Topic: European culture of the 16th-18th centuries.
1. Culture of the Renaissance.
2. Literature of the Enlightenment.
3. Art of the 17th-18th centuries.
1.
The new period in the cultural development of Western and Central Europe was called the Renaissance, or Renaissance.
Renaissance (in French Renaissance) is a humanistic movement in the history of European culture during the period of the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of modern times. The Renaissance arose in Italy in the 14th century and spread to Western countries(Northern Renaissance) and reached its greatest prosperity in the middle of the 16th century. The end of the 16th - the beginning of the 17th century: decline - mannerism.
The phenomenon of the Renaissance was determined by the fact that the ancient heritage turned into a weapon for the overthrow of church canons and prohibitions. Some culturologists, determining its significance, compare it with a grandiose cultural revolution, which lasted two and a half centuries and ended with the creation of a new type of worldview and a new type of culture. A revolution took place in art comparable to the discovery of Copernicus. At the center of the new worldview was man, and not God as the highest measure of all things. A New Look to the world received the name of humanism.
Anthropocentrism is the main idea of the Renaissance worldview. The birth of a new worldview is associated with the writer Francesco Petrarch. He contrasts scholasticism, based on the formal terminological method, with scientific knowledge; happiness in the “City of God” - earthly human happiness; spiritual love for God - sublime love for an earthly woman.
The ideas of humanism were expressed in the fact that what is important in a person is his personal qualities - intelligence, creative energy, enterprise, self-esteem, will and education, and not social status and origin.
During the Renaissance, the ideal of a harmonious, liberated, creative personality, beauty and harmony was established, an appeal to man as the highest principle of being, a feeling of integrity and harmonious patterns of the universe.
The Renaissance gave birth to geniuses and titans:
Italy - Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, the politician Machiavelli, the philosophers Alberti, Bruni, Vala, Ficino, Nicholas of Cusa, the architects Brunelleschi and Bramante;
France - Rabelais and Montaigne;
England - More, Bacon, Sidney, Shakespeare;
Spain - Cervantes;
Poland - Copernicus;
Germany - Boehme, Münzer, Kepler.
Masterpieces of the Renaissance:
Leonardo da Vinci "La Gioconda", "The Last Supper";
Raphael "Sistine Madonna" and "Sleeping Venus", "Madonna Conestabile" and "Judith";
Titian "Danae" (Hermitage Museum).
The main feature of the art and culture of the Renaissance is the affirmation of human beauty and talent, the triumph of thought and high feelings, creative activity. Baroque and classicism styles are developing in fine arts, academicism and caravaggism in painting. New genres appear - landscape, still life, pictures of everyday life, hunting and holidays.
Leonardo da Vinci Mona Lisa
Raphael Sistine Madonna
Renaissance architecture is based on the revival of classical, mainly Roman architecture. The main requirements are balance and clarity of proportions, use of an order system, sensitivity to building material, its texture, beauty.
The revival arose and was most clearly manifested in Italy.
Period from last decade The 15th century to the mid-16th century (High Renaissance) becomes the “golden age” of Italian art. From him the solemn and majestic architecture of Bramante and Palladio remains as a souvenir for descendants, he gives the world the immortal masterpieces of Raphael and Michelangelo. The entire 16th century continues, and only at the beginning of the 17th century does the flowering of the Renaissance culture born under the skies of Italy fade away.
The late Renaissance is characterized by the rapid development of such a synthetic art form as theater, the most prominent representatives of which were Lope de Vega, Calderon, Tirso de Molina (Spain), William Shakespeare (England).
Thus, the culture of the Renaissance reflects a synthesis of the features of antiquity and medieval Christianity; the ideological basis for the secularization of culture is humanism.
The Renaissance replaced religious ritual with secular ritual and elevated man to a heroic pedestal.
2.
People of the 17th-18th centuries called their time centuries of reason and enlightenment. Medieval ideas, sanctified by the authorities of the church and omnipotent tradition, were criticized. In the 18th century, the desire for knowledge based on reason, and not on faith, took possession of an entire generation. The consciousness that everything is subject to discussion, that everything must be clarified by means of reason, was a distinctive feature of the people of the 17th and 18th centuries.
During the Age of Enlightenment, the transition to modern culture. A new way of life and thinking was taking shape, which means that the artistic self-awareness of a new type of culture was also changing. The Enlightenment saw through ignorance, prejudice and superstition main reason human misfortunes and social evils, and in education, philosophical and scientific activity, in freedom of thought - the path of cultural and social progress.
The ideas of social equality and personal freedom took hold, first of all, of the third estate, from whose midst most of the humanists emerged. The middle class consisted of the wealthy bourgeoisie and people of liberal professions; it had capital, professional and scientific knowledge, general ideas, and spiritual aspirations. The worldview of the third estate was most clearly expressed in the educational movement - anti-feudal in content and revolutionary in spirit.
Radical changes also occurred at the level of aesthetic consciousness. The basic creative principles of the 17th century - classicism and baroque - acquired new qualities during the Enlightenment, because the art of the 18th century turned to images real world. Artists, sculptors, writers recreated it in paintings and sculptures, stories and novels, plays and performances. The realistic orientation of art encouraged the creation of a new creative method.
