presupposes, first of all, the existence of something “mysterious” that people need to know for salvation. But they are not able to obtain this knowledge with their minds. Precisely because the content of revelation is a transcendent being, which infinitely surpasses the possibilities of natural knowledge, the need for such a form of communication between God and man arises. Communication itself is understood in Christian philosophy as the process of God transmitting his “secret” to people, as an act of divine self-disclosure through the prophets and apostles in the Holy Scriptures (the Bible).
Christian apologetics, which provides for the unfolding of revelation over time, recognizes the possibility and right of interpretation of its content on the part of the church. And the church itself is considered as its only and never mistaken interpreter. Recognition of the exclusive right of the church to interpret the content of revelation is formalized in the recognition of such a form of revelation as the Sacred Tradition, enshrined in the Sacred Tradition. This trend has been most developed in ", the Catholic Church, where not only the writings of the church fathers, the decisions of the first seven Ecumenical Councils (Orthodoxy), but also the documents of the Pope began to be considered as Holy Tradition. The dogma of the infallibility of the Pope was the logical continuation and completion of this practice.
An important way for God to convey his secret is through direct communication, the entry of God into man through mystical intuition. Revelation in this case is understood as the direct contemplation of God, the assimilation of the “mystery” due to its self-evidence. This method of revelation, according to orthodox Christian views, is the privilege of saints, and also of those who, through special efforts, comprehend at some point states of holiness.
Revolutionism presupposes the attitude of Christian philosophers to the original material of thought not as the result of a theoretical study of man, but as an eternal and unchangeable truth received from the outside, in ready-made form, which people must accept by virtue of the authority of the one from whom it was received - God, the church. This approach inevitably leads to an authoritative, dogmatic type of thinking. A characteristic aspect of the attitude of Christian ideologists to the content of their mental material is the attitude of faith, which expresses not just trust in authority or agreement with it, but complete submission to it, the elimination of one’s own critical thought, the suppression of any possibility of doubt.
Theocentrism, as the most characteristic Christian worldview, permeates all parts of philosophical theory: the doctrine of being - ontology, the doctrine of man - anthropology, the doctrine of knowledge - epistemology and the doctrine of historical development - eschatology. In the field of ontology, theocentrism is revealed through the principle of creationism, in anthropology - through the principle of anthropologism, in epistemology - through the principle of God-likeness, in the philosophy of history - through the principle of providentialism and eschatologism. Let's give brief description these main points of the Christian worldview.
Creationism. According to Christian doctrine, God created the world from “nothing”, created it by an act of his will, thanks to his power. Divine omnipotence continues to support the existence of the world every moment. Maintaining the existence of the world is the constant creation of it by God again. If the creative power of God ceased, the world would immediately return to oblivion.
Unlike the ancient gods, who were related to nature and were often identified with it, the Christian God stands above nature, on the other side of it, and therefore is a transcendental God. Thus, in the Christian worldview, the active creative principle is, as it were, withdrawn from nature, from the cosmos and transferred to a transcendental force - God. God is interpreted as the absolute creative principle. All those attributes that the ancient Greek philosophers endowed with existence are attributed to him: he is eternal, unchangeable, self-identical, does not depend on anything else and is the source of all that exists. However, Christian philosophy, as noted earlier, has a spiritual and moral orientation and orients a person towards the salvation of his soul. Therefore, Christian ontology is built on the principle that God is not only the highest being, but also the highest Good, the highest Truth and the highest Beauty.
Anthropocentrism. In the context of a religious worldview, this is a set of views that affirm the exclusive role of man among God's creation. According to Christian teaching, God created man not together with all creatures, but separately; a special day of creation was allocated for him. Christian philosophers emphasize the special position of man in the world. If all other material systems are just simple creations, then man
The crown of creation. He is the center of the Universe and the ultimate goal of creation. Moreover, he is a being who dominates the Earth.
The high status of human existence is determined by the biblical formula “man is the image and likeness of God.” What exactly are the properties of God that constitute the essence of human nature? It is clear that neither omnipotence, nor infinity, nor beginninglessness can be ascribed to man. Christian theology gives an unambiguous answer to this question: the divine qualities of man are reason and will. It is reason and free will that make man a moral being and a representative of God in this world, a continuer of divine acts. Man, like God, is given the ability to express judgments and distinguish between good and evil. Free will allows a person to make a choice in favor of good and evil. The first people - Adam and Eve
We made this choice unsuccessfully. They chose evil and thereby committed the Fall. From now on, human nature turned out to be corrupted, and the Fall constantly affects him. Therefore, Christian thinkers define human nature as dual. The duality of human nature is the most important feature of the entire Christian worldview. The greatest medieval philosopher Augustine called this division of man “a disease of the soul,” its disobedience to itself, that is, to a higher principle. According to the Christian worldview, a person, on his own, is not able to overcome his sinful inclinations. He constantly needs divine help, the action of divine grace. The relationship between nature and grace is the central theme of Christian anthropology - the doctrine of man.
Providentialism and eschatologism. The Christian concept of history is based on the idea of a constant and necessary connection between man and God. Man is interpreted as a being created by God, saved by Christ and destined for a supernatural destiny. With this approach, the historical process is presented
It is a revelation of the divine-human relationship, characterized, on the one hand, by decline, regression caused by the Fall and alienation of man from God, and on the other hand, by man’s ascent to God. The main mission of history is characterized as saving, redemptive, testing and edifying. With this approach, the historical process receives, as it were, two dimensions: horizontal and vertical. Horizontal characterizes the historical process from the point of view of its internal development:
people's activities, their struggle for power, for improving well-being, etc. Vertical - characterizes the influence of God’s action on the historical process, his intervention in the course of historical development. The Christian worldview is providential at its core. The world does not develop on its own, but according to the providence of Bojasius. According to this worldview, God's providence extends to the entire surrounding world and gives natural and social processes a meaningful and purposeful character. In the philosophy of history, providentialism asserts that the divine plan predetermines the history of people, it breaks through all events and facts. It remains for people to either contribute to the implementation of this plan, and thus work for the salvation of the world and man, or to oppose it, for which God subjects people to all sorts of punishments.
Providentialism is inextricably linked with eschatology - teaching about the end of the world. History in the Christian worldview is depicted as an expedient process directed by God towards a predetermined goal - the kingdom of Eschaton (“the kingdom of God”). Christian thinkers depict the “kingdom of God” as a world of true, beautiful and perfect, in which man will be in complete unity with God. Achieving the “kingdom of God” is the ultimate goal and meaning of human existence. This position is the basis of the Christian worldview and is recognized by all areas of Christian philosophy and theology. The differences between them begin when it comes to the interpretation of this “kingdom” and the paths leading to it. To what extent and under what conditions is it possible to create the “kingdom of God” in earthly conditions, in historical existence? Is a person, to any extent, capable of preparing the “kingdom of God”, etc., on his own without divine action?
