What country was francis bacon born in. Francis Bacon

F. Bacon (1561 - 1626) is considered the ancestor of New European philosophy, since it is he who owns a new view of philosophy, which was later widely developed: "... the fruits brought ... and practical inventions are, as it were, guarantors and witnesses of the truth of philosophies." His dictum: "Knowledge is power" expresses the attitude towards science as the main means of solving human problems.

By origin, Bacon belonged to the circles of the court bureaucracy, received a university education. His most important works are The New Organon (1620) and On the Dignity and Growth of Science (1623). In them, the author proceeds from the objective needs of society and expresses the interests of the progressive forces of that time, focusing on empirical research, on the knowledge of nature. The main goal of cognition, as F. Bacon believed, is to strengthen the power of man over nature. For this it is necessary to abandon the scholastic speculative methods of cognition, to turn to nature itself and the knowledge of its laws. Therefore, the subject of it epistemology matter itself, its structure and transformations appeared.

For an objective study of nature, he turns to experience, for the best of all evidence is experience. Moreover, experience in Bacon's view is not an assimilation to the old empiricists who “... like an ant only collect and use what is collected”, experience must be combined with reason. This will help and avoid the limitations of rationalists, "... like a spider from themselves ..." create a fabric. His experience, according to his own remarks, rather resembles the actions of a bee, which chooses the middle way, "she extracts material from the flowers of the garden and field, but disposes and changes it with her own skill." He divides the experiments into "luminiferous", which "... by themselves do not bring benefit, but contribute to the discovery of causes and axioms", and "fruitful", which directly benefit.

In terms of his positions, F. Bacon entered the history of philosophy as a representative empiricism ... In his opinion, the conclusions of cognition - theories should be based on a new, inductive, method, i.e. movement from the particular to the general, from the experiment to the mental processing of the obtained material. Before Bacon, philosophers who wrote about induction paid attention mainly to those cases or facts that support provable or generalizable propositions. Bacon emphasized the importance of those cases that refute the generalization, contradict it. These are the so-called negative instances. Already one - the only such case is capable of completely or at least partially refuting a hasty generalization. According to Bacon, disregard for negative authorities is the main cause of mistakes, superstitions and prejudices.

The new method, first of all, requires freeing the mind from preconceived ideas - ghosts, idols. He designated these idols as "family idols", "cave idols", "market idols", "theater idols". The first two are congenital, and the second are acquired in the course of individual development of a person.

"Idols of the clan" means that a person judges nature by analogy with himself, therefore, teleological errors of ideas about nature occur.

"Idols of the Cave" arise as a result of subjective sympathies, antipathies to certain prevailing ideas.

"Idols of the market", or otherwise, "squares" arise as a result of communication between people through words that make it difficult to understand things, because their meaning was often established by chance, not on the basis of the essence of the subject.

The "idols of the theater" are generated by the uncritical assimilation of the opinions of authorities.

Bacon also creates one of the first classifications of sciences, based on the abilities of the human soul: history is built on the basis of memory, poetry is based on imagination, reason gives rise to philosophy, mathematics and natural science.

In his opinion, the immediate task of cognition is the study of the causes of objects. Causes can be either acting (what are usually called causes), or final causes, i.e. goals. The science of acting causes is physics; the science of goals or ultimate causes is metaphysics. The task of the science of nature is to investigate the acting causes. Therefore, Bacon saw the essence of natural science in physics. Knowledge about nature is used to improve practical life. Mechanics is concerned with the application of knowledge of acting causes. The application of the knowledge of the ultimate cause is "natural magic". Mathematics, according to Bacon, has no purpose of its own and is only an auxiliary tool for natural science.

However, the views of Francis Bacon were of a dual nature: his ideas about the world could not yet be free from an appeal to God, he recognizes a double form of truth - scientific and the truth of "revelation."

Based on cognitive tasks, Bacon builds ontology ... In solving the problem of substance, he belonged to the materialists since believed that matter itself is the cause of all causes, not being itself caused by any cause. He uses the traditional concept of form to describe matter. But Aristotle's form is ideal, while Bacon understands form as the material essence of the properties of an object. According to him, form is a kind of movement of material particles that make up the body. The properties and qualities of an object are also material. Simple forms are carriers of a certain number of basic properties, to which all the variety of properties of things can be reduced. There are as many elementary properties of things in nature as there are simple forms. Bacon refers to such forms - properties as color, weight, movement, size, heat, etc. Just as a huge number of words are made from a small number of letters of the alphabet, so an inexhaustible number of objects and natural phenomena are made from combinations of simple forms. Thus, Bacon considers every complex thing as a sum of simple compound forms, which means the principle of mechanism, i.e. reduction of the complex to the simple - to the primary elements. The quantitative side of things, he also refers to one of the forms, but believes that it is insufficient to define a thing.

Bacon's materialistic position in understanding nature also contained dialectical positions: motion, for example, was considered an inherent intrinsic property of matter. He even singled out various forms of movement, although at that time it was customary to consider only one - mechanical, simple movement of bodies.

Francis Bacon's materialism was limited. His teaching presupposes an understanding of the world as material, but essentially consisting of a finite number of basic parts, limited quantitatively and qualitatively. This view was further developed in the metaphysical materialism of modern European philosophy.

The duality of Bacon's position manifested itself in the doctrine of man .

Man is dual. By its physicality, it belongs to nature and is studied by philosophy and science. But the human soul is a complex formation: it consists of a rational and sensual soul. The rational soul enters a person by "divine inspiration", therefore it is investigated by theology. The sensual soul has physical features and is the subject of philosophy.

Francis Bacon's contribution to science and philosophy was of great importance, since, in contrast to scholasticism, he puts forward a new methodology aimed at genuine knowledge of nature, its internal laws. In fact, his work opened a new historical form of philosophy - the new European one.

Francis Bacon is an English philosopher, the progenitor of empiricism, materialism and the founder of theoretical mechanics. Born January 22, 1561 in London. Graduated from Trinity College, University of Cambridge. He held fairly high positions under King James I.

Bacon's philosophy took shape during the general cultural upsurge of the capitalistically developing European countries, the alienation of scholastic ideas of church dogma.