The literature was based on public opinion, which was formed in circles and salons. The courtyard ceased to be the only center to which everyone strove. The philosophical salons of Paris, where Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, Helvetius, Hume, and Smith attended, became fashionable. From 1717 to 1724, more than one and a half million volumes of Voltaire and about a million volumes of Rousseau were printed. Voltaire was truly a great writer - he knew how to comprehend and explain simply and publicly in a beautiful, elegant language the most serious topic that attracted the attention of his contemporaries. He had a tremendous influence on the minds of all enlightened Europe. His evil laughter, capable of destroying centuries-old traditions, was feared more than anyone else's accusations. He strongly emphasized the value of culture. He portrayed the history of society as the history of the development of culture and human education. Voltaire preached the same ideas in his dramatic works and philosophical stories (“Candide, or Optimism”, “The Simple-minded”, “Brutus”, “Tancred”, etc.).
The direction of educational realism received successful development in England. The entire group of ideas and dreams about a better natural order received artistic expression in famous novel Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) "Robinson Crusoe". He wrote more than 200 works of various genres: poetry, novels, political essays, historical and ethnographic works. The book about Robinson is nothing more than the story of an isolated individual, left to the educational and corrective work of nature, a return to the natural state. Less known is the second part of the novel, which tells about spiritual rebirth on an island, far from civilization.
German writers, remaining in the position of enlightenment, looked for non-revolutionary methods of combating evil. They considered the main force of progress aesthetic education, and the main means is art. From the ideals of social freedom, German writers and poets moved on to the ideals of moral and aesthetic freedom. This transition is characteristic of the work of the German poet, playwright and theorist of Enlightenment art Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805). In his early plays, which had enormous success, the author protested against despotism and class prejudices. “Against Tyrants” - the epigraph to his famous drama “Robbers” - directly speaks of its social orientation.
In addition to the generally accepted baroque and classicist styles in Europe, new ones appeared in the 17th-18th centuries: rococo, sentimentalism, and pre-romanticism. Unlike previous centuries, there is no single style of the era, no unity of artistic language. The art of the 18th century became a kind of encyclopedia of various stylistic forms that were widely used by artists, architects, and musicians of this era. In France, artistic culture was closely connected with the court environment. The Rococo style originated among the French aristocracy. The words of Louis XV (1715-1754) “After us, even a flood” can be considered a characteristic of the mood that reigned in court circles. Strict etiquette was replaced by a frivolous atmosphere, a thirst for pleasure and fun. The aristocracy was in a hurry to have fun before the flood in an atmosphere of gallant festivities, the soul of which was Madame Pompadour. The court environment partly itself shaped the Rococo style with its capricious, whimsical forms. The founder of Rococo in painting can be considered Antoine Watteau (1684-1721), a court painter. Watteau's heroes are actresses in wide silk dresses, dandies with languid movements, cupids frolicking in the air. Even the titles of his works speak for themselves: “The Capricious One”, “Feast of Love”, “Society in the Park”, “Predicament”. 
Watteau "Predicament".
As a painter, Watteau was much deeper and more complex than his many followers. He diligently studied nature and wrote a lot from nature. After Watteau's death, Francois Boucher (1704-1770) took his place at court. A very skilled craftsman, he has worked a lot in the field decorative painting, made sketches for tapestries, for painting on porcelain. Typical subjects are “The Triumph of Venus”, “The Toilet of Venus”, “The Bathing of Diana”. In the works of Boucher, the mannerism and eroticism of the Rococo era were expressed with particular force, for which he was constantly accused by enlightenment moralists.
During the era of the French Revolution, art triumphed new classicism. Classicism of the 18th century is not a development of classicism of the previous century - it is a fundamentally new historical and artistic phenomenon. Common features: appeal to antiquity as a norm and artistic model, assertion of the superiority of duty over feeling, increased abstraction of style, pathos of reason, order and harmony. The exponent of classicism in painting was Jacques Louis David (life: 1748-1825). His painting “The Oath of the Horatii” became the battle banner of new aesthetic views. A plot from the history of Rome (the Horace brothers take an oath of fidelity to duty and readiness to fight their enemies to their father) became an expression of republican views in revolutionary France.
J.S.Bach
The 18th century brought a lot of new things to musical creativity. In the 18th century, music rose to the level of other arts that had flourished since the Renaissance. Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Christoph Gluck, Franz Joseph Haydn Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart stands at the pinnacle of musical art in the 18th century. The flourishing of music as an independent art form at this time is explained by the need for poetic, emotional expression of the spiritual world of man. In the work of Bach and Handel, continuity of musical traditions was still preserved, but they began new stage in the history of music. Johann Sebastian Bach (lived 1685-1750) is considered an unsurpassed master of polyphony. Working in all genres, he wrote about 200 cantatas, instrumental concertos, works for organ, clavier, etc. Bach was especially close to the democratic line of the German artistic tradition, associated with poetry and music of the Protestant chorale, with folk melody. Through the spiritual experience of his people, he felt the tragic beginning in human life and at the same time faith in final harmony. Bach is a musical thinker who professes the same humanistic principles as the enlighteners. 
Mozart
Everything new that was characteristic of progressive trends in music was embodied in the work of the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (life: 1756-1791). Together with Franz Joseph Haydn he represented the Vienna Classical School. Haydn's main genre was the symphony, Mozart's - opera. He changed traditional opera forms and introduced psychological individuality into genre types of symphonies. He owns about 20 operas: (“The Marriage of Figaro”, “Don Giovanni”, “The Magic Flute”); 50 symphony concerts, numerous sonatas, variations, masses, the famous “Requiem”, choral works.