Knowledge as God-likeness. Mysticism and scholasticism Since in the Christian worldview the goal and meaning of knowledge is determined not by the material needs of people and not by the thirst for self-improvement, but by the need for “salvation of the soul,” the ultimate goal of human cognitive efforts is recognized not
knowledge of the objective world - nature and history, but the acquisition by man through the process of cognition of his original “pre-sin” appearance, the acquisition of the “image and likeness of God.” One of the most important provisions of Christian philosophy is the interpretation the process of cognition as God-likeness. The Christian theory of knowledge is based on the biblical concept of the radical lack of independence and inferiority of human nature. From the point of view of Christian ideology, only God can be a full-fledged subject of activity and knowledge. Man is a being derived from God, and for this reason alone he is not capable of knowledge.
According to the Christian view, even in his original, “pre-sin” state, man was completely dependent on God. The peculiarity of this “pre-sin” state, as described by Christian philosophers, is that man did not live on his own, but in a divine way, was in unity with God, and was involved in the supernatural. The essence of the Fall, in their opinion, lies precisely in the fact that man separated from God, wanted to live according to his own principles and norms, wanted to become equal to God, in other words, a free subject of activity and knowledge. Assimilation to God, man's regaining of the divine image and likeness is interpreted by orthodox Christian ideology as a person's renunciation of his claims, his subjectivity, his “I.” God-likeness is nothing more than a person’s self-denial, a complete transition into man’s subordination to God.
The form of such a transition, according to Christian thinkers, is faith. At the same time, they resort to a rather expanded interpretation of the phenomenon of faith. They interpret faith as a universal dimension of human consciousness, subjectivity, spirituality, which expresses a rationally opaque attitude to reality. Faith is interpreted both as a psychological attitude, confidence, commitment to something, and as a belief in the supernatural, as a religious faith. Using the first meaning of the term “faith,” Christian philosophers consider faith as a special, supernatural, cognitive and ideological position of the subject. According to their teaching, faith has deep emotional and volitional foundations and is psychologically primary in relation to discursive thinking. “If you do not believe, you will not understand... Knowledge mediated by faith is the most reliable,” says Clement of Alexandria. Anyone seeking the truth, he believes, must start from some initial principles that determine the path of development of his search, take a certain cognitive and ideological position, and believe in something. Faith, as an attitude of consciousness, is identified by Christian philosophers with religious faith. It is interpreted as a form of unity between a person and Bo
home, as a channel through which God influences human cognitive abilities, heals, fertilizes and improves them.
The position of the radical lack of independence of man as a subject of knowledge receives its highest expression through the introduction of the action of divine grace into the cognitive process. The characterization of God as mystical Love - grace in Christian systems is no less, and often more significant, than his definition as Reason. Divine grace appears in Christian epistemology as the main driving principle and regulator of cognitive activity. The need to use this factor in the cognitive process is explained by Christian philosophers by the fact that man, due to the “sinfulness” of his nature, cannot in himself become like God.
To explain the mechanism of divine intervention in the cognitive process, Christian philosophers often use light symbolism, which is presented in concentrated form in the so-called enlightenment theories or insights. This theory was borrowed by Christian thinkers from Neoplatonism and is shared to one degree or another by most schools of Christian philosophy and theology.
According to this theory, the mind ultimately understands the world not by virtue of its own potencies, but with the help of divine light, the mystical outpouring of the deity, enlightening both the things themselves and human thinking. Without this light, say the ideologists of Christianity, the essence of the subject would remain unexposed, hidden from the mind. Divine light appears in the systems of Christian philosophers to a certain extent as a figurative representation, a symbol, but at the same time, this symbolic image is often given real, physical meaning.
The doctrine of divine penetration into human knowledge is the basis of one of the largest trends medieval philosophy -mysticism. This teaching originates in the system of the largest representative of medieval philosophy, Augustine Aurelius (354-430). According to the teachings of Augustine, the whole world is permeated by reason, logos, which contains the nature of light, since it has a common cause of its origin - God. However, Augustine argued, neither things nor the human Soul contain light in themselves. They glow with reflected light. Everything is visible, everything is real only through God. God " - this is the Sun-Tse, which itself is not visible, but makes everything else visible. All knowledge is carried out through the rays of divine light. The created light makes it possible to know bodily things, the light of the mind - intelligible objects, the light of grace - the truths of revelation.
Mysticism found its most vivid expression in the Orthodox tradition of John the Theologian, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa;
in the Catholic - Bernard of Clairvaux; Giovanni Fidanza (Bona Ventura).
Mysticism teaches that before the Fall, man was a being of spiritual, light substance. The Fall led to the fact that he lost his original essence and was cast into the world of sensory existence. Now, in the process of “salvation,” a person must renounce everything corporeal, the “world,” and return to his former light spiritual appearance. This process includes three stages: the first - cleansing the soul from sensual passions and attachments (catharsis); the second - enlightenment of the soul with wisdom - the intelligible light of divine truths;
and the third - insight, mystical ecstasy, the merging of man with God. All these three steps are inextricably linked with each other.
Catharsis considered in mystical systems as a precondition for enlightenment. In order for a person to be able to perceive the divine light, he must return from a fallen state to a state of pristine purity. The role of catharsis is to restore in man the divine image darkened by the Fall. The purification process requires great ascetic efforts. In the end of this process, according to Christian mystics, there should be a dematerialization of man, his detachment from everything earthly. Having thrown off the previous bodily coverings, which became heavy and pulled downward, the soul gets the opportunity to put on new clothes of light, which, due to their lightness, pull it upward. Thus, man enters a new stage of becoming like God - stage of enlightenment. At this stage, the mind gradually ascends from the lower manifestations of “light energy” to higher ones.
Ultimately, this process must culminate in direct communication between God and man. The outward expression of the ever-increasing unity of man with God is mystical ecstasy - divine illumination. In systems of mysticism it is interpreted as a phenomenon to the consciousness of truth in its self-evidence. The soul at the moment of illumination contemplates not only intelligible reality, but also light itself, that is, it sees God himself - the source of all light - in his incorporeal essence. At the highest stage of the soul’s ascent to God, the soul returns to its original form, i.e., “the image and likeness of God.” Only then, according to the concepts of mystics, does a complete merger of man with God occur.
Along with mysticism, scholasticism (from the Latin schola, or school) enjoyed enormous influence in medieval philosophy. And this term can be translated as “school philosophy,” that is, a philosophy that was adapted for broadly teaching people the basics of the Christian worldview. Scholasticism formed
took place during the period of absolute dominance of Christian ideology in all spheres of public life in Western Europe. When, in the words of F. Engels, “the dogmas of the church simultaneously became political axioms, and biblical texts received the force of law in any court.”
Scholasticism is the heir that continues the traditions of Christian apologetics and Augustine. Its representatives sought to create a coherent system of Christian worldview, where a hierarchy of spheres of existence was built, at the top of which was the church. While winning over early Christian thinkers in the breadth of their coverage of problems and the creation of grandiose systems, the scholastics were significantly inferior to them in the originality of problem solving and creative approach. One of the most characteristic features The scholastic style of thinking is authoritarianism. The scholastics, in essence, do not care about the origin of certain provisions with which they operate. The main thing is that they are approved by the authority of the church.
Authoritarianism - a characteristic feature of the entire religious style of thinking. But representatives of early patristics - apologists - recognized the absolute authority of the “Holy Scripture”; they themselves created the church at that time. Their epigones added here the authority of the “church fathers” themselves. The possibilities for a creative approach with such double pressure are reduced to a minimum. The creative potential of the scholastics goes into the sphere of formal logical research.