The problems of the relationship between man and nature are central to the entire philosophy of Francis Bacon. In his work "New Organon" Bacon tries to present the correct method of cognizing nature, giving preference to the inductive method of cognition, which is trivially called "Bacon's method." This method is based on the transition from particular provisions to general ones, on experimental testing of hypotheses.

Science takes a solid position in the entire philosophy of Bacon, his winged aphorism "Knowledge is power" is widely known. The philosopher tried to link the differentiated parts of science into a single system for a holistic reflection of the picture of the world. The scientific knowledge of Francis Bacon is based on the hypothesis that God, having created man in his image and likeness, endowed him with a mind for research, knowledge of the Universe. It is the mind that is capable of providing a person with well-being, gaining power over nature.

But on the way of human cognition of the Universe, mistakes are made, which Bacon called idols or ghosts, systematizing them into four groups:

1. cave idols - in addition to the errors inherent in all, there are purely individual ones associated with the narrowness of people's knowledge, they can be both innate and acquired.
2. idols of theater or theories - a person's assimilation from other people of false ideas about reality
3. idols of the square or market - susceptibility to widespread delusions that are generated by speech communication and, in general, by the social nature of a person.
4. idols of the clan - are born, hereditarily transmitted by human nature, do not depend on the culture and individuality of a person.

Bacon considers all idols to be mere attitudes of human consciousness, and traditions of thinking, which may turn out to be false. The sooner a person can clear his consciousness of idols that interfere with an adequate perception of the picture of the world, his knowledge, the sooner he can master the knowledge of nature.

The main category in Bacon's philosophy is experience, which provides the mind with food, determines the reliability of specific knowledge. To get to the bottom of the truth, you need to accumulate enough experience, and in testing hypotheses, experience is the best proof.

Bacon is rightfully considered the ancestor of English materialism, for him matter, being, nature, the objective as opposed to idealism, are primary.

Bacon introduced the concept of a dual human soul, noting that bodily a person definitely belongs to science, but he examines the human soul, introducing the categories of a rational soul and a sensual soul. The rational soul for Bacon is the subject of theological research, and the sensual soul is investigated by philosophy.

Francis Bacon made a huge contribution to the development of English and European philosophy, to the birth of an absolutely new European thinking, was the founder of the inductive method of knowledge and materialism.

Among the most significant followers of Bacon: T. Hobbes, D. Locke, D. Diderot, J. Bayer.

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Life path and works of F. Bacon.

Francis Bacon, son of Nicholas Bacon, one of the highest dignitaries at the court of Queen Elizabeth, was born on January 22, 1561 in London. In 1573 he entered Trinity College, Cambridge University. Three years later, F. Bacon, as part of an English mission, went to Paris, from where in 1579, due to the death of his father, he was forced to return to England. Bacon's first field of independent activity was jurisprudence. He even became the elder of a law corporation. The young lawyer, however, regarded his successes in the legal field as a springboard to a political career. In 1584 Bacon was first elected to the House of Commons. Starting with biting opposition protests, he went on to become a zealous supporter of the crown. The rise of Bacon as a court politician came after the death of Elizabeth, at the court of James I Stuart. The king showered Bacon with ranks, awards, and awards. Since 1606, Bacon has held a number of fairly high positions (full-time QC, highest royal legal adviser).

Years of troublesome court service, however, allowed Bacon, who had an early taste for philosophy, in particular the philosophy of science, morality, law, to write and publish works that later glorified him as an outstanding thinker, the founder of modern philosophy. Back in 1597, his first work, "Experiments and Instructions", was published, containing sketches, which he would then revise and republish twice. The treatise "On the Significance and Success of Knowledge, Divine and Human" dates back to 1605.

Meanwhile, in England, the time is coming for the absolutist rule of James I: in 1614 he dissolved parliament and until 1621 ruled alone. Needing loyal advisers, the king especially brought Bacon, by that time a skilled courtier, closer to him. In 1616 Bacon became a member of the Privy Council, in 1617 - Lord Keeper of the Great Seal. In 1618 Bacon was already Lord, Supreme Chancellor and Peer of England, Baron of Verulam, from 1621 - Viscount of St. Albanian. During the "non-parliamentary" rule in England, the king's favorite, Lord Buckingham, reigned sovereign, and Bacon could not, and perhaps did not want to resist his style of government (waste, bribery, political persecution). When, in 1621, the king still had to convene parliament, the parliamentarians' resentment finally found expression. An investigation into the corruption of officials has begun. Bacon, on trial, pleaded guilty. The peers condemned Bacon very harshly - right up to imprisonment in the Tower - but the king overturned the court's decision. There would be no happiness, but misfortune helped.

Retired from politics, Bacon devoted himself to that beloved business, in which everything was decided not by intrigues and avarice, but by pure cognitive interest and a deep mind - to scientific and philosophical research. 1620 is marked by the publication of the New Organon, conceived as the second part of the work The Great Restoration of Sciences. In 1623, an extensive work "On the Dignity of the Augmentation of Sciences" was published - the first part of the "Great Restoration of Sciences". Bacon also tried the pen in the genre fashionable in the 17th century. philosophical utopia - he writes "New Atlantis". Among other works of the outstanding English thinker, one should also mention "Thoughts and Observations", "On the Wisdom of the Ancients", "On Heaven", "On Causes and Beginnings", "History of the Winds", "History of Life and Death", "History of Henry VII" etc. Francis Bacon died on April 9, 1626.

The main ideas of F. Bacon's philosophy. Bacon's plan for the "great restoration of the sciences." Obstacles on the way to a new science.

The main goal of his writings, as well as the vocation of all philosophy, F. Bacon saw in "restoring as a whole, or at least bringing to a better form that communication between mind and things, which is unlikely to be likened to anything on earth, or at least anything earthly. " From a philosophical point of view, the concepts used in the sciences, which have become vague and fruitless, deserve special regret and urgent correction. Hence - the need "to revert to things with better means and to restore the arts and sciences and all human knowledge in general, approved on a proper basis." Bacon believed that science since the time of the ancient Greeks has made little progress along the path of an unbiased experimental study of nature. A different situation is observed in the "mechanical arts:" they, as if having received some life-giving breath, grow and improve every day ... " So, Bacon calls on his contemporaries and descendants to pay special attention to the development of sciences and to do it for the benefit of life and practice, namely for "the benefit and dignity of the human."