QUESTIONS
1. Name the prerequisites for the emergence of the Renaissance culture. What ideas underlay the work of the great writers and artists of the Renaissance?
The prerequisites for the emergence of a culture of revival were:
The rise of the Italian city-republics,
The emergence of new classes that did not participate in feudal relations: artisans and craftsmen, merchants, bankers. The hierarchical system of values created by the medieval, largely church culture, and its ascetic, humble spirit, were alien to all of them.
The emergence of a culture of humanism, glorifying the human creator, who considered man, his personality, his freedom, his active, creative activity as the highest value,
The development of printing
The activities of universities and the development of secular education.
The work of writers and artists of the Renaissance was based on the idea of man - as the highest creation of nature, as the center of the universe. The philosophy of humanism affirmed the idea that the measure of all things is man with his earthly joys and sorrows
2. Like art Italian Renaissance influenced the culture of other European countries?
The art of the Italian Renaissance greatly influenced the culture of other European countries. Ideas of humanism, artistic principles Renaissance cultures crossed the borders of Italy and spread to many countries in Western Europe. Thanks to the embodiment in the works of the great masters of the Renaissance, the humanistic vision of the world penetrated into the palaces of rulers, into the walls of universities, and among educated citizens.
3. Name the characteristic features of Baroque, Rococo and Classicism. Give examples of works of art in these styles.
For the Baroque style (the name comes from Italian word, meaning “bizarre”, “strange”) was characterized by grandiosity, pomp and pretentiousness of forms, the creation of spatial illusion and optical effects. Examples of Baroque style:
in painting: Sistine Madonna by artist Raphael, works Flemish artist P.P. Rubens, works by the Dutch artist Rembrandt (“Return prodigal son», « Holy family", "Night Watch", etc.);
in architecture and sculpture - a colonnade on the square in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome by architect J.L. Bernini, sculpture "The Ecstasy of St. Teresa";
literature and theater - the works of W. Shakespeare.
The new direction, which took hold in Catholic countries, was a kind of aesthetic response to the Reformation. Baroque architecture and painting were supposed to glorify the greatness of God and assert the power of the Roman church. However, Baroque art was not limited solely to religious motifs.
The Rococo style (from French means “decoration in the shape of a shell”) is characterized by pretentiousness, decorativeness, splendor and luxury. But unlike Baroque, Rococo is more lightweight, chamber, and aristocratic. Particularly characteristic in this regard is the decoration of the interiors of the palaces of the French nobility. Elegant, light furniture with curved legs, sofas, armchairs, tables, wardrobes, canopy beds were decorated with molded asymmetrical details and inlay. Sofas and armchairs were upholstered with elegant tapestries. Rococo art reflected the tastes of the Versailles aristocracy.
The “Gallant Age” was also reflected in French painting XVIII V. It is characterized by escapism, appeal to human feelings, and eroticism. These themes are present in the works of artists Antoine Watteau and Francois Boucher.
For the classicism style, the main thing was the depiction of majestic and noble deeds, the glorification of a sense of duty to society and the state. In imitation of the ancient Greeks and Romans, cultural figures had to depict the beautiful and sublime.
art – works by Nicolas Poussin. He lived for a long time in
literature - Pierre Corneille, the great poet and creator of the French theater.
architecture – country royal palace and park in Versailles
4. What evidenced that in the XVII-XVIII centuries. Has France become the center of European artistic life?
In the XVII–XVIII centuries. France has become the center of the artistic life of Europe, which is indicated by the fact that it is here that two styles arise - classicism and rococo. France had a significant influence on painting, architecture, and fashion throughout Europe. An example of a classic palace ensemble was Versailles. French industry specialized in the production of luxury goods: tapestries, furniture, lace, gloves, and costume jewelry were exported to all European countries from France. Every month two dolls, dressed in the latest Parisian fashion, were sent to England, Italy, Holland, and Russia. It was in France that the first fashion magazine appeared.
TASKS
1. How do you see the difference between the art of the Italian Renaissance and the art of France in the 18th century?
And the Italian Renaissance and the art of France in the 18th century. was turned to the ancient heritage. However, the main idea of the Italian Renaissance was humanism and the depiction of Christian and mythological subjects. The art of France in the 18th century was more secular in nature. The main thing for the artist was the depiction of majestic and noble deeds, the glorification of a sense of duty to society and the state.
Renaissance culture.
Renaissance culture (also called the French term "Renaissance") originated in Italy around the middle of the 14th century. Its supporters sought to revive antiquity, which gave the new culture its name. The focus of Renaissance thinkers was knowledge about man and society. This circle of sciences in Latin was called “studio humanitatis” (literally “study of the human”), and those who dealt with it began to be called humanists. Humanism is the basis of Renaissance culture. Humanists called for the abandonment of asceticism and glorified earthly life. They believed that a person should be a free and comprehensively developed person, striving for perfection in everything. Humanists valued in man creativity, the ability to reach the greatest heights and push the boundaries of what is possible. The influence of humanistic ideas was clearly manifested in the work of many architects, sculptors and artists, even if they did not receive a humanities education and did not formally belong to the circle of humanists.
Renaissance culture originated in Florence and then spread widely throughout Italy. Brief period end of the 15th – first third of the 16th century. went down in history as the time of its brilliant and comprehensive flowering - the High Renaissance.