As medieval researchers note, a number of factors contributed to the decline in the level of philosophical research in scholasticism. The main one is the collapse of the slave system and the establishment of a feudal mode of production. The transition from a slave system to a feudal system in Western European countries is accompanied by a decline in economic activity. In these countries, a subsistence economy was established, crafts fell into decline, trade declined, and populous and lively cities fell into disrepair. With the decline of cities, regression took over all areas of culture: literature, art, science. Philosophy has lost the nourishing juices that it drew from the development of scientific knowledge. Of no small importance was the fact that the volume of literary, scientific and philosophical sources inherited from antiquity and available to European philosophy of the early Middle Ages was extremely limited. The main philosophical works of the ancients were either completely lost or forgotten.
A certain role in reducing the theoretical level of medieval philosophy was also played by the fact that early-Wei patristics and scholasticism faced different tasks. Representatives of the early patristics actively participated in the creation of the foundations of religious doctrine and constantly entered into polemics with heretics and pagans. The scholastics spoke at the moment when the church strengthened its
positions and Christianity took an exclusive place in the life of feudal society. During this period, the formation of dogmas was basically completed, and the efforts of the scholastics were aimed primarily at clarifying and systematizing the unchangeable provisions of the faith, bringing them into such an order that it would be easier to teach and learn.
The development of scholastic philosophy proceeded mainly within the framework of formal-logical schematism. They had to process the material, completed in the main parts, and present it in the schemes of Aristotelian-Stoic logic. Scholastic intellectualism brings content is sacrificed to form. Its representatives strive to replace the study of reality with a procedure of definitions; they give endless definitions and distinctions. The famous researcher of ancient philosophy Windelband gives the following characterization of the scholastic method. “Scholastics only discuss, systematically prove, draw consequences ad infinitum, without checking the foundations. All their logic is reduced to a syllogism. The abuse of syllogisms entails pettiness, a passion for divisions and subdivisions, reduces logical reasoning to verbal mechanics, and promotes excessive care in the external expression of thought to the detriment of the thought itself.” (Vindelband V. History of Philosophy.- St. Petersburg, 1898.- WITH. 36).
Religious intellectualism and religious anti-intellectualism. The problem of the relationship between reason and faith.
The dispute between representatives of scholasticism and mysticism about the most effective means of introducing people to religion at the level of philosophy and theology resulted in a dispute about the best forms and methods of defending and justifying the Christian worldview. Various approaches to solving these issues have formulated two main trends: religious intellectualism and religious anti-intellectualism.
In religious intellectualism a clearly expressed desire to rely on the rational principle in human consciousness, to appeal to social and intellectual experience, common sense. The goal of intellectualism is to develop in a person a conscious perception of religious doctrine, based not only on authority, but also supported by reasonable arguments. Representatives of intellectualism, to a certain extent, allow the participation of reason and the associated means of theoretical analysis and evaluation in the religious life of people. They strive to put reason at the service of faith, to reconcile science and religion, and to make maximum use of the possibilities of rational means of influencing people.
In contrast to religious intellectualism, representatives religious anti-intellectualism They believe that the rational approach to religion, which contains a moment of coercion and obligation for God, excludes creativity, freedom, arbitrariness, and omnipotence. The actions of God, from the point of view of anti-intellectualists, are not subject to the laws of reason. God is absolutely free, his actions are absolutely unpredictable. On the path to God, the mind is a hindrance. To come to God, you need to forget everything you knew, forget even that there can be knowledge. Anti-intellectualism cultivates blind and thoughtless faith among religious adherents.
The struggle between religious intellectualism and religious anti-intellectualism runs like a red thread through the entire history of medieval philosophy. However, at each specific historical stage of history, this struggle had its own characteristics. During the period of the formation of Christian apologetics, it was conducted on issues of attitude towards ancient culture in general and towards ancient philosophy, as a theoretical expression of this culture, in particular. Representatives of anti-intellectualism took a negative position towards ancient culture. They sought to discredit it in the eyes of their adherents as false, contradictory in nature views that lead people away from their true purpose - “the salvation of their souls.”
The negative position of anti-intellectualism in relation to ancient culture was partly explained by the fact that in Christian communities at the first stage the absolute majority were illiterate, poorly educated people. The position that the truth proclaimed in Christianity - complete and final, sufficient to solve all the problems of human existence - to a certain extent satisfied its adherents and ensured the functioning of Christianity in society. However, the ideologists of Christianity constantly sought to expand the social base of the new religion. They wanted to win over the educated layers of Roman society: the patricians, the intelligentsia. Solving this problem required a change in policy towards ancient culture, a transition from confrontation to assimilation.
Representatives of intellectualism believed that conceptual and rational means of influence should not be thrown aside, much less left in the hands of enemies. They must be put at the service of Christianity. As V.V. Sokolov notes, Justin already outlined a conciliatory line in relation to Hellenistic philosophy (see: Sokolov V.V. Medieval philosophy.- M; 1979- S. 40).
The orientation toward familiarization with ancient culture finds its highest expression in the concept developed by Augustine. theories about the harmony of faith and reason. Augustine demands recognition of two
ways of introducing people to religion: conceptual-rational (logical thinking, achievements of science and philosophy) and non-rational (the authority of the “Holy Scripture” of the church, emotions and feelings). But these paths, from his point of view, are unequal. Augustine gives undisputed priority to irrational means. “It was not by human teaching, but by inner light, as well as by the power of the highest love, that Christ could convert people to saving faith.” According to Augustine’s views, religious faith does not imply rational justification in the sense that in order to accept certain provisions of religion it is necessary to know, understand, and have evidence. In the sphere of religious life one should simply believe without requiring any proof.
At the same time, Augustine is clearly aware of the important role played by rational means of influence. Therefore, he considers it necessary to strengthen faith with evidence of reason, advocates intercom faith and knowledge. Healing the soul, according to him, is divided into authority and reason. Authority requires faith and prepares a person for reason. Reason leads to understanding and knowledge. Although reason does not constitute the highest authority, the learned and understood truth serves as the highest authority. Reason obedient to religion and faith supported by reasonable arguments - this is the ideal of Augustinian apologetics. However, it should be noted that the theory presented by Augustine about the harmony of faith and reason does not allow for the possibility, at least to some extent, of making faith dependent on reason. Decisive importance in his system, without any doubt, is given to revelation.
Augustine created his theory of the harmony of faith and reason in the 4th-5th centuries. in the early period of Christian history. IN XI-XII centuries in the struggle for ideological dominance in society, the influence that originated in the depths of feudal culture begins to exert an ever-increasing influence freethinking. The emergence of medieval free-thinking is associated with a number of objective factors: the separation of crafts from the peasant economy and the development of cities on this basis, which gradually became a significant factor in medieval life. A secular culture begins to take shape in cities. One of the most important consequences of this factor is that the church has ceased to be the absolute bearer of education and sophistication. In connection with the development of crafts and trade among the urban population, the need for knowledge of law, medicine, and technology increases. Private law schools are emerging, which are under the control of the church and city government.