Bacon opposes the prevailing prejudice about science in order to give scientific research a high status. It was with Bacon that a sharp change in orientation in European culture began. Science, from a suspicious and idle pastime in the eyes of many people, is gradually becoming the most important, prestigious area of ​​human culture. In this respect, many scientists and philosophers of modern times are following in the footsteps of Bacon: in place of scholastic knowledge, divorced from technical practice and from the knowledge of nature, they put science, still closely related to philosophy, but at the same time based on special experiments and experiments.

"The activities and efforts that contribute to the development of science," writes Bacon in Dedication to the King to the Second Book of the Great Restoration of Sciences, "concern three objects: scientific institutions, books and the scientists themselves." In all these areas, Bacon is of great service. He drew up a detailed and well-thought-out plan for changing the education system (including measures to finance it, approve statutes and regulations). One of the first politicians and philosophers in Europe, he wrote: "... in general, one should firmly remember that significant progress in uncovering the deep secrets of nature is hardly possible" if funds for experiments are not provided ... " and university traditions, cooperation of European universities. Anyone who is now getting acquainted with the reflections of F. Bacon on all these and similar topics cannot but marvel at the deep insight of a philosopher, scientist, statesman: his program "The Great Restoration of Sciences" is not outdated in our One can imagine how unusual, bold and even daring it looked in the 17th century.Undoubtedly, thanks in no small part to the great, outstripping ideas of Bacon of the 17th century, especially in England, it became the century of science and great scientists. such modern disciplines as science of science, sociology and economics of science trace their origins to Bacon as the ancestor.

However, Bacon saw his main contribution of the philosopher to the theory and practice of science in bringing a renewed philosophical and methodological foundation under science. He thought of sciences as connected in a single system, each part of which, in turn, must be subtly differentiated.

11) Francis Bacon's method of cognition. Obstacles to cognition (theory of "idols").

Cognition method:

Pointing to the deplorable state of science, Bacon said that so far discoveries have been made by chance, not methodically. There would be many more if the researchers were armed with the right method. Method is the path, the main means of research. Even a lame man walking on the road will overtake a healthy person running off-road.

The research method developed by Francis Bacon is an early predecessor of the scientific method. The method was proposed in Bacon's Novum Organum (New Organon) and was intended to replace the methods proposed in Aristotle's Organum almost 2 millennia ago.

Scientific knowledge, according to Bacon, should be based on induction and experiment.

Induction can be complete (perfect) and incomplete. Full induction means the regular recurrence and exhaustion of any property of an object in the experience under consideration. Inductive generalizations proceed from the assumption that this will be the case in all similar cases. In this garden, all lilacs are white - a conclusion from annual observations during the period of its flowering.

Incomplete induction includes generalizations made on the basis of the study of not all cases, but only some (conclusion by analogy), because, as a rule, the number of all cases is practically boundless, and theoretically it is impossible to prove their infinite number : all swans are white for us for certain until we see a black individual. This conclusion is always probabilistic.

Trying to create "true induction", Bacon looked not only for facts confirming a certain conclusion, but also facts that refute it. Thus, he armed natural science with two means of research: enumeration and exclusion. And it is the exceptions that matter most. Using his method, for example, he established that the "form" of heat is the movement of the smallest particles of the body.

So, in his theory of knowledge, Bacon rigorously carried out the idea that true knowledge follows from sensory experience. This philosophical position is called empiricism. Bacon was not only its founder, but also the most consistent empiricist.

Obstacles on the path of knowledge:

Francis Bacon divided the sources of human error that stand in the way of knowledge into four groups, which he called "ghosts" or "idols" (lat. idola). These are "ghosts of the family", "ghosts of the cave", "ghosts of the square" and "ghosts of the theater".

one. " Ghosts of the kind"Stem from human nature itself, they do not depend on culture or on the individuality of a person. "The human mind is likened to an uneven mirror, which, mixing its nature with the nature of things, reflects things in a distorted and disfigured form."

2. " Ghosts of the cave"Are individual errors of perception, both congenital and acquired. "After all, each, in addition to the errors inherent in the human race, has its own special cave, which weakens and distorts the light of nature."

3. " The ghosts of the square (market) "- a consequence of the social nature of man, - communication and use of language in communication. “People are united by speech. Words are established according to the understanding of the crowd. Therefore, the bad and absurd establishment of words is amazingly besieging the mind. "

4. " The ghosts of the theater"- these are false ideas about the structure of reality, assimilated by a person from other people. "At the same time, we mean here not only general philosophical doctrines, but also numerous principles and axioms of sciences, which received strength as a result of tradition, faith and carelessness."

12) The problem of methodological doubt in the philosophy of René Descartes. + 13) The main features of Descartes' theory of knowledge and the doctrine of innate ideas.

Frenchman Rene Descartes (1596-1650) studied scholastic philosophy at the Jesuit college of La Flèche. He early began to doubt the value of book learning, since, in his opinion, many sciences lack a reliable foundation. Leaving books, he began to travel Although Descartes was a Catholic, he at one time fought on the side of the Protestants in the Thirty Years' War, and his interests included horse riding, music, fencing and dancing. At the age of 23, while in winter quarters in Germany, he formulated the main ideas of his method. Ten years later, he moved to Holland to pursue research in peace and quiet. In 1649 he went to Stockholm to Queen Christina. The Swedish winter was too harsh for him, he fell ill and died in February 1650.

His major works include Discourse on Method (Discours de la methode, 1637) and Metaphysical Reflections (Meditations metaphysiques, 1647), among others Principesde la philosophie and Regies pour la direction de I "esprit. . Discussion about method was one of the philosophical works in French. Descartes wrote in both Latin and French.

Descartes is simultaneously a representative of both the new and the old eras. On the one hand, he seeks to found philosophy on a new reliable foundation, on the other, he is strongly attached to the scholastic tradition, which, in particular, proves his argument for the existence of God.