Of course, in Italy, where the Renaissance spread most widely, and even in its heyday it did not cover all the diversity of the culture of this country, which in many ways still retained medieval features. Nevertheless, the new culture was increasingly valued in Italian society. Not only the townspeople, but also courtly aristocratic circles and part of the clergy became involved in it, at least superficially. Secular and spiritual rulers often patronized the development of a new culture. Generous patrons of the arts were the rulers of Florence from the Medici family, the Dukes of Milan (Sforza), the Dukes of Ferrara (d'Este); the popes did not lag behind them. However, patronage, allowing figures of the new culture to carry out their endeavors, limited the freedom of creativity and forced them to take into account the tastes of customers .
End of the 15th – first third of the 16th century. It was a difficult time in Italian history. Republican values were in crisis, and monarchical orders were being established. During the Italian wars, the country, which was in a state of fragmentation, turned out to be easy prey for foreign armies. But at that time the greatest geniuses in the history of world culture were creating. Descendants compared them to mythological titans who dared to challenge the gods themselves.
Age of Titans.
The greatest genius The Renaissance man was Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519). In his youth, he studied painting, but did not receive a humanistic education and owed his encyclopedic knowledge only to himself, his thirst for knowledge and tireless hard work. Leonardo considered experience to be the main source of knowledge about the world and man, understanding it very broadly: this includes observations natural phenomena, both physical experiment and engineering design. He observed the flow of water and the flight of birds, studied the structure of the human eye, and was interested in physics and anatomy, botany and architecture. An expert in anatomy, physics, mechanics, designer and architect, sculptor and artist, musician and writer, deep thinker - Leonardo became the embodiment of the humanistic ideal of a comprehensively developed personality. He left people projects for a submarine, an aircraft, and a parachute. His plans outstripped the physical capabilities of one person. Making the highest demands on himself, he left much unfinished (for example, the painting “The Adoration of the Magi”). And time has not spared some of his masterpieces. Thus, the master’s most valued creation by his contemporaries, the fresco “The Last Supper,” has reached us in a severely damaged form.
One of the best artists of the Renaissance, Leonardo achieved the highest skill in conveying subtle transitions from light to shadow. The contours of objects in his paintings are softened by a slight haze. The whole world knows his portrait of Mona Lisa (“La Gioconda”), whose face seems to change its expression before our eyes.
Leonardo's younger contemporary, Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), was nicknamed "divine" for his versatile genius. An architect and artist, a military engineer and a poet, he considered himself primarily a sculptor. The main thing for Michelangelo is the greatness and drama of human life, the titanic tension of his struggle. He often depicted the naked body, endowing it with beauty and power. Evidence of the master’s creative maturity was the five-meter statue of David - the embodiment of courageous readiness to fight.
The main one of Michelangelo's ideas in the field of sculpture was the ensemble of the Medici Chapel in Florence. The statues, personifying the pace of time - Day, Night, Evening and Morning - with all their physical power, are marked with the stamp of mental fatigue and bitter thoughts.
The brilliant creation of Michelangelo the artist is the painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican with biblical scenes. In a space of 600 sq. m the artist, standing on the scaffolding and throwing his head back, single-handedly painted hundreds of human figures, full of unprecedented power and drama. After completing this titanic work, for a long time he could not look straight ahead, and while reading, he had to lift the book high above his head. Many years later, the master returned to painting the Sistine Chapel, creating the grandiose fresco “The Last Judgment.”
The work of Michelangelo the architect was no less large-scale. It was he who played the leading role in the construction of the main building of the Catholic world - St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome. According to his design, the western façade of the cathedral, the drum and the largest dome in the world were created.
Rafael Santi from Urbino (1483 - 1520), although he died young, managed to carry out many of his undertakings. He quickly found his own path in art and reached the heights of fame. How true son Renaissance, Raphael was a multifaceted master. For several years he supervised the construction of St. Peter's Cathedral, painted walls in many halls of the Vatican, and created magnificent portraits of his contemporaries. But his most beautiful images of the Madonna are most famous. Raphael's work embodied the humanistic dream of a person beautiful in soul and body, in complete harmony with the world. Raphael's most famous creation is the Sistine Madonna.
A remarkable school of painting has developed in Venice. The most famous Venetian master, Titian Vecellio (c. 1477 - 1576) was a true innovator in painting. If Florentine artists conveyed the volume of forms, Titian was the first to show the enormous possibilities of color as a means of artistic expression. He lived a long time creative life and managed to have his say in all types of painting. With equal skill, he painted huge altar paintings and paintings based on subjects ancient mythology(“Danae”, “Venus of Urbino”), and magnificent portraits of Charles V, Pope Paul III, etc.
Northern Renaissance.
The Northern Renaissance is the name given to the culture of the Renaissance in countries located north of Italy: Germany, the Netherlands, France, England. The end of the 15th - first half of the 16th centuries. – the time of the Renaissance in Italy is also the era of the heyday of the Northern Renaissance culture. Beyond the Alps, the new culture did not spread as widely as in Italy. However, even here their own talents appeared, creating immortal masterpieces.