Medieval freethinking takes shape as a movement for the desacralization of certain spheres human life activity , for recognition of their autonomy in relation to religion and the church. Representatives of medieval freethinking Pierre Abelard (1079 - 1142), Gilbert of Porretan (c. 1076 -1154), Siger
Brabant (c. 1235 - 1282), Boethius of Daccia and others did not reject religion. This was impossible in Western European conditions of that period and did not correspond to their sentiments as Christian believers. Therefore they recognized the existence of a supernatural order under the direction of a supernatural God. In their works, medieval freethinkers constantly refer to the authority of the “Holy Scripture” and the “fathers of the church.” At the same time, they defend the rights and capabilities of the human mind, the maximum independence of rational-philosophical research and, thereby, objectively undermine the foundations of revolutionary dogmatism.
The first steps of medieval freethinking were associated with the penetration into religious doctrine of dialectics as the science of the laws of correct thinking. A prominent representative of this period is Pierre Abelard. During the period of absolute dominance of theological authoritarianism, Abelard made an attempt to raise his voice in defense of philosophical reason. The starting point of Abelard's concept is the identification of Christ with the Logos. “Christ is both the Logos (word, reasoning) and the wisdom of the father - Sophia. And just as the name “Christians” arose from Christ, so logic received its name from Logos. Its followers are called philosophers the more truly, the more true lovers of this highest wisdom they are. This greatest wisdom of the highest stage, when it is clothed in our nature in order to enlighten us from worldly love to love in relation to himself, of course, makes us equally Christians and true philosophers... The Lord Jesus Christ Himself defeated the Jews in frequent disputes and suppressed their slander both by writing and by reflection, with proof to strengthen faith in ourselves not only with the power of miracles, but especially with the power of words... We must attract to faith with the help of reasonable evidence those who seek wisdom...” (Abelard P. Objection to a certain ignoramus in the field of dialectics // Anthology of world philosophy. V4-xtt.T. 1.- P. 802). Abelard's assessment of the role of reason in religious life may look even more modest than that of Clement or Augustine, but in the 11th century it sounded extremely revolutionary, and not least for this assessment, Abelard was subjected to severe persecution.
The rationalistic aspects of the ideology of medieval freethinking found their highest expression in two truth theory or "dual truth". This theory transfers the problem of the relationship between faith and reason, religion and knowledge into the sphere of relationships between theology and philosophy. The main meaning of the theory of “two truths” is to assert the independence of science and philosophy from religious dogmas of theology.
In medieval thought there were various versions of the theory of “two truths.” One of them, represented by the Chartres school, boiled down to the affirmation of the differences in the subject and methods of theology.
gy, on the one hand, science and philosophy, on the other. Theology was given to the area of the supernatural, science and philosophy - the area of knowledge related to the natural world. The truth of supernatural revelation, by virtue of the authority of “Holy Scripture” and the church, must be accepted on faith. Philosophy in its research relies on reason and experience. The main efforts of the representatives of the Chartres school were aimed at proving the absence of contradictions between theology and philosophy due to the differences in their subject areas and methods, although the undoubted primacy was given to theology.
The version of the theory of “two truths” presented by the Latin Auveroists Siger of Brabant to Boethius of Daccia looks more radical. Representatives of this trend of free speculation act in new historical conditions. By this time, the works of Avicenna Alfarabi, Maimonnides, Ibn Gebrol, and a number of works of Arabic-language science - medicine, astronomy, mathematics, optics - had been translated into Latin. Translations of the ancient philosophers Plato, Plotinus, and Proclus played an even greater role. Of particular importance was the translation of Aristotle's Metaphysics.
Unlike the representatives of the Chartres school, Siger of Brabant and Boethius of Daccia are already fighting, if possible, for the complete autonomy of scientific and philosophical knowledge and go so far as to recognize the possibility of complete opposition between theology and philosophy on a number of important issues. In self-reproach O Numetric unity of mind Siger of Brabant put forward the idea of the eternity of the world and the eternity of reason as a natural quality of man. According to Seeger's teaching, universal and eternal reason provides adequate knowledge of the world to every person, since he is involved in this reason. An individual can make a mistake, but reason as such never makes a mistake. In essence, here confidence is expressed in the objective value of human knowledge, accumulated over centuries and verified by human experience. The data of science and research of the human mind, according to Seager, are, as it were, outside the sphere of faith, based on the laws of thinking and nature. An important means of justifying the autonomy of the conceptual-rational sphere was the emphasis by the Latin Auveroists on the irrational nature of religious dogma, the impossibility of justifying it by means of reason, and the opposition to the very principles of science. ,
Catholic theologians were tasked by the leadership of the church to develop means of countering the influence of freethinking, and at the same time take into account the increased authority of science and philosophy. In the best way, from the point of view of the church, this problem was solved by Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274). The teachings of Thomas Aquinas were recognized as official shortly after his death
teachings of Catholicism. The cornerstone of the entire enormous philosophical-theological system of Thomas Aquinas is the new, in comparison with Augustine, version of the theory of the harmony of faith and reason. Aquinas proclaimed that faith should not contradict reason, that some fundamental provisions of the doctrine can be rationally justified. For example, reason is capable of proving dogmas about the existence of God, the creation of the world, the immortality of the soul, etc. Ultimately, reason and faith are aimed at knowing the same Truth - God, but they do this in different ways. Reason is based on science and philosophy, faith is based on theology. The possibility of harmony of reason and faith is based on the fact that God is revealed to man in two ways: natural - through the created world and supernatural - through revelation. Science and philosophy, through the means of reason, cognizing the created world, come to the idea of the existence of God and God’s control of all processes in this world. Theology, based on supernatural revelation contained in the Bible and the decisions of the church, allows a person to accept the most important truths of the faith.
Recognizing the possibility of coincidence of conclusions to which a person comes on the basis of reason and faith, Thomas Aquinas at the same time emphasized that they cannot and should not contradict each other. Reason and faith are fundamentally different paths to Truth. The basis for accepting the truths of reason is their internal persuasiveness, the evidence of all initial positions, while the basis for accepting the truths of faith is the authority of God who proclaimed them. The result of the activity of the mind is knowledge. The result of the activity of faith is doctrine. Knowledge is the realm of obvious and provable truths, while faith is the realm of non-obvious and unprovable truths.
One and the same truth cannot be known and believed in at the same time. A person either knows for certain about something, or he takes it for faith. Agreement with the truths of reason is a consequence of logical necessity, while agreement with the truths of faith is an act of free will. Having made a clear distinction between reason and faith, Thomas Aquinas separated science and philosophy from theology and thereby substantiated their relative independence. But relative independence, according to Aquinas, did not at all mean the complete separation of faith from knowledge and knowledge from faith. Thomas Aquinas excludes the possibility of accepting the theory of two truths. According to his teaching, in science and philosophy, something that is false from theological point of view cannot be recognized as true. In the event of a Meekdu conflict, the decisive criterion is the truths of revelation, which surpass in their truth and value any rational evidence. Thus, Thomas Aquinas recognized the value of scientific knowledge, rational evidence, and at the same time retained the control of theology over science and philosophy.
So, medieval Christian philosophy, while maintaining adherence to the basic principles of the religious philosophical style of thinking and worldview, went through a long path of development. Starting with small in volume and quite simple in content "Apology" she ended with the creation of grandiose philosophical-theological systems in which all aspects of philosophical theory were reflected and developed: ontology, epistemology, philosophy of history, ethics and aesthetics.