According to Descartes, there is disagreement in philosophy on any issue. The only really reliable method is mathematical deduction. Therefore, Descartes considers the deductive system as a scientific ideal. This ideal became the defining factor of Cartesian philosophy.

If philosophy is to be a deductive system like Euclidean geometry, then it is necessary to find fully definite and true premises (axioms). If the premises are not obvious and doubtful, then the conclusions (theorems) of the deductive system are of little value.

This scientific ideal, borrowed by Descartes from mathematics and expressing some features of the scientific method, leads him to the question of how one can find absolutely obvious and definite prerequisites for a deductive philosophical system. methodical doubt It is a means of excluding all propositions that we can logically doubt, and a means of finding propositions that are logically certain. It is these indisputable propositions that we can use as premises of our deductive system.

Methodological doubt, therefore, is aimed at finding not what is reasonably or unreasonably possible to doubt, but what is logically possible to doubt. Methodical doubt is a way (method) of excluding all statements that cannot be the prerequisites of a deductive philosophical system.

For Descartes, doubt itself is associated with certain prerequisites. It is the individual himself, a separate thinking subject, and not, for example, a group of researchers, asks questions, that is, doubts. Therefore, it is not surprising that the position, which Descartes does not doubt is certain, is the individual's confidence. that he is a thinking creature, a conclusion that cannot be doubted is built into Descartes' way of asking questions.

Through methodical doubt, Descartes tests various kinds of knowledge.

1) First, he looks at the philosophical tradition. Is it possible in principle to doubt what philosophers say? Yes, Descartes replies, this is possible because philosophers did and do disagree on many issues.

2) What about our sensory perceptions? Is it possible to logically doubt them? Yes, says Descartes, and gives the following argument. The fact is that sometimes we are subject to illusions and hallucinations. For example, a tower may appear round, although later it is found that it is square. Consequently, we have two conflicting each other. to a friend by sensory impressions of the same thing. In practice, we trust some sensations more than others. We are convinced that, for example, a tower is actually square, because it looks square when we get closer to it, although it looks round from a distance. Moreover, in practice we can ask other people to check if we think we see correctly. Therefore, in practice, we usually have no problem determining whether the tower is actually round or square. ...

But this example shows that our senses can be wrong and that we have no other means of testing our sensory impressions other than with the help of another sensory impression. However, if one sensory impression can be mistaken, then in principle another impression can also we use to check the first one. And if we want to check this other, "control", impression, then we must again use the third sensory impression, which can also be, in principle, erroneous. This can be repeated ad infinitum. Therefore, it is logically possible to doubt all sensory impressions.

So our senses cannot provide us with absolutely obvious prerequisites for a deductive philosophical system.

3) As a special argument, Descartes points out that he has no criterion for determining whether he is fully conscious or in a state of sleep. These states are definitely sensory perceptions, and for this reason he may in principle doubt what state he is in.

The argument referring to the state of sleep is of the same type as the argument about regressing to infinity when testing sensory impressions. In both cases, Descartes looks for an absolutely obvious criterion and concludes that he cannot find it. impressions as correct is another sensory impression. But if one sensory impression can be wrong, then the criterion, that is, another sensory impression, can also be wrong. It would seem that the criterion for determining whether we are fully conscious is that we think that we are fully conscious, but we can also dream that we think that we are fully conscious.

4) Finally, Descartes considers logic, where he again applies methodical doubt to the criterion used in it. We have no other way to test the reasoning than to resort to other reasoning. And if the first reasoning can be wrong, then other reasoning can be wrong. So, in principle, we can doubt logical arguments.

It is clear that doubt in a logical conclusion differs from doubt in sensory impressions, since it is through logical inference that Descartes comes to the understanding that logical conclusions are, in principle, subject to errors.

Based on these conclusions, Descartes comes to the proof of the existence of God as perfection. Human doubt is a sign of imperfection, and imperfection, therefore, imperfection, the philosopher argued that there is its opposite - perfection, embodied in God. God as a perfect being is the guarantor of the existence of the world he created. Descartes receives all these conclusions by means of logically correct reasoning, in which the possibilities of thinking, capable of knowing the obvious, clear, universal truths, are manifested. These truths are, he believed, innate. They do not need proof. They are the basis of knowledge. Thus, Descartes introduces the concept of innate ideas into his philosophy.

The essence of his method of cognition, based on these principles, Descartes outlined in his work "Discourse on the method ..." as follows.

« First- never take for true anything that I would not recognize as such with obviousness, that is, carefully avoid haste and prejudice and include in your judgments only what appears to my mind so clearly and distinctly that in no way can give rise to doubt ...

Second- to divide each of the difficulties I am considering into as many parts as necessary in order to better resolve them.

Third- to arrange your thoughts in a certain order, starting with the objects of the simplest and easily recognizable, and ascending little by little, as by steps, to the knowledge of the most complex, allowing the existence of order even among those that do not precede each other in the natural course of things.

And the last thing is to make lists everywhere so complete and reviews so comprehensive as to be sure nothing is missing. "

Descartes was convinced that being guided by this method, one can cognize the world in all its complexity, overcome delusions, that is, achieve true knowledge: “if you refrain from taking for true something that is not, and always observe order, where one should deduce one from the other, then there can be no truths so distant that they were unattainable, nor so secret that it would be impossible to reveal them. "

Thus, Descartes's method was the basis of his theory of knowledge, the essence of which is as follows. Cognition includes experience and thinking, while thinking plays a decisive role, since the basis of reliability is innate ideas, ultimately, carriers of the reliability of knowledge. The fundamental innate true ideas that are axiomatic in nature are revealed with the help of intellectual intuition and doubt, which make it possible to determine what is truly reliable in knowledge. The guarantor of the existence of such ideas and, of course, the final criterion of truth is God.

The causes of delusion in cognition, therefore, are disorderly experience and deviation from logic in the process of reasoning. This is the essence of Descartes' rationalism.

14) What are the main features of Cartesian anthropology (the problem of psychophysical parallelism: man and animal)?