The most significant thinker of the Northern Renaissance, a native of the Netherlands, Erasmus of Rotterdam (1469 - 1536), enjoyed pan-European fame and received the nickname “king of the humanists.” Throughout his long life he worked tirelessly. Erasmus prepared for publication the works of many church fathers and ancient classics, collected and commented on thousands of ancient sayings; he wrote textbooks, treatises, epistles, and poems. His writings in Latin were considered exemplary, attracting readers with their richness of intonation and subtle irony. His satirical masterpiece, “In Praise of Stupidity,” has remained throughout the centuries.
Erasmus was a theologian, but completely different from the narrow-minded and intolerant Catholic theologians of his time. He considered everything true to be Christian. This allowed him to seek examples of wisdom and virtue not only from Christians, but also from pagans. Thus, Antiquity was not viewed as something hostile to Christianity, but, on the contrary, as the basis for the development of culture, the improvement of man and society.
In the art of the Northern Renaissance, the leading role belonged to painting. Already in the 15th century. The art of the Netherlands reaches a remarkable flowering, and at the end of the 15th - first half of the 16th centuries. German painting is also experiencing its golden age. Among its best masters are Lucas Cranach the Elder, who closely linked his work with the ideas of the Reformation and painted famous portraits of Luther, as well as Hans Holbein the Younger, who became the court painter of the English king and achieved amazing perfection in the art of portraiture.
Albrecht Dürer (1471 – 1528) occupies a central place in German Renaissance art. A versatile painter and the greatest master of engraving in Europe, he, as a scientist, studied linear perspective and the proportions of the human body, trying to comprehend the laws of beauty. Dürer visited Italy and perfectly mastered the achievements of the Italian Renaissance, but went his own way. In his work, he reflected the dramatic worldview of a man who lived on the eve and in the first years of the Reformation and expected terrible upheavals. These sentiments were especially evident in democratic engravings intended for a wide audience. Among them are the “Four Horsemen” from the “Apocalypse” series, symbolizing the terrible disasters of people: war and pestilence, unjust justice and famine. Iron hooves finally trample sinners: here is both the king and the priest. A brilliant portrait painter, Dürer left a whole gallery of images of his contemporaries: Emperor Maximilian I, humanists, business people. His self-portraits are remarkable, in which a beautiful and confident man of the Renaissance appears before us.
Knowledge of the laws of the state and society.
Humanists of the 16th century interested not only in the individual human personality, but also in the laws of development of the state and society. The greatest historian and political thinker was the Florentine Nicolo Machiavelli (1469 – 1527), who became famous thanks to his treatise “The Prince”. A staunch republican and patriot of Florence, an opponent of the papacy and a passionate admirer of a united Italy, Machiavelli lived in an era when republican ideals were failing, the selfish policies of Rome prevented the unification of the country, and foreign armies plundered his homeland. In such conditions, only a strong sovereign could save and unite the country, according to Machiavelli. To achieve this great goal, he can resort to cruelty and lies, because everyone does this. It is often believed that Machiavelli praised these qualities in the prince and freed politics from morality; political unscrupulousness is often called “Machiavellianism.” In fact, Machiavelli only showed that morality and politics are difficult to reconcile, that discussions about morality often cover up unsavory goals, and that it is hardly possible to achieve political success without violating moral norms.
The famous English humanist Thomas More (1478 – 1535) dealt with other issues. A professional lawyer, member of parliament, and later Chancellor of England, More was well aware of the most pressing problems of English society. He became convinced that the state is a “conspiracy of the rich”, pursuing only their own interests and not caring about the poor. More spoke about his own understanding of the best social order in his book “Utopia” (1516). Coined by More from ancient Greek roots, this word means “place that is not”; in a figurative sense, this is the name for any unrealizable idea. Mor describes ideal state, located on an island somewhere off the coast of the New World. There is no private property, which More considered the main evil, everyone is equal and no one oppresses others. All Utopians jointly own material benefits and receive what they need from common pantries. Everyone works, and no one is in need. At the same time, the work is not burdensome, free time used for entertainment, science and art. On Utopia, different religions coexist peacefully, and no one seeks to assert their faith by force; Only absolute disbelief is discouraged. Only people of science distinguished by impeccable moral qualities are allowed to participate in management affairs.
Following More, other thinkers began talking about the ideal social order. Thus, in Francis Bacon’s “New Atlantis,” the basis for the happiness of the inhabitants of an ideal island was technical inventions, and not a fair social system, as in More.
Literature and art of the 17th century.
Tragic humanism(Cervantes and Shakespeare)
By the end of the 16th century. The discord between the humanistic ideals of the Renaissance and harsh reality became obvious. Writers, artists and thinkers came to understand that man has no control over himself and his destiny, that he himself is under the power of time and circumstances, that he is constantly in motion and change. Many of them remained faithful to the previous ideals of beauty, goodness and justice, but now their worldview was increasingly colored in tragic tones.
Miguel Cervantes (1547 - 1616) - the great Spanish humanist writer lived a stormy and difficult life. Coming from an impoverished noble family, he received a liberal arts education; traveled, courageously fought with the Turks in the naval battle of Lepanto, where he lost an arm, and was then captured by pirates and spent five years in captivity. Returning to Spain, the ruined Cervantes was forced to become a naval supply official. On false charges of embezzlement, he had to sit in debtor's prison. All these various life experiences melted into his work. Cervantes' novel Don Quixote brought him worldwide fame.
In Spain in the 16th century. chivalric novels were very popular, and along with classical works Low-grade imitations of the genre were in circulation. Don Quixote was conceived as a parody of them and was perceived by many readers from this point of view, but its content is immeasurably deeper.