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Introduction
2. Patristics
4. Scholasticism
5. Thomas Aquinas
Conclusion
Introduction
An important period in the development of European philosophy was the Middle Ages. Its time frame is from the first centuries AD to the 14th century. Philosophical thought, having passed through a bizarre synthesis of ancient thought and Christian ideas over several centuries, became the basis for the rise of the ideas of the Renaissance. Without the medieval religious philosophy of Europe there would be no subsequent stages, this is an important and natural stage development of social thought.
Augustine the Blessed (the most famous work is “On the City of Earth and the City of God”) and Thomas Aquinas (“Summa Theologica” and “Summa Contra Pagans” (“Summa Philosophy”) are two of the most famous philosophers of this period, representatives of two stages of medieval philosophy - patristics and scholastics.
The purpose of the work is a general description of medieval philosophy, an overview of its periods and the largest representatives.
1. Formation of Christian philosophy, periodization and main features of medieval theological philosophy
The concept of the Middle Ages was first introduced in the 15th century. humanists of the Renaissance. In the 18th century, it acquired the derogatory meaning of the interminable, “dark time,” a synonym for which was the “Middle Ages.” Serious historical research in the 19th century changed this view. Nowadays, the generally accepted view is that the philosophy of the Middle Ages is the result of a kind of rapprochement, fusion, and syncretism of Christianity with the achievements of ancient thought. “The Christian authors treated the pagans like the Jews in the book of Deuteronomy, who shaved the heads of their captives, cut their nails, dressed them in new clothes, and then took them as wives.”
Until recently, medieval philosophy was most often represented as a conglomeration of eclectic and relativistic ideas. The dominant worldview of the Middle Ages was Christianity, the main ideas of this time were theological ideas concerning how to understand God, the Trinity, creation, etc. Philosophy was considered the “handmaiden of theology,” in which philosophers of modern times, and often of modern times, saw its debased status. The very concept of what philosophy is was copied from the concept of it in antiquity or in modern times, therefore medieval philosophy could seem like a para- or pseudo-philosophy, within which individual free minds reshaped the Christian worldview in the spirit of Platonism, Aristotelianism or Stoicism. With this approach, this meant: independent philosophizing did not exist at that time; it was a preservative of ancient traditions with one theorizing tool - formal logic and with one tool for coordinating the universal and the individual - the symbol.
The specificity of medieval philosophy was determined by the emergence and development of Christianity. The end of ancient philosophy is the end of pagan civilization. However, ancient philosophy gave rise to the development of what we call the European tradition in philosophy, and which organically entered the philosophical thought of the new civilization associated with the emergence of Christianity.
At all stages of its development - approximately the first 14 centuries - medieval philosophy was organically connected with the interpretation of the ideas of Plato, Aristotle and the Neoplatonists.
I-III centuries can be considered a transition period from antiquity to medieval philosophy. At this time, a motley and complex conglomerate of old and new ideas takes shape. The first attempts at philosophical understanding of Christian doctrine, the beginning of medieval philosophy, should be dated back to the 2nd century.
The following stages of medieval philosophy can be distinguished.
1. Patristics.
2. The transitional period from patristics to scholastics (Severinus Boethius).
3. Scholasticism
All researchers unanimously date the time of “exhaustion” of medieval scholasticism to the 14th century.
2. Patristics
Patristics (from the Greek rbfYus, lat. pater - father) is the philosophy and theology of the church fathers, that is, the spiritual and religious leaders of Christianity until the 7th century. The teachings developed by the church fathers became fundamental to the Christian religious worldview. Patristics made a huge contribution to the formation of ethics and aesthetics of late antique and medieval society.
There are Roman and Greek directions of patristics.
Semantic-axiological sources for the design of patristics are ancient philosophy (the general rational method and the specific content of such philosophical movements as Platonism and Neoplatonism, Stoicism, etc.), on the one hand, and Christian teleological doctrine (primarily the idea of revelation, as well as the semantic figures of theism , creationism, teleologism, etc.) - on the other. In the evolution of patristics, three substantive stages can be distinguished:
1. Early patristics, or apologetics (2nd-3rd centuries), associated with the activities of such authors as Justin (d. about 165, main works: “Apology” to Antoninus Pius and “Apology” to Marcus Aurelius, “Conversations with Tryphon the Jew”, etc.); Tatian (c. 120 - c. 175, main work: “Address to the Greeks”, set of four Gospels “Diatessaron”, etc.); Athenagoras (d. c. 177, main works: treatise “On the Resurrection of the Dead” and “Epistle” to Marcus Aurelius); Tertullian; Clement of Alexandria (d. before 215, main works: treatises "Exhortation to the Hellenes", "Teacher", collection of essays "Stromata" ("Patchwork Carpet"), conversation "Which rich man will be saved?"; Origen.
The central problem of patristics is the problem of the relationship between Christianity and the ancient heritage, within the framework of which both a direction focused on the harmonious synthesis of the Christian idea of revelation with the philosophical tradition of ancient rationalism (Justin, Athenagoras, Clement of Alexandria, etc.) and the direction that proclaimed them took shape incompatibility and sharply distancing Christianity as the “wisdom of the barbarians” (Tatian) of Hellenic book learning (Tatian, Tertullian, etc.); the idea was acutely actualized in Christian mysticism, which emphasized the value of “the sincere silence of the illiterate commoner” in comparison with the sophisticated speculative wisdom of the learned theologian with his “voluptuousness of words” (Jerome) and rationality instead of heartfelt faith, as well as in Protestantism in its early versions).
2. Mature patristics (3rd-5th centuries), realizing itself in the Greek East - in the activities of the Cappadocian circle: Basil the Great of Caesarea (c. 330--379, main works: “On the Holy Spirit”, “Six Days” ), his brother Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335 - c. 394), Gregory the Theologian of Nazianzen (c. 330 - c. 390, main work: “On my life”, “On my destiny”, “On suffering” my soul"), Amphilochius of Iconium and others, who synthesized the Christian doctrine and philosophical methods of antiquity; and in the Latin West - in the activities of Augustine.
The central direction in the development of patristics of this period was the fight against heresies (Arianism, Montanism, Docetism, Monophysitism, Gnosticism, etc.), which is associated with Christianity gaining the status of a state religion and the official formulation of the Christian Creed at the Nicene Ecumenical Council (325), which constituted basic tenets of the doctrine. Within the framework of mature patristics, the texts of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite ("Areopagitica") are drawn up, laying the foundations of apophatic theology and Christian mysticism in general.
3. Late patristics (5th-8th centuries), focusing on the problem of systematization of Christian doctrine. Key person-- John of Damascus (c. 675-753) - Byzantine theologian and poet who completed the systematic formulation of the foundations of Christian theology; also Leontius (c. 475-543) in the East and Boethius (Antius Manilius Torquatus Severinus, c. 480-525, main work: “Consolation of Philosophy”) in the West. The systematizing activity of John of Damascus and Boethius’s orientation towards the ancient philosophical tradition (primarily comments on Aristotle and Porphyry) laid the foundations of medieval scholasticism. Despite the fact that many of the theses of patristics (especially in its early version) were condemned after the adoption of the Nicene Creed (Origen’s ideas about the plurality of worlds, universal salvation, the pre-existence of souls, the priority of the second hypostasis - God the Father - in the structure of the Trinity; denial Tatian's dual nature of Christ (in the Diatessoron the earthly biography of Christ and information about his origins from the line of David were omitted) and his docetism - the doctrine of the illusory nature of Jesus's physicality), patristics played an outstanding role in the development of Christian culture.
