5 5 Aesthetic ideas of the Renaissance natural philosophy

The Renaissance was marked by significant changes in the perception of nature and its relationship with art and beauty. Renaissance natural philosophy played an important role in the formation of new aesthetic views, combining scientific and artistic approaches. Let's consider the main ideas and principles of this philosophy:

1. Harmony and proportion
Renaissance thinkers believed that nature obeys the laws of harmony and proportion. This belief was based on ancient traditions, in particular, on the works of Plato and Pythagoras. Artists and scientists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Durer studied the proportions of the human body and natural objects, seeking to identify universal laws of beauty and harmony.

2. Man as a microcosm
The idea of ​​the microcosm, according to which man is a reflection of the universe (macrocosm), was key to Renaissance natural philosophy. This concept emphasized the connection between the human body and the cosmos, arguing that the laws that govern the universe also apply to humans. Artists such as Leonardo da Vinci used their works to show the harmony of the human body and its alignment with natural and cosmic principles.

3. Unity of Science and Art
Renaissance thinkers sought to unite science and art, believing that both contributed to the cognition of truth and beauty. Leonardo da Vinci, for example, believed that the scientific study of nature helped artists better understand the world and convey it in their works. This approach was also evident in architecture, where the principles of engineering and aesthetics were combined to create harmonious and functional structures.

4. Study of Nature and Anatomy
Renaissance scientists and artists paid great attention to the study of nature and anatomy. Their studies helped to deepen their understanding of the structure and function of the human body, which was reflected in art. Leonardo da Vinci's anatomical drawings and Andreas Vesalius's engravings were important examples of the combination of science and art.

5. Aesthetics of Light and Shadow
One of the important aesthetic ideas of Renaissance natural philosophy was the use of light and shadow to create volume and depth. Artists such as Michelangelo and Raphael used chiaroscuro to convey emotional states and realism in their images. This technique allowed for more dynamic and lively compositions.

6. Influence of Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism, a philosophical movement based on the teachings of Plato, had a significant influence on the aesthetics of the Renaissance. Neoplatonists such as Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola argued that beauty is a reflection of divine light and harmony. Their ideas emphasized the spiritual dimension of art and its ability to glorify the divine.

A new stage in the development of Renaissance aesthetics is associated with the creation of philosophical and natural philosophical systems of the 16th century. Outstanding representatives of philosophy of this period were scientists and thinkers G. Bruno, T. Campanella, F. Patrician, T. More, M. Montaigne. In the legacy of the named philosophers there are no special works on the theory of aesthetics. However, their cosmogonic and socio-ethical constructions organically cover aesthetic ideas. As A. Losev notes, new trends in the development of philosophy were associated with reliance on sensory experience and experiment (thanks to the mathematical natural science developed at that time). A new tendency in philosophy and aesthetics was the interpretation of the world without any reliance on the category of personality, and therefore impersonally. The world, which was affirmed in Italian pantheism, was animated and built on an impersonal principle. The first among the outstanding philosophers of this direction is Giordano (1548-1600), the author of the works "On Infinity, the Universe and the Worlds", "On Heroic Enthusiasm", "The Feast on the Ashes", "The Expulsion of the Triumphant Beast", "On the Immeasurable and the Innumerable", "On the Threefold, the Less and the World", "On the Monad, Number and Figure". The philosophy of G. Bruno does not consider either the person of the creator of the world, or isolated sensory experience, and all Neoplatonism takes on an extremely monistic form, and impersonal. Researchers of the philosophy of G. Bruno note the aesthetic orientation of his works and highlight two of its aspects. Firstly, the style of the works is distinguished by poeticism: a wealth of figurative comparisons, allegories, manifestations of mood. Secondly, the aesthetic orientation of the content of the philosopher's works. The latter is due to the pantheistic worldview. The scientist considers God and nature as identical phenomena. The divine principle is dissolved in nature. According to G. Bruno, God is not outside of nature and not above it, but inside it. "God is the infinite in the infinite: he is everywhere and everywhere, not outside and not above, but as the most present ..." . The pantheistic interpretation of nature determines the view of it as a living and spiritual beginning, full of the need for development and self-improvement. On this basis, the philosopher considers nature higher than art. This view is interesting in that it paves the way for understanding creativity as an unconscious desire, because it is precisely this property that characterizes

true for nature. In his work "On the Immeasurable and the Innumerable" G. Bruno notes: "Art in creativity reasons, thinks. Nature acts without thinking, immediately ... Art is outside of matter, nature is inside matter, moreover, it itself is matter." The philosopher sees nature as an "inner master, living art." "Nature is God in things." Understanding nature as a bearer of creative potential and its glorification "refers to the best pages of the philosophical aesthetics of the Renaissance - here the materialistic understanding of beauty and the philosophy of creativity is born," the researchers believe. It seems that G. Bruno in the named work puts forward the idea of ​​intuitionism as a condition of creativity, contrasting the artist with nature, which "does not think, hesitating and pondering, but easily creates everything from itself." An artist who ponders his work, according to G. Bruno, is not yet a creator: "Those painters and musicians who ponder are not clever - this means that they have only just begun to learn."