Cervantes's hero, a poor hidalgo, having read chivalric novels, decided to become a knight errant. He persuaded the peasant Sancho Panza to be his squire. Together they traveled through real Spain, which was completely different from the world of chivalric romances. Everywhere Don Quixote tries to restore justice - and constantly finds himself in absurd situations. However, the author does not so much sneer at his hero as sympathize with him, because Don Quixote, aware of the gap between what is desired and reality, does not betray the ideals of humanism and is ready to fight for them. In turn, Sancho Panza, in conversations with Don Quixote, also gradually becomes imbued with the humanistic ideals of goodness and justice.
William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) .
In England in late XVI- early 17th century unprecedented heights achieved theatrical art, which attracted both the nobility and the common people. Among the many playwrights who glorified the English theater, William Shakespeare stands out. A respectable citizen from provincial Stratford-upon-Avon, he unexpectedly broke with his previous way of life and went to the capital, where he forever connected his life with the theater. Shakespeare became an actor, and then a playwright and co-owner of the Globe Theater, the most popular among London theaters.
Shakespeare's legacy is astonishing in its strength and diversity. He wrote comedies that glorified the joys of life and love (“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, “Much Ado About Nothing”), dramas based on ancient subjects, historical chronicles from the English Middle Ages (Henry IV, Richard III, etc.), sonnets. The tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" - a hymn of love opposing the prejudices of society - witnessed the flowering of his genius.
Shakespeare later created philosophical tragedies, in which he reflected on good and evil, on man’s inability to achieve harmony with the world around him (“Hamlet”, “Othello”, “King Lear”). Shakespeare was inspired by faith in man - the master of his own destiny, who, thanks to reason and spiritual nobility, can resist passions - anger, jealousy, envy. He saw the tragedy of his heroes not in the vicissitudes of fate or the machinations of villains, but in the mistakes and weaknesses that allowed passions to lead them down the wrong path.
The Middle Ages - the period that lies between the decline ancient culture and the revival of its elements in earlier modern times. The culture of this period is based on a dialogue between the heritage of antiquity and the “barbarian” cultures of the Franks, Britons, Saxons, Goths and other tribes of Europe.
Main features of culture:
Feudalism is conditional ownership of land. The king gave the feudal lords lower in the hierarchy of titles the inheritable right to use and dispose of the “feud” (land with peasants), in return receiving their assistance in the war or other participation in court life
Theocentrism is the dominance of the religious picture of the world in all areas of life. Time, space, corporeality, attitude towards death are formed through the prism of Christian dogmatics.
XVI century for Europe it was a time of struggle between feudalism and growing capitalism, economic changes. The manufacturing industry and trade developed, economic needs increased - all this contributed to the activation of the exact and natural sciences. This time is characterized by great discoveries. Galileo Galilei (Italian scientist) laid the foundations of modern mechanics and made a telescope with 32x magnification. The German astronomer Johannes Kepler compiled planetary tables, established the laws of planetary motion, and laid the foundations for the theory of eclipses.
Gottfried Leibniz created differential calculus and anticipated the principles of modern mathematical logic. English mathematician Isaac Newton discovered the dispersion of light, the law universal gravity, chromatic aberration, created the foundations of celestial mechanics, the theory of light. Christiaan Huygens created the wave theory of light, a pendulum clock with an escapement mechanism, established the laws of oscillation of the physical pendulum, and discovered the ring of Saturn. During this period there was a powerful growth in philosophical thought. The worldviews of Francis Bacon, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes in England, Benedict Spinoza in Holland, and René Descartes in France contributed huge contribution in the formation of leading social ideas, the establishment of materialism. In the 17th century fiction was distinguished by a huge variety of genres, for example, short story, domestic comedy, high tragedy, epic drama, ode, novel, satire, etc. The work of Cervantes and Shakespeare is associated with the beginning of the century, and the next generation includes John Milton (“Paradise Lost”) in England, Pedro Caldera de la Barca (“Life is a Dream”) in Spain and Pierre Corneille (“Cid”), Jean Racine (“Phaedra”), Moliere (“Don Juan”) in France. In accordance with the formation of national states in Western Europe, national art schools are being formed. The highest achievements of Western European art of this time relate to the art of Flanders, Holland, Italy, France, Spain, and Italy.
In the 17th century Various types of portraits appeared, genres developed that reflected a person’s environment, and a distinct social connotation of images was given. There was a direct connection with nature. Images and phenomena were transmitted in motion. The variety of forms of artistic reflection of reality led to the fact that in the 17th century. The problem of style became acute. Two style systems emerged: classicism and baroque; regardless of this, a realistic movement in art emerged. The Baroque style is characterized by the pathetic nature of the images and emotional elation. To achieve this, curved walls, pediments, pilasters, various forms of architectural decoration, statues, paintings, stucco moldings, bronze and marble finishing are used.
During this period, methods of urban planning, an integral urban ensemble, and palace and park complexes were created. In architecture, the most prominent representative of this style was Lorenzo Bernini; in painting, this style was followed by the Caracci brothers, Guido, Guercino, Reni, Pietro da Nortona, and others. In the era of Louis IV, classicism took a dominant place in France. This style is characterized by logic, harmony of composition, simplicity and rigor. In fine art, one of the main themes was duty, heroism, and valor. This style does not allow for exaggerated emotional expressiveness. The most famous painters of this style were Poussin and Claude Rollin (landscape), Charles Lebrun (paintings), Rigaud ( ceremonial portrait). In parallel with classicism and baroque in the 17th century. “realism” emerges in painting. In this style, images are associated with reality. Among the artists we can highlight Velazquez, Rembrandt, Frans Hals. New genres of fine art emerged: different forms of landscape, everyday life, still life.