Within the framework of patristics, the foundations of systematic Christian theology were laid in both its cataphatic (from Clement of Alexandria and Origen to John of Damascus) and apophatic (from Augustine to Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite) variants, and the initial foundation of exegesis was formed (from Origen to Gregory of Nyssa) , the first Christian catechisms were formalized (Tertullian), many fundamental conceptual structures of Christian theology were introduced (for example, Tertullian - regarding the structure of the Trinity). Patristics not only significantly contributed to the substantive stabilization of Christian dogma, but also significantly influenced the development of the depth psychologism of Christianity with its refined culture of reflexive introspection (from Gregory the Theologian to Augustine). It was within the framework of patristics that the conceptually fundamental idea for Christianity of the priority of the individual (Personalism) in relation to abstract humanity (the anthropology of Gregory of Nyssa) was finally constituted.
The problematics of patristics largely determined the problem field of both Orthodox (Palamite discussions within the framework of hesychasm and analysis of the Christological problem in patristics) and Catholic (the problem of will and grace in patristic and anti-Lutheran literature) theology.
The most famous patristic philosopher should be called Augustine the Blessed.
Aurelius Augustine (lat. Aurelius Augustinus; 354-430) - Bishop of Hippo, philosopher, influential preacher, Christian theologian and politician. Holy Catholic and Orthodox churches(at the same time, in Orthodoxy it is usually referred to with the epithet blessed - Blessed Augustine). One of the Church Fathers, founder of Augustinianism. Founder of Christian philosophy of history. Augustine's Christian Neoplatonism dominated Western European philosophy and Catholic theology until the 13th century, when it was replaced by the Christian Aristotelianism of Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas. His most famous theological and philosophical work is “On the City of God.”
Human history, which Augustine sets out in his book “On the City of God,” “the first world history,” in his understanding is a struggle between two hostile kingdoms - the kingdom of adherents of everything earthly, enemies of God, that is, the secular world (civitas terrena or diaboli), and the kingdom of God (civitas dei). At the same time, he identifies the Kingdom of God, in accordance with its earthly form of existence, with the Roman Church. Augustine teaches about the self-reliability of human consciousness (the basis of reliability is God) and the cognitive power of love. At the creation of the world, God laid the embryonic forms of all things in the material world, from which they then independently develop.
Augustine's influence on the fates and dogmatic side of Christian teaching is almost unparalleled. He determined the spirit and direction of not only the African, but also the entire Western church for several centuries to come. His polemics against the Arians, the Priscillians, and especially against the Donatists and other heretical sects, clearly demonstrate the extent of his importance. The insight and depth of his mind, the indomitable power of faith and the ardor of imagination are best reflected in his numerous writings, which had incredible influence and determined the anthropological side of the doctrine of Protestantism (Luther and Calvin). Even more important than the development of the doctrine of St. Trinity, his research on man's relationship to divine grace. He considers the essence of Christian teaching to be precisely man’s ability to perceive God’s grace, and this basic position is also reflected in his understanding of other dogmas of faith.
4. Scholasticism
Scholasticism (Greek uchplbufikt, “scholar, school”) is a systematic medieval philosophy, concentrated around universities and representing a synthesis of Christian (Catholic) theology and Aristotelian logic.
Early scholasticism (IX-XII centuries), which was still based on the indivisibility and interpenetration of science, philosophy, and theology, is characterized by the development of the scholastic method in connection with the understanding of the specific value and specific results of the activity of the mind and in connection with the dispute about universals. The main representatives of scholasticism: in Germany - Raban the Maurus, Notker the German, Hugo of Saint-Victor; in England - Alcuin, John Scotus Eriugena, Adelard of Bath; in France - John Roscelin, Pierre Abelard, Gilbert of Porretan, John of Salisbury, Bernard of Chartres, Amalric of Ben; in Italy - Peter Damiani, Anselm of Canterbury, Bonaventure.
Middle scholasticism (XIII century) is characterized by the final separation of science and philosophy (especially natural philosophy) from theology, as well as the introduction into Western philosophical thinking of the teachings of Aristotle, which, however, was available only in a Latin translation. The philosophy of the great orders, especially the Franciscan and Dominican, as well as the systems of Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas, and Duns Scotus, was being formed. This was followed by a dispute between the supporters of Augustine, Aristotle and Averroes, a dispute between the Thomists and the Scotists. This was the time of the great philosophical and theological encyclopedias.
Other main representatives of scholasticism: in Germany - Witelo, Dietrich of Freyberg, Ulrich Engelbert; in France - Vincent of Beauvais, John of Gendun; in England - Roger Bacon, Robert Grosseteste, Alexander of Gaelic; in Italy - Aegidius of Rome; in Spain - Raymond Lull.
Late scholasticism (XIV and XV centuries) is characterized by rationalistic systematization (thanks to which scholasticism received a negative meaning), the further formation of natural science and natural philosophical thinking, the development of logic and metaphysics of an irrationalist direction, and finally, the final dissociation of mysticism from church theology, which became increasingly intolerant. When at the beginning of the 14th century the church finally gave preference to Thomism, scholasticism from the religious side became the history of Thomism. The main representatives of late scholasticism: in Germany - Albert of Saxony, Nicholas of Cusa; in France - Jean Buridan, Nicholas of Oresme, Peter d'Agli; in England - William of Occam; in Italy - Dante; in Spain - the Salamanca School.
During the period of humanism, the Renaissance, and the Reformation, scholasticism ceased to be the only spiritual form of Western science and philosophy.
By its general nature, scholasticism represents religious philosophy in the sense of application philosophical concepts and methods of thinking towards Christian church doctrine, the first experience of which is represented by the patristic philosophy that preceded scholasticism. Patristics and scholasticism differed from one another in that for the latter this content was the Holy Scripture and for the dogmatic formulation of the actual revealed teaching it used philosophy - while for patristics the content of faith consisted in the dogmas established by the fathers and philosophy was applied primarily to the clarification, justification and systematization of the latter.
The relationship between scholasticism and patristic philosophy can be more precisely defined as follows: the former realizes and develops what has not yet reached realization and development in the latter, although it was in it as an embryo.
The view of philosophy as a handmaiden of theology, although not strictly pursued by all scholastics, nevertheless expressed, one might say, the dominant tendency of the time. The tone and direction of all spiritual life in the Middle Ages was given by the church. Naturally, philosophy at this time also takes on a theological direction and its fate is connected with the fate of the hierarchy: with the rise of the hierarchy it reaches its highest flowering, with its fall it falls. From here historians derive some other features of scholastic philosophy.