The philosopher considers movement as a form of being, and the diversity of its manifestations - as a source of pleasure. The change from one extreme to another, the movement from one opposite to another is satisfied thanks to its middles. "... How great the kinship between extremes is, we can observe from the fact that they converge more quickly than similar with similar." The idea of ​​"heroic enthusiasm" substantiated by G. Bruno has a pantheistic basis and was based on the Platonic idea of ​​"cognitive madness". According to G. Bruno, philosophical knowledge requires a special spiritual upsurge of feelings and thoughts, which provide "recollections" of true beauty and goodness (the author adheres to the famous idea of ​​Plato, formulated in the treatise "Phaedrus" regarding knowledge as a "recollection" of the soul about the highest, true being). Close to Plato's opinion G. Bruno on the hierarchical levels of beauty. He agrees with Plato that sensual beauty, in particular the beauty of the body, is considered only a lower step in the hierarchy of beauty, which leads to the beauty of the soul.

G. Bruno's natural philosophical position reveals itself in the fact that physical beauty is for the philosopher "a manifestation of the beauty of the spirit". The feeling of indifference caused by physical beauty, the philosopher notes in the work "On Heroic Enthusiasm", has spiritual character, since it is conditioned by "a certain spirituality" visible in it, which we call beauty. "... It consists not in large and small sizes, not in certain colors and forms, but in a certain harmony and agreement of parts and colors" [9, p. 169]. Let us pay attention to the objectivity of the features of the subject mentioned by the author: they are conditioned by the relationship of parts in the object and appear as their harmony, which leads to the harmonious vitality of the subject of an indifferent attitude.

A famous representative of Renaissance pantheism was Francesco the Patrician (1529-1597). His philosophy is marked by the pronounced influence of ancient Neoplatonism, in particular the ideas of Plotinus' philosophy on the dialectic of the first. The aesthetic aspects of his philosophy are reflected in the affirmation of the sensual beauty of the world and the joy of perception. The philosopher considers visual impressions to be especially valuable, which corresponded to the spirit of the Renaissance. "All knowledge originates from the mind and feelings. Among the feelings and for the nobility of nature, and for the predominance of forces, and for the dignity of actions, the first place belongs to sight. The first thing that sight perceives is light and radiance." Light radiance serves as a source of admiration and admiration. From light, the first of the sensually perceived things, open to feeling and knowledge, notes F. Patricius, we begin the foundations of our philosophy. In the 20th century, F. Patricius' unfinished work "Love Philosophy" was published, in which moral and aesthetic issues are united on the basis of the idea of ​​experiencing the feeling of love for oneself (philautia). The philosopher considers this feeling to be the basis for knowing another person and experiencing his being.

In a number of spiritual phenomena, allowing us to deepen our knowledge of the laws of the Renaissance type of consciousness, socio-political utopias are of great importance. In integral aesthetic forms they reflected ideas about the possible perfection of social life ("Utopia" by T. More, "City of the Sun" by T. Campanella, "Thelema Abbey" by Rabelais). The aesthetics of Tommaso Campanella (1568-1639) adheres to the Neoplatonic understanding of being as hierarchical, since he considers it the result of emanation from the first essence. His philosophy reflects the active influence of empiricism, which determined the internal contradictions of the view of the world. On the one hand, the philosopher places a personal God above the world, and on the other hand, he asserts the value of sensory impressions about the world. Therefore, this interfered with the knowledge of the laws of reality on the basis of the logic of concepts, limited knowledge only to sensory impressions, not giving the opportunity to comprehend the essence of things and phenomena. The social utopia of T. Campanella "City of the Sun" has a pronounced aesthetic direction

the Sun". The work models human relationships that help to avoid hostility and conflicts, to build life according to the laws of beauty and harmony. The named features are also characteristic of the work of Thomas More (1478-1535) "Utopia", which examines the problems of sources of enjoyment of life, in many ways similar to the ideas of L. Wally, expressed in the treatise "On Enjoyment". Moral and aesthetic in the book of T. More are organically combined. Beauty is nourished by the morality of a person's attitude to life and his values. The value of the works of these philosophers lies in the fact that they rise to a humanistic understanding of the problems of social life in the sense of the value of man and the importance of creating decent conditions for his life, going beyond the Renaissance understanding of man as the creator of himself.

Conclusion
The aesthetic ideas of Renaissance natural philosophy had a significant impact on the development of art and science. Harmony and proportions, the concept of the microcosm, the unity of science and art, the study of nature and anatomy, the aesthetics of light and shadows, as well as the influence of Neoplatonism, became key elements of this era. These ideas contributed to a new understanding of beauty and harmony that continues to influence modern art and science.