Traditionalism – focus on established forms of behavior in all areas of life
Symbolism is the desire for a metaphorical interpretation of everything that a person encounters.
As well as dogmatism and ideological intolerance.
The world is presented as arranged according to the same hierarchical pattern: the heavenly hierarchy was reproduced both in the church (Pope, cardinals, bishops, etc.) and in the secular (king, dukes, counts, barons, etc.) , in the workshop structure ( Great master, masters, apprentices, students) and even in ideas about the structure of hell. A person is considered as a representative of his class, from birth to death occupying one place within the hierarchical system to which he belongs.
In accordance with Christian ideas, the body is perceived as sinful and tempting flesh, which must be curbed and killed for the sake of spiritual afterlife. This view affects all aspects Everyday life: from medicine to church rituals, from science to court medicine, religion, worldview.
Elite (aristocratic) and folk culture. The idea of religious and social unity of the world as the basis of a Eurocentric worldview.
Features of medieval science: scholastic philosophy, alchemy, medicine.
Basic concepts: theocentrism, feudalism, feud, estates, catechism, Catholicism.
36. Culture of the New Time XVIII century – Age of Enlightenment.
Enlightenment XVIII V. characterized by the affirmation of rational knowledge and faith in the abilities of the human mind. Philosophy begins to play the most important ideological role, summarizing more and more new data obtained by various sciences and building a new understanding of the world order and the place of man in it. The French Encyclopedia as the first attempt to make the knowledge collected by humanity publicly available.
The study of ethics, economics, psychology begins, and pedagogy is born. Experimental and descriptive disciplines are being developed: physics, biology, geography, medicine. The concepts of human rights and responsibilities as a citizen, the rule of law, and the first social utopias are born.
The Great French Revolution and the First Empire at the turn of the century finally changed the history of Europe, creating conditions for migration and interpenetration European cultures through the resettlement of their carriers.
XVIII century - last historical stage transition from feudalism to capitalism. The development of culture during this period in all European countries took place under the sign of the ideas of the Enlightenment.
In this century, a school of classical German idealist philosophy emerged in Germany. The largest group of enlighteners was formed in France, and from there the ideas of the Enlightenment spread throughout Europe. In his works (“Persian Letters” and “On the Spirit of Laws”), Charles Louis Montesquieu spoke out against unlimited monarchy and feudalism. Voltaire was an outstanding leader of the French Enlightenment. He wrote wonderful literary, philosophical and historical works that expressed hatred of religious fanaticism and the feudal state. The work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau became a new stage in the development of the French Enlightenment. His works contained hatred of the oppressors, criticism of the political system, and social inequality. The founder of the materialist school was Julien Aufret La Mettrie, the author of medical and philosophical works. His activities aroused the ire of secular and church reactionaries. Further fate French materialism associated with the names of Denis Diderot, Etienne Bonnot Condillac, Paul Holbach. 50-60s XVIII century - flourishing activity of French materialists. This period is characterized by the simultaneous development of science and technology. Thanks to Adam Smith and the French physiocrats, political economy becomes scientific discipline. Science developed rapidly; it was directly related to technology and production. In the 18th century Literature and music become more significant, and they gradually come to the fore among all types of arts. Prose is developing as a genre that shows the fate of an individual in the social environment of that time (“The Lame Demon” by Lesage, “Wilhelm Meister” by Goethe, etc.). The genre of the novel, which describes a universal picture of the world, is developing especially fruitfully. At the end of the XVII-XVIII centuries. The musical language that the whole of Europe will then speak begins to take shape. The first were J. S. Bach and G. F. Handel. Huge impact on musical art provided by I. Haydn, W. Mozart, L. van Beethoven. Great results were achieved by theatrical art and dramaturgy, which was of a realistic and pre-romantic nature.
Distinctive feature this time - a study of the main issues of theater aesthetics, the nature of acting. The 18th century is often called the “golden age of theatre.” The greatest playwright P. O. Beaumarchais considered him “a giant who mortally wounds everyone at whom he directs his blows.” The largest playwrights were: R. Sheridan (England), C. Goldoni (Venice), P. Beaumarchais (France), G. Lessing, I. Goethe (Germany). -
The leading genre of painting of the 18th century. there was a portrait.
Among the artists of this time we can highlight Gainsborough, Latour, Houdon, Chardin, Watteau, and Guardi. Painting does not reflect the universal fullness of human spiritual life, How that was earlier. In different countries, the formation of new art occurs unevenly. Painting and sculpture in the Rococo style were decorative.
18th century art ends with the magnificent work of the Spanish artist Francisco Goya. Cultural heritage of the 18th century. still amazes with its extraordinary diversity, richness of genres and styles, depth of comprehension human passions, the greatest optimism and faith in man and his mind. The Age of Enlightenment is a century of great discoveries and great misconceptions. It is no coincidence that the end of this era coincides with the beginning of the French Revolution. It destroyed the Enlightenment's faith in the "golden age" of nonviolent progress. It strengthened the position of critics of his goals and ideals.