Institutions of a practical nature must represent a strictly organized system: this is one of the conditions for their prosperity. Therefore, the Catholic hierarchy, during the period of its gradual rise, was preoccupied with the collection into a system of canonical rules that should form the basis of its structure. Such a systematizing desire is also reflected in the philosophy of the Middle Ages, which also strives for a system and, in place of the experiences of fragmentary, more or less random patristic philosophizing, gives a number of more or less integral systems. This is especially evident in the flourishing time of scholasticism, when the theological and philosophical systems of Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus appeared.
Scripture speaks to us in three ways: through its speech, through its teaching, and through its commandments that regulate our lives. “The manifold wisdom of God, as it is clearly conveyed to us in Scripture, lies secretly at the basis of all knowledge and nature.” The trinity of speech, teaching and commandment gives the division of science or philosophy; The truth of reason is threefold - the truth of speech, the truth of things and the truth of morals. The three branches of philosophy are directed towards these three areas of truth. Rational philosophy aims at the truth of speech. But every speech serves a threefold purpose: to express a thought, to facilitate its assimilation by others and to persuade them to do something; it must be appropriate, true and effective - which determines the task of the three departments of rational philosophy: grammar, logic and rhetoric.
Christian philosophy patristics theological
5. Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas (otherwise Thomas Aquinas or Thomas Aquinas, lat. Thomas Aquinas Italian. Tommaso d "Aquino) (born in 1225, Roccasecca Castle, near Aquino, died near Naples - March 7, 1274, Fossanuova Monastery, near Rome) - philosopher and theologian, systematizer of orthodox scholasticism, church teacher, Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Universalis, “princeps philosophorum” (“Prince of Philosophers”), founder of Thomism, member of the Dominican Order; since 1879 recognized as the most authoritative Catholic religious philosopher who connected the Christian faith ( in particular, the ideas of Augustine the Blessed) with the philosophy of Aristotle. Formulated five proofs of the existence of God. Recognizing the relative independence of natural existence and human reason, he argued that nature ends in grace, reason in faith, philosophical knowledge and natural theology based on the analogy of existence , - in supernatural revelation.
The works of Thomas Aquinas include two extensive treatises covering a wide range of topics - "Summa Theology" and "Summa against the Gentiles" ("Summa Philosophy"), discussions on theological and philosophical problems ("Debatable Questions" and "Questions on Various Subjects") , detailed commentaries on several books of the Bible, on 12 treatises of Aristotle, on the “Sentences” of Peter of Lombardy, on the treatises of Boethius, Pseudo-Dionysius and on the anonymous “Book of Causes”, as well as a number of small works on philosophical and religious topics and poetic texts for worship, for example the work "Ethics". “Debatable Questions” and Commentaries” were largely the fruit of his teaching activities, which, according to the tradition of that time, included debates and reading of authoritative texts, accompanied by commentaries.
Aquinas distinguished between the fields of philosophy and theology: the subject of the former is the “truths of reason,” and the latter, the “truths of revelation.” Philosophy is in the service of theology and is as much inferior to it in importance as the limited human mind is inferior to divine wisdom. Theology is a sacred doctrine and science, based on the knowledge possessed by God and those who are worthy of blessedness. Communicating with divine knowledge is achieved through revelation.
Theology can borrow something from philosophical disciplines, but not because it feels the need for it, but only for the sake of greater clarity of the provisions it teaches.
Aristotle distinguished four successive stages of truth: experience (empeiria), art (techne), knowledge (episteme) and wisdom (sophia).
In Thomas Aquinas, wisdom becomes the highest knowledge about God, independent of other levels. It is based on divine revelations.
Aquinas identified three hierarchically subordinate types of wisdom:
* wisdom of Grace.
* theological wisdom - the wisdom of faith using reason.
* metaphysical wisdom - the wisdom of reason, comprehending the essence of being.
Each is endowed with its own “light of truth.”
Some truths of Revelation are accessible to human understanding: for example, that God exists, that God is one. Others are impossible to understand: for example, the divine trinity, the resurrection in the flesh.
On the basis of this, Thomas Aquinas deduces the need to distinguish between supernatural theology, based on the truths of Revelation, which man is not able to understand on his own, and rational theology, based on the “natural light of reason” (knowing the truth by the power of human intellect).
Thomas Aquinas put forward the principle: the truths of science and the truths of faith cannot contradict each other; there is harmony between them. Wisdom is the desire to comprehend God, while science is a means that facilitates this.
Cognition begins with sensory experience under the influence of external objects. Objects are perceived by humans not entirely, but partially. When entering the soul of the knower, the knowable loses its materiality and can only enter it as a “species”. The “look” of an object is its knowable image. A thing exists simultaneously outside of us in all its existence and inside us as an image.
Truth is “the correspondence between intellect and things.” That is, the concepts formed by the human intellect are true to the extent that they correspond to their concepts that precede in the intellect of God.
At the level of external senses, initial cognitive images are created. Inner senses process the initial images.
Inner feelings:
* general feeling is the main function of which to collect all sensations together.
* passive memory is a repository of impressions and images created by a common feeling.
* active memory - retrieval of stored images and ideas.
* intellect is the highest sensory ability.
Knowledge takes its necessary source from sensuality.
The higher the spirituality, the higher the degree of knowledge.
* Angelic knowledge is speculative-intuitive knowledge, not mediated by sensory experience; carried out using inherent concepts.
* Human knowledge is the enrichment of the soul with substantial forms of cognizable objects.
Three mental-cognitive operations:
1) creation of a concept and retention of attention on its content (contemplation).
2) judgment (positive, negative, existential) or comparison of concepts;
3) inference - linking judgments with each other.
Three types of knowledge:
1) mind - the entire sphere of spiritual abilities.
2) intelligence - abilities of mental cognition.
3) reason - the ability to reason.
The principles of moral acts on the internal side are virtues, and on the external side - laws and grace. Thomas does not think of moral life apart from the presence of theological virtues - faith, hope and love. Following the theological ones are four “cardinal” (fundamental) virtues - prudence and justice, courage and moderation, with which the other virtues are associated.
The teachings of Thomas Aquinas, despite some opposition from traditionalists (some of the Thomist positions were condemned by the Parisian Archbishop Etienne Tampier in 1277), had a great influence on Catholic theology and philosophy, which was facilitated by the canonization of Thomas in 1323 and recognition of him as the most authoritative Catholic theologian in the encyclical Aeterni patris of Pope Leo XIII (1879). The ideas of Thomas Aquinas were developed within the framework of a philosophical movement called “Thomism” and had some influence on the development of modern thought (especially evident in Leibniz). For a number of centuries, the philosophy of Thomas did not play a noticeable role in the philosophical dialogue, developing within a narrow confessional framework, but since the end of the 19th century, the teachings of Thomas again begin to arouse widespread interest and stimulate current philosophical research; A number of philosophical trends arise that actively use the philosophy of Thomas, known under the general name “neo-Thomism.”
Conclusion
Christian philosophy became the ideological basis of the new medieval society of Europe. Originating in the last centuries of the Western Roman Empire, it became a bridge from late ancient society to a new one, developing from the barbarian kingdoms into the European medieval Christian world. At all stages of its development - approximately the first 14 centuries - medieval philosophy was organically connected with the interpretation of the ideas of Plato, Aristotle and the Neoplatonists.
