General Characteristics:
- Modern Philosophy is made up of two parts: science and religion.
- Beginning of rejection of ecclesiastical authority – that of religion.
- Authority of science was increasing, due in large part, to more evidentiary support that science is fact.
- Science – less of a doctrine, more of a technique.
- More about individual beliefs) individualism).
The Italian Renaissance:
- Modern began in Italy with the renaissance.
- Not a popular movement – was generally only supported by scholars and artists.
- Italy was free from foreign interference (1250-1494)
- Until 1494 the wars were bloodless - French troops shocked Italian’s by actually killing people!
- World was seen to be dominated by God.
- First emancipation from Church – not to make men think rationally, but to open their minds.
- Epicurus – Believed pleasure was the absence of pain.
Machiavelli
- Machiavelli – Supreme in political philosophy. People were quite often shocked by him.
- Political philosophy is scientific and empirical (experimental).
- Religion – Prominent place as social cement.
- “The Church has kept and still keeps out country divided”.
- A ruler will perish if he is always good.
- A Prince should seem to be religious.
- Typically of the renaissance, there is no reference to Christ.
Erasmus and More
- In northern countries the renaissance began later than in Italy.
- Both Erasmus and Sir Thomas More despised scholastic philosophy. Neither were really philosophers.
- Northern Renaissance was more about piety and public virtue, and was not anarchic or amoral.
- Erasmus was sent to a monastery by his guardians, and discovered he was better at Latin than one of his guardians!
- Decided to teach himself Greek as he felt it was essential to be able to work on the bible.
- Savoyard Vicar – True religion comes from the heart, not the head.
- Utopia (More) – All things are held in common
- All the streets and houses are alike
- No locks on doors
- Every 10 years people move house to prevent feeling of ownership
- All go to bed at 8 and sleep 8 hours
- Before marriage, bride and groom see each other naked
Reformation and Counter-reformation
- Shows rebellion of less civilised nations.
- Reformation – Authority of pope rejected.
- Counter-reformation – revolt against intellectual and moral freedom of Renaissance.
- Three great men – Luther, Calvin and Loyola.
- Reformation and counter-reformation were seen as bad, but good in the long run as it showed everyone that neither the Protestants or Catholics could end up victorious.
Rise of Science
- Almost everything that distinguishes modern world is due to science.
- Copernicus (1473-1543)
- Leisure was devoted to astronomy
- Believed sun was centre of the universe
- Possessed both patience in observation and boldness in framing hypothesis. - Kepler (1571-1630)
- Shows what can be achieved by patience alone.
- Adopted the heliocentric theory.
- Discovery of three laws of planetary motion. - Galileo (1564-1642)
- Born on the day Michelangelo died, and died in the year Newton was born.
- Discovered the importance of acceleration (change of velocity)
- Established the law of falling bodies. - Newton (1642-1727)
- Proved that every planet has an acceleration towards the sun.
- ‘Every body attracts every other with a force directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them’.
Bacon
- Has permanent importance as the founder of modern inductive method.
- Prosecuted for accepting bribes.
- Got a fine of £40,000 and imprisonment in the Tower, but didn’t have to pay the fine and was only imprisoned for 4 days!
- After 5 years in retirement, he died of a chill while experimenting on refrigeration by stuffing a chicken full of snow.
- Emphasised the importance of induction instead of deduction.
- Rejected the Copernican theory.
Hobbes Leviathan
- Outlook similar to Machiavelli.
- An empiricist.
Descartes
- The founder of modern philosophy.
- A mathematician – mathematical objects exist only in the mind.
- Writes as a discoverer and explorer, wanting to share with people his discoveries.
Enlisted in the Dutch Army as he wanted to be somewhere quieter. (Had two years of quiet meditation). - He disliked getting up before midday!
- Liked to be left in peace so he could do his work undisturbed.
- Queen Christina of Sweden made Descartes give her daily lectures at 5 in the morning!
- Descartes never married, but had a daughter that died at the age of 5.
- Adopted a general rule that: All things that we conceive very clearly and very distinctively are true.
- In Descartes is an unresolved dualism between contemporary science and scholasticism.
- Ideas seem to be of three sorts
- Those that are innate
- Those that are foreign and come from without
- Those that are invented by me. - Descartes though Aristotle was a waste of time.
- Descartes’ Epistemology:
- ‘I think therefore I am’
- No presumption that the universe actually exists. Could all be in the mind.
- Solipsism: Can anyone be certain other people exist? No.