Anthropology in the broadest sense is a collection of scientific disciplines about the natural and cultural origin of man. Cartesian anthropology refers to philosophical anthropology (the philosophical doctrine of the nature and essence of man, considering man as a special kind of being). Anthropology as a philosophical doctrine is historically the first form of representing a person as such as a special subject of understanding and study. The complex of Cartesian ideas (that is, formulated by Rene Descartes), discoveries, concepts and problems generated by them, reflects the main intellectual landmarks of the modern European era. The Cartesian doctrine of being grows up as a specifically New European interpretation of one of the key ontological concepts of the Western Christian world, according to which God, man (thinking spirit) and the world relate to each other as actually infinite, potentially infinite and finite being. The peculiarity of Descartes' position is that each of these realities is thought of as an independent reality - a substance. According to Descartes, it is obvious that "I", as a rational and volitional reality, is in no way a body, that is, an extended reality.

In anthropology, one of the questions generated by Cartesian dualism is the so-called "psychophysical problem". The issue of the interaction of thinking and the brain, which to this day concentrates the attention of research institutes, testifies that Descartes articulated the attitude of a person's spiritual well-being, which is relevant up to the present day. On the one hand, the thinking self is aware of itself as a substance, on the other, its main interest lies in the vector of its relationship with the material-sensory world, the knowledge of the specific substantiality of which is incomparably more desirable than the knowledge of God, which (if it exists) “does not interfere” in life the world.

Psychophysical parallelism- a theory about the relationship between thinking and being, mental and physical, according to which the processes occurring in thinking and being strictly correspond to each other both from the side of material content and in time, but they do not interact at all.

For materialism, this theory meant the inseparability of consciousness from the brain, for idealism - the independence of consciousness from material influences, its subordination to a special psychic causality. In both cases, the psychophysical problem did not receive a positive solution, since consciousness was considered in its relation to the processes inside the body. Within the framework of psychophysical parallelism, it is impossible to scientifically explain the reflective nature of the psyche and its regulatory role in behavior.

15) "Cogitoergosum": Descartes on the validity of his own existence as a thinking being.

The famous cogito ergo sum - I think, therefore I am, I exist I am ", or:" I am. " ".) - is born, thus, from the fire of the one who denies by doubts at the same time it becomes one of the positive fundamental principles, the first principles of Cartesian philosophy. Around the cogito, its interpretation, comprehension and refutation, from the 40s of the 17th century to the present day, philosophy revolves , especially, of course, European philosophy.It should be taken into account: cogito is not an everyday, but a philosophical principle, the fundamental foundation of philosophy, moreover, a philosophy of a very special type. calculation of the explanation that Descartes himself gave to this difficult principle. "Having said that the position: I think, therefore, I exist, is the first and most reliable, presented to everyone who methodically arranges their thoughts, I did not thereby deny the need to know even before what thinking, reliability, existence is, I did not deny that in order to think, one must exist (or rather, translate: one must be - Auth.), and the like; but in view of the fact that these concepts are so simple that by themselves they do not give us knowledge of any existing thing, I reasoned do not list them here.

So, if the cogito becomes one of the fundamental principles of the new philosophy, then in explaining the principle itself the initial significance is given to the clarification of the concept of "thinking." And thinking, in view of the fundamental nature of the functions assigned to it, is interpreted by Descartes quite broadly: “by the word thinking (cogitatio),” Descartes explains, “I mean everything that happens in us in such a way that we perceive it directly by ourselves; and therefore not only to understand, desire, imagine, but also feel here means the same thing as thinking. "This means that thinking - of course, in a certain aspect - is identified with understanding, desire, imagination, which, as it were, become subspecies (modes) of thought. "Without a doubt, all types of mental activity (modi cogitandi) that we note in ourselves can be attributed to two main ones: one of them consists in the perception by the mind, the other in the determination of the will. So, to feel, imagine, even comprehend purely intellectual things - all these are different types of perception, while desire, disgust, affirm, deny, doubt are different types of will. " From such formulations (and there are many of them in Descartes), it is clearly seen that a two-pronged and truly dialectical process takes place: on the one hand, in Descartes, feeling is sometimes isolated from thought, but, on the other hand, becoming a subspecies of thinking, sensory cognition as opposed to one-sided empiricism intellectualized, rationalized. In contrast to extreme rationalism, thinking itself is sensualized, turning into a subspecies of perception.It turns out that Descartes, not without reason attributed by the historians of philosophy to the rationalist camp, at the same time was one of the first to try to smooth out the extremes of rationalism and empiricism at the central point - in the understanding of thinking and feelings, sought to unite them into the indissoluble integrity of the human spirit. That is why cogito ergo sum, according to Descartes, could be expressed in different forms: not only in his own and original "I think, therefore I am, I am," but also, for example, "I doubt, therefore I am, I exist ".

Descartes' widely interpreted "thinking" (pensee) so far only implicitly includes what will later be designated as consciousness. But the themes of the future theory of consciousness are already appearing on the philosophical horizon. Awareness of actions is the most important, in the light of Cartesian explanations, distinctive a sign of thinking, mental acts. The fact that a person is endowed with a body, Descartes does not even think to deny. As a scientist-physiologist, he specifically investigates the human body. But as a metaphysician, he emphatically asserts that the essence of a person is not at all in the fact that he is endowed with a physical, material body and is capable, like an automaton, to perform purely bodily actions and movements. And although the (natural) existence of the human body is a prerequisite without which no thinking can take place, existence, the existence of the I is certified and, therefore, acquires meaning for a person not otherwise than thanks to thinking, that is, the conscious "action" of my thought. Hence the following are strictly predetermined The th step of Cartesian analysis is the transition from the cogito to the clarification of the essence of the I, i.e. essence of a person.