Its first stage - patristics - laid down ideas that would later receive further development in scholasticism. The most famous patristic philosopher should be called Augustine the Blessed. Augustine's Christian Neoplatonism dominated Western European philosophy and Catholic theology until the 13th century, when it was replaced by the Christian Aristotelianism of Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas. His most famous theological and philosophical work is “On the City of God.”
Medieval Christian philosophy received further development at the second stage - scholasticism. His classic is Thomas Aquinas. He connected Christian doctrine (in particular, the ideas of Augustine the Blessed) with the philosophy of Aristotle, formulated five proofs of the existence of God; recognizing the relative independence of natural being and human reason, he argued that nature ends in grace, reason in faith, philosophical knowledge and natural theology, based on the analogy of existence, in supernatural revelation.
In our time, the philosophy of Thomas (Thomas) Aquinas has become the basis of a philosophical movement - neo-Thomism.
List of used literature
History of Philosophy: Encyclopedia. -- Mn.: Interpressservice; Book House. 2002
Kirilenko G.G., Shevtsov E.V. Philosophy. Higher education- M.: Philol. o-vo "SLOVO": LLC "Publishing house "EXMO"", 2003
Kuznetsov V.G., Kuznetsova I.D., Mironov V.V., Momdzhyan K.Kh. Philosophy: Textbook. - M.: INFRA-M, 2004
Spirkin A.G. Philosophy: Textbook. -- 2nd ed. - M.: Gardariki, 2006.
Philosophy: Textbook. 2nd ed., revised. and additional Rep. editors: V.D. Gubin, T.Yu. Sidorina, V.P. Filatov. - M.: TON - Ostozhye, 2001
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The concept of “Christian philosophy” summarizes all religious postulates created within the framework of the Christian worldview. The author of the concept is the Dutch scientist E. Rotterdamsky. He united dozens of movements into one direction of philosophy, simplifying and streamlining their classification. Among the numerous schools of Christianity, the dominant ones are Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant.
Fundamentals of Christian Philosophy
During Antiquity, God was perceived as a supreme being, inaccessible to human understanding. The philosopher F. Alexandria was the first to try to imagine God as a person. He described him as the Creator who created the world and people with the power of his thinking. Particles of the divine mind are present in every person. People can know God and draw closer to him if they follow his will.
The physical embodiment of God on Earth is his son Jesus Christ. He was sent by his father to save the human race from plunging into sinful darkness. Jesus, with his voluntary death on the cross, atoned for the sins of humanity and set an example of life in accordance with Christian canons. To enter the Kingdom of God and be worthy of eternal life, Christians must follow 10 rules - commandments. Christians are prohibited from killing, envying, slandering, being cruel, greedy, and selfish. Those who break the commandments will face Hell after death - the kingdom of Satan, in which the souls of sinners are forced to endure eternal torment, paying for their actions committed during life.
Philosophy of Orthodox Christians
The popularization of the first branch of Christianity began in Byzantium. The ancient city adhered to the ideology of Neoplatonism, relying on the postulates of idealists. The works of I. Damascene and the medieval hesychasts played a key role in the development of Christianity. Religion gradually developed and acquired separate directions dealing with the study of metaphysics, theory of knowledge, and academic knowledge.
The basis of Orthodox ideology is asceticism. Orthodox Christianity implies a renunciation of worldly joys: temptations lead the soul into darkness and distance it from God. Man, whom God has endowed with his own appearance, has the ability to comprehend his creator. To do this, he must pacify his flesh and elevate his spirit. Only the soul of the righteous is allowed to enter paradise: the Kingdom of God, in which he reigns forever, surrounded by the souls of his creatures.
Catholic philosophy
Catholic Church acquired the greatest power in the Middle Ages. Until the 13th century, philosophy and theology were not separated. The Church had a tremendous influence on people's lives, determining the political course, moral standards and paths for the development of society.
The emergence of scholasticism contributed to the distinction between theology and philosophy. Thinkers contrasted them with each other, endowing theology with the “light of glory,” and calling philosophy the fruit of the human mind. During the Renaissance, the confrontation died down, but during the Reformation it escalated again. In the 19th century, interest in scholasticism was renewed: religious texts began to be viewed from the perspective of new concepts. Catholicism partially regained control over the political situation in Western Europe, gaining many new movements.
Protestant philosophy
The main role in the development of Protestantism was played by the theologian M. Luther. He was one of the leaders of the Reformation - the process of splitting the united Church into separate directions. The prerequisite for the Reformation was the emergence of capitalism. Society split into supporters of a new mode of production and adherents of feudalism. The Catholic Church supported the feudal system, which was beneficial to dogmatic religion: under capitalism, the power of religion could gradually weaken.
Protestantism quickly gained popularity among the masses. Representatives from different walks of life united to form a new belief, liberal and close to the needs of a developing society.
The main provisions of the Protestant Church:
- modest life;
- accumulation;
- saving;
- self-reliance;
- self management.
Protestantism gradually spread to European countries and became the basis for the formation of nation states. The church was assigned a secondary role in them: it could no longer directly influence the political course of the state.
Development of science in Christianity
The peculiarity of the development of science in Christianity, as a philosophical direction, is caused by the need to combine faith and knowledge. The first Christians were poorly educated people; faith was enough for them as an explanation for all aspects of human existence. Representatives of the intellectual strata of society who became involved in religion considered it necessary to add a rational approach to Christianity.
The theory of harmony of faith and reason was an attempt to combine faith and logic. To fully accept religion, a person must understand what his faith is based on and have convincing evidence. Therefore, the development of science is necessary for the popularization and development of religion, and the development of science is impossible without faith.
free will
One of the questions that critics of Christianity present as an argument for the unreality of God's existence is why do people do evil? If God is absolute good, and people are created in his image and likeness, then they should be incapable of evil deeds.
Christianity explains this by the presence of free will in humans. God endowed people with freedom, allowing them to choose between good and evil. According to the philosophy of Christianity, a person must take care of his soul: good cleanses the soul, and evil denigrates it. A God-fearing Christian always chooses to do good, even when tempted by the forces of evil. He renounces material wealth, fame and power to save his soul. If a person himself does not want to protect his soul from evil, God cannot help him. Freedom is a gift to man, and, at the same time, his heavy burden.
Features of scholasticism
Scholasticism is a direction in philosophy designed to decipher Christian dogmas. Most religious works are written in difficult to understand language. They use specific terminology and unsubstantiated arguments. The task of scholasticism is to make religious texts accessible.
In modern philosophy, scholasticism is perceived as a theoretical teaching that is not used in real life. She analyzes texts and their individual theses, using the same dry terminology with which non-specialists are not familiar. Because of this, scholasticism is considered impractical and somewhat unnecessary.
The Role of Theology in Christianity
Christian theology is understood as a set of theological disciplines that analyze the plans of God, explain the mysteries of nature and the history of the universe. The disciplines are based on handwritten works containing religious dogma. Since there are several directions in Christianity, each of them gradually formed its own theological school.
The most influential theological movements:
- systematic (basic);
- comparative;
- practical;
- biblical studies;
- historical disciplines.
Theological teachings are aimed at preserving the original meaning of religious texts. Theologians were engaged in translation and adaptation of the texts of the Holy Scriptures and Holy Tradition, the Bible and the lives of the apostles.