"But I still do not know quite clearly," Descartes continues his research, "what I am myself, I am, confident in my existence ... What did I consider myself before? Of course, a man. But what is a man? is it a rational animal? "No, Descartes answers, because then you need to know in advance what an animal is and what exactly is the rational nature of man. We must not forget that, according to Cartesian methodological conception, it is not yet possible to include in philosophical reflection anything that has not yet been, by this reflection, specially introduced, explained, that is, to be expressed in a later (namely, Hegelian) language, was not "put" (gesetzt) ​​by philosophical thought. “I know that I exist and I am looking for what exactly I am, knowing about my existence ... But what am I?” “Strictly speaking, I am only a thinking thing, that is, a spirit, or a soul, or an intellect, or mind. "And although Descartes further concretizes and distinguishes all these interrelated terms, within the framework of the definition of the essence of the I, the essence of man, they are taken in unity, in relative identity.

By highlighting thinking, making the cogito ergo sum the principle of all the principles of philosophy and science, Descartes implements a reform that has a deep meaning and lasting significance for man and his culture. The meaning of this reform: the foundation of human existence, existence and action is now based not only on such values ​​as the spirituality of man, his immortal soul, aspiring to God (which was also characteristic of medieval thought); the novelty is that these values ​​were now closely linked with the activity, freedom, independence, responsibility of each individual. The meaning of such a turn in philosophizing is precisely and clearly indicated by Hegel: "Descartes proceeded from the position that thought must begin with itself. All the preceding philosophizing, and especially that philosophizing, which had the authority of the church as its starting point, Descartes pushed aside." "By this, philosophy again received its own ground: thinking proceeds from thinking, as from something reliable in itself, and not from something external, not from something given, not from authority, but entirely from that freedom that contained in "I think" ".

The complex and abstract philosophical form in which this reform, fundamental for the human spirit, was clothed, did not overshadow its truly comprehensive social and spiritual and moral consequences from contemporaries and descendants. Cogito taught a person to actively form his I, to be free and responsible in thought and action, believing every other human being is free and responsible. "The cogito principle asserts," said Merab Mamardashvili, "that an opportunity can only be realized by me, provided my own labor and spiritual effort to liberate and develop (this, of course, is the most difficult thing in the world). But only in this way the soul can accept and germinate." the highest "seed, to rise above oneself and circumstances, due to which everything that happens around turns out to be place, if I'm ready to start all over again, start from myself, who has become. "

Taken in a broad sense, Descartes's cogito, which in turn absorbed the great ideas of its predecessors (for example, Anselm of Canterbury, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, etc.), and became the fundamental principle of the further development of culture.

16) The problem of the existence of God in the metaphysics of Rene Descartes.

The general task of the Cartesian system was radical - the construction of a fundamentally new system of knowledge about the world for his time, which, of course, had to be stable, logically invulnerable, and Descartes considered it necessary to provide a philosophical foundation.

Its beginning is the proof of a person's ability to reliably cognize objective reality. The basis of such cognition, according to Descartes, is not sensory experience, which often gives an inadequate idea of ​​reality, but only reason, which is guided by a number of methodological principles. These principles, as set forth in the Discourse on Method, include: clarity and distinctness, analyticity, order and completeness of consideration.

Descartes in the same "Discourse", but mainly in "Metaphysical Reflections" and "Principles of Philosophy" in order to prove the epistemological priority of reason undertakes its comprehensive critical analysis. This is "proof by contradiction": the assumption, undertaken for methodological purposes, of a person's inability to reliably cognize the objectively existing world, is formulated and refuted.

The order of Cartesian reasoning is as follows. The principle is formulated: only what appears to be true is certain. Objects, the reliability of knowledge about which can be doubted at least to a small extent, respectively, are considered false. The methodological nature of this principle is obvious from the following words of Descartes: "It is useful even to consider things in which we doubt as false, so that the more clearly determine what is most reliable and accessible to knowledge." At first, Descartes recognizes as such all data of sensory experience on the basis of the discrepancy between the reality of their perception in dreams, and sometimes in a state of waking ideas, for "some people are mistaken about such things." Then - the idea of ​​God: "we do not know if he wished to create us in such a way that we are always deluded, and even in those things that seem to us the most clear." Thus, the falsity of the entire content of consciousness is admitted. But Descartes immediately refutes such an assumption, drawing attention to the doubt itself as an act of thinking: “we cannot doubt that as long as we doubt, we exist”; "To believe that a thinking thing does not exist at the same time as it thinks would be an obvious contradiction." The quintessence of this is the famous Cartesian Cogito ergo sum, "I think, therefore I am."

Thus, thinking in the broad sense of the word (cogitatio) becomes the primary basis of reliable knowledge according to Descartes - “everything that happens in us consciously, since we understand it”; "Not only to understand, to want, to imagine, but also to feel is the same as thinking." Starting to analyze the content of thinking, the ideas found in it, Descartes, in accordance with the previously postulated principle of clarity and distinctness of cognition, asserts, first, that ideas concerning thinking proper are comprehended more clearly and fully than ideas concerning material things; secondly, the priority of the rational comprehension of the latter over the sensible: "nothing leads us to the knowledge of some other [relative to the mind] thing, without giving us much more reliable knowledge of our mind." But we should not forget that at this stage, for Descartes, only the thinking Cogitatio is reliable, but not material things yet.

Proceeding from this, Descartes classifies the ideas contained in the Cogitatio, and then decides the question of their origin. The ideas are presented by Descartes to those who seem “created and invented by myself,” “alien and come from outside,” “born with me.” The first category does not raise questions; in relation to the second, Descartes admits the theoretical possibility of the origin of ideas corresponding to this category, only from consciousness. Ideas, which seem to be "innate", occupy a special place in the Cartesian concept. The first of them, found in the Cogitatio, actually constitutes the key to Descartes's solution to the problem of the reliability of knowledge and, therefore, to the entire Cartesian philosophy: this is the idea of ​​God. As the reality hidden behind this name, Descartes thought of “an infinite, eternal, unchanging, independent, omniscient, omnipotent substance that created and gave birth to me and all other existing things.

In the works of Descartes, there are two main options for proving the impossibility of the origin of this idea from anything other than God himself and, thus, the actual existence of God.

The first version of the proof, called "anthropological" in the literature, is that man, being by nature an imperfect being, needs for his existence the assistance of an all-perfect Being - God. First, nothing could create a man who has the idea of ​​God as all perfect beings and put into the human Cogitatio His idea, except for God himself. The plurality of reasons would deprive the idea of ​​God in the mind of man of simplicity and self-sufficiency; man himself would create himself everything perfect, which is not observed; the final cause itself must be a consequence of something, and such a chain of cause and effect cannot be unlimited, and we will inevitably come to an infinite cause - God. Secondly, “from what we exist now, it does not necessarily follow. that we will exist in the near future ", that is, the permanent preservation of the existence of man is the prerogative not of an imperfect man, but of the cause that produced it - God, who" does not need anyone to preserve him. "

The second option is formally identical to the "ontological" proof of the medieval theologian Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109). The essence of the Cartesian version of this argumentation is as follows. The thinking subject clearly and distinctly comprehends the idea of ​​a being possessing all possible perfections. And "to think of God, that is, all the most perfect being, devoid of being, that is, one of the perfections ", as contradictory as" how to think of a mountain without a valley. "

17) The main provisions of the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes.

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) - English philosopher, author of the Leviathan treatise. An adherent of sensationalism and fatalism, he considered will as a "force of nature." He was a supporter of the mechanistic picture of the world, according to which only bodies objectively exist, and characteristics such as size, weight, etc. are subjective. He recognized the existence of God as "the energy of the universe, as the root cause of all that exists," but at the same time does not interfere in earthly affairs. The main subject of his philosophy is man as a citizen of the state. Considered himself Euclid in the social sciences. He argued the impossibility of creating a society using a geometric approach, since it would concern the personalities of people. In his opinion, this approach should be used in politics.

In his treatise "Leviathan" compares the state with this biblical character, belittling people, limiting their needs. He believes that the state was created as a result of a social contract, but then moved away from the people and began to dominate them. The essence of good and evil is determined by the state, and other people must adhere to these criteria, since the activities of the state should be aimed at ensuring the good of the people. The state should take care of the interests and happiness of the people.

Francis Bacon was born in London to a noble and respected family. His father Nicholas was a politician, and his mother Anna (nee Cook) was the daughter of Anthony Cook, a famous humanist who raised King Edward VI of England and Ireland. From a young age, a mother instilled in her son a love of knowledge, and she - a girl who knew ancient Greek and Latin - did it with ease. In addition, the boy himself, from a very tender age, showed a great interest in knowledge.

In general, not so much is known about the childhood of the great thinker. He received the basics of knowledge at home, as he was in poor health. But this did not stop him at the age of 12, together with his older brother Anthony, to enter Trinity College (College of the Holy Trinity) at Cambridge. During his studies, the intelligent and educated Francis was noticed not only by the courtiers, but also by Queen Elizabeth I herself, who talked with pleasure with the young man, often jokingly calling him the growing Lord Guardian.

After graduating from college, the brothers joined the community of teachers at Grace's Inn (1576). In the autumn of the same year, with the help of his father, Francis, as part of the retinue of Sir Amias Paulet, went abroad. The realities of life in other countries, seen then by Francis, resulted in the notes "On the State of Europe."

Bacon was forced to return to his homeland by misfortune - in February 1579, his father passed away. In the same year, he began his career as a lawyer at the Grace Inn. A year later, Bacon applied for a job at court. However, despite the rather warm attitude of Queen Elizabeth to Bacon, he never heard a positive result. After working at the Grace Inn until 1582, he was promoted to junior barrister.

At the age of 23, Francis Bacon was honored to serve in the House of Commons. He had his own views, which at times did not agree with the views of the Queen, and therefore he soon became known as her enemy. A year later, he was already elected to parliament, and Bacon's real "finest hour" came when Jacob I came to power in 1603. and from 1618 to 1621 he was Lord Chancellor.

His career collapsed in an instant when, in the same 1621, Francis was charged with bribery. Then he was taken into custody, but only two days later he was pardoned. During his political activity, the world saw one of the most outstanding works of the thinker - "New Organon", which was the second part of the main work - "The Great Restoration of Sciences", which, unfortunately, was never completed.

Bacon's philosophy

Francis Bacon is not unreasonably considered the founder of modern thinking. His philosophical theory fundamentally refutes scholastic teachings, while bringing knowledge and science to the fore. The thinker believed that a person who was able to know and accept the laws of nature is quite capable of using them for his own good, thereby gaining not only power, but also something more - spirituality. The philosopher subtly noticed that during the formation of the world, all discoveries were made, in fact, by accident - without special skills and possession of special techniques. Therefore, knowing the world and gaining new knowledge, the main thing that needs to be used is experience and the inductive method, and research, in his opinion, should begin with observation, not theory. According to Bacon, a successful experiment can be called such only if, during its conduct, conditions are constantly changing, including time and space - matter must always be in motion.

The empirical teachings of Francis Bacon

The concept of "empiricism" appeared as a result of the development of the philosophical theory of Bacon, and its essence was reduced to the judgment "knowledge lies through experience." He believed that it was possible to achieve something in his activities only with experience and knowledge. According to Bacon, there are three paths through which a person can gain knowledge:

• The Spider's Way. In this case, the analogy is drawn with a web, like which human thoughts are intertwined, while specific aspects are passed by.
• The Ant's Way. Like an ant, a person collects facts and evidence bit by bit, thus gaining experience. At the same time, the essence remains unclear.
• "The Way of the Bee". In this case, the positive qualities of the path of the spider and the ant are used, and the negative ones (lack of specifics, incomprehensible essence) are omitted. Choosing the path of the bee, it is important to let all the facts gathered empirically through the mind and the prism of your thinking. This is how the truth is known.

Classification of obstacles to cognition

Bacon, in addition to the paths of knowledge. He also talks about constant obstacles (the so-called ghost obstacles) that accompany a person throughout his life. They can be innate and acquired, but in any case, it is they that prevent you from tuning your mind to cognition. So, there are four types of obstacles: "Ghosts of the genus" (originate from human nature itself), "Ghosts of the cave" (own errors of perception of the surrounding reality), "ghosts of the market" (appear as a result of communication with other people through speech (language)) and " ghosts of the theater "(inspired and imposed by ghosts by other people). Bacon is sure that in order to learn new things, one must abandon the old. At the same time, it is important not to "lose" the experience, relying on which and passing it through the mind, you can achieve success.

Personal life

Francis Bacon was married once. His wife was three times his age. The chosen one of the great philosopher was Alice Burnham, daughter of the widow of London elder Benedict Burnham. The couple had no children.

Bacon died as a result of a cold, which was the result of one of the experiments. Bacon stuffed a chicken carcass with snow with his hands, trying in this way to determine the effect of cold on the safety of meat products. Even being already seriously ill, foreshadowing a quick death, Bacon wrote joyful letters to his comrade, Lord Arendel, never tired of repeating that science will eventually give man power over nature.

Quotes

• Knowledge is power
• Nature is conquered only by obeying its laws.
• The one who waddles along a straight road will outstrip the one who has gone astray.
• The worst loneliness is not having true friends.
• The imaginary wealth of knowledge is the main reason for his poverty.
• Of all the virtues and virtues of the soul, the greatest virtue is kindness.

The most famous works of the philosopher

• "Experiments, or instructions, moral and political" (3 editions, 1597-1625)
• "On the dignity and enhancement of the sciences" (1605)
• New Atlantis (1627)

Throughout his life, 59 works came out from the pen of the philosopher, after his death 29 more were published.

New time has become a period of prosperity. English philosophy of the 17th - 18th centuries had its own specifics: materialistic orientation(most of the philosophers in England preferred to explain the problems of being materialistically and sharply criticized idealism), dominance over(England became a rare country for its time, where empiricism won out in matters of knowledge) and great interest in socio-political issues(the philosophers of England not only tried to explain the essence of being and cognition, the role of man in the world, but also looked for the reasons for the emergence of society and the state, put forward projects for the optimal organization of really existing states). The philosophy of England was very progressive for the 17th century. The greatest mark on the philosophy of modern England was left by: Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke.

Francis Bacon(1561 - 1626) - English philosopher and politician, in 1620 - 1621 - Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, the second official in the country after the king), appeared the founder of the empirical direction in philosophy.

The essence of Francis Bacon's philosophy - empiricism - is that knowledge is based solely on experience... The more experience (both theoretical and practical) accumulated by humanity (and the individual), the closer it is to true knowledge. True knowledge, according to Bacon, cannot be an end in itself. The main tasks of knowledge and experience are to help a person achieve practical results in his activities, to promote new inventions, the development of the economy, and human domination of nature. In this regard, Bacon put forward an aphorism that succinctly expressed his entire philosophical credo: "Knowledge is power".

Francis Bacon's Methods of Cognition

Bacon put forward an innovative idea, according to which the main method of cognition should be induction.

Induction- a logical inference going from a particular position to a general one.

Under induction Bacon understood the generalization of many particular phenomena and obtaining general conclusions based on the generalization (for example, if many individual metals melt, then all metals have the property of melting). Bacon contrasted the method of induction with the method of deduction proposed by Descartes, according to which true knowledge can be obtained based on reliable information using clear logical methods.

Dignity induction Bacon before Descartes's deduction - in the expansion of opportunities, the intensification of the process of cognition.

Lack of induction- its unreliability, probabilistic nature (since if several things or phenomena have common features, this does not mean at all that all things or phenomena from their given class have these features; in each individual case, there is a need for experimental verification, confirmation of induction). The way to overcome the main disadvantage of induction (its incompleteness, probabilistic nature), according to Bacon, is in the accumulation of as much experience as possible by humanity in all areas of knowledge.

Having determined the main method of cognition - induction, the philosopher singles out specific ways through which cognitive activity can take place. This:

• "The Spider's Way"- obtaining knowledge from "pure reason", that is, in a rationalistic way. This path ignores or significantly diminishes the role of specific facts and practical experience. Rationalists are divorced from reality, dogmatic and, according to Bacon, "weave a web of thoughts from their minds."
• "The Ant's Way"- such a way of obtaining knowledge, when only experience is taken into account, that is, dogmatic empiricism (the complete opposite of rationalism divorced from life). This method is also imperfect. "Pure empiricists" focus on practical experience, collection of disparate facts and evidence. Thus, they receive an external picture of knowledge, see problems “from the outside”, “from the outside,” but cannot understand the inner essence of the things and phenomena being studied, and see the problem from the inside.
• "The path of the bee"- the most perfect way of knowing. Using it, the philosopher-researcher takes all the virtues of the "path of the spider" and the "path of the ant" and at the same time frees himself from their shortcomings. Following the "path of the bee", it is necessary to collect the entire set of facts, generalize them (look at the problem "from the outside") and, using the power of reason, look "inside" the problem, understand its essence.

Thus, the best way of cognition, according to Bacon, is empiricism, based on induction (collection and generalization of facts, accumulation of experience) using rationalistic methods of understanding the inner essence of things and phenomena by reason.

Francis Bacon's idols

But Francis Bacon not only shows in what ways the process of cognition should take place, but also highlights the reasons that prevent man and humanity from gaining true knowledge. The philosopher allegorically calls these reasons “ ghosts "(or "idols") and defines four their varieties: idols of the clan, caves, markets and taetra.

Idols of the clan and the ghosts of the cave- innate delusions of people, which consist in mixing the nature of knowledge with their own nature. In the first case ( idols of the clan) we are talking about the refraction of knowledge through the culture of a person (kind) as a whole - that is, a person carries out knowledge, being within the framework of a common human culture, and this leaves an imprint on the final result, reduces the truth of knowledge. In the second case ( cave idols) we are talking about the influence of the personality of a particular person (cognizing subject) on the process of cognition. As a result, a person's personality (his prejudices, delusions - "cave") is reflected in the final result of cognition.

Market idols and the idols of the theater- acquired delusions.

Market idols arise due to the incorrect, inaccurate use of the speech, conceptual apparatus: words, definitions, expressions.

Idols of theater arise due to the influence of existing philosophy on the process of cognition. Often, in cognition, old philosophy interferes with an innovative approach; it does not always direct cognition in the right direction. Proceeding from the presence of four main obstacles to knowledge, Bacon advises to abstract as much as possible from the existing "idols" and get "pure knowledge" free from their influence.