The 17th century is the initial period in the formation of the bourgeois mode of production. This is a complex and contradictory era in the life of European states: the era of early bourgeois revolutions (Netherlands - 1566-1609, England - 1640-1688) and the heyday of absolutist monarchies (France, “the century of Louis XIV”); the time of the scientific revolution and the final stage of the Counter-Reformation; the era of grandiose, expressive baroque and dry, rational classicism.
In industrial terms, Europe of the 17th century. - this is the Europe of manufactory and the water wheel - the engine of manufactory production. These are larger enterprises in comparison with craft workshops and more productive, based on the division and cooperation of manual labor. Manufactures predominated in the production of glass, sugar, paper, cloth, and silk in the Netherlands and England, and developed in France. The main sources of energy remained water and wind, but since the beginning of the century there has been a gradual transition to the use of coal in production. Technical inventions are being improved: in book printing and coin making, for example, a screw press began to be used. Mining production and military equipment are developing. The role of mechanisms is increasing; The main thing is still the clock mechanism, but improvements have also been made to it - spring and pendulum clocks have appeared.
Along with manufacturing, European life includes stock and commodity exchanges, banks, fairs and markets. The countryside is slowly being drawn into market relations (9/10 of the European population was employed in agriculture). Land becomes an object of purchase and sale. The wealth of colonial countries is involved in European trade. The system of colonial robbery acquires such proportions that it leads to trade wars in the 17th and 18th centuries. Changes social structure European society. Peasants who have lost their land turn into tenants; artisans - into factory workers. Part of the nobility is becoming bourgeois. Thus, in England, as a result of enclosure, new nobles and farmers appeared - representatives of the capitalist structure. The bourgeois class is growing and strengthening its position in economics and politics. The new capitalist way of life is manifested in the formation of the domestic market and the development of world trade, the institutions of entrepreneurship and wage labor, the displacement of the guild system by manufacturing, and the formation of a new bourgeois class grouping.
Complex and heterogeneous political life Europe XVII centuries. The tone for political processes is set by the small but very rich Netherlands, where the first bourgeois revolution takes place and a bourgeois republic arises in seven northern provinces, the largest of which was Holland. Like all early bourgeois revolutions, this one was limited in goals, forms and results: it took place under religious banners, liberated only part of the country from feudal reaction, and took the form of a national liberation war against the Spanish crown. But for the first time a new class came to power - the bourgeoisie. This event qualitatively changed European life in the field of international trade and colonial policy: the power and international prestige of Spain, the queen of the 16th century, were undermined. Spain, corrupted by cheap colonial gold, weakened by the struggle for “purity of faith,” is turning into a secondary European state. In Germany, the tragic outcome of the Peasants' War extended the existence of feudal orders for 100 years, preserving the personal dependence of the peasants and the political fragmentation of the country.
But mainly the political fate of Europe depended on the relationship between the two leading powers - England and France. It is difficult to overestimate the role that the English bourgeois revolution (1640-1688) played in the life of European society. Coup of 1688 led to the restoration of the monarchy, but it was already a limited monarchy with a strong parliament that passed laws promoting the development of the capitalist system. The principles of political structure and economic order proclaimed by the English revolution had an impact on everything European countries. England became an advanced industrial and powerful colonial power.
The period of the English Revolution coincided in France with the rise of the absolute monarchy. This was the century of Louis XIV (1643-1715), Louis the Great, the Sun King, as his contemporaries flatteringly called him. The Versailles courtyard thundered - the standard of luxury and taste throughout Europe. Balls of unparalleled splendor were given here. France replaces Spain as the trendsetter of fashion and etiquette. Although absolutism as a form of government is established in most European states, the classic example of an absolutist state for two centuries was France. “One monarch, one law, one religion” - in accordance with this principle, the French kings exercised unlimited rule. All economic, political and social life in the state were under the control of the monarch, and this situation suited all classes. The nobility could no longer do without a monarch-benefactor; need drove the impoverished aristocrats under the royal banners. The court, treasury and army guaranteed the protection of privileges and nurtured hopes for a career. The nascent bourgeoisie of France also could not do without the sovereign, who embodied the centuries-old struggle for the unity of the country and for the suppression of separatism. The royal authorities often pursued a protectionist policy towards manufacturing. Thus, the product of the decomposition of feudalism - absolutism - to a certain extent contributed to the development of capitalist relations. A strong absolutist state, with clear national borders that restrained internecine wars, guaranteed a peaceful life and the protection of the king to all segments of the population.
Absolutism also played a positive role in overcoming religious wars in Western Europe in the 16th-18th centuries. (the Thirty Years' War, which delayed the development of Germany, the wars of the Calvinist-Huguenots and Catholics in France at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries, with the massacre of St. Bartholomew's Night; constant clashes between the Puritans and supporters of the “high” church in the English history of the 17th century). Absolutism sought to rely on the church, to strengthen religious foundations: the church proclaimed that the monarch was God’s anointed one, and his dominion on earth was like a heavenly autocracy.
But still, the role of religion in the worldview is declining. Religious wars, the split of Western Christianity as a result of the Reformation, and the persecution of dissidents testified to the inability of the church to ensure social peace. Organic inclusion christian church into socio-political feudal structures with their ideological and semantic center “God - Pope - King” undermined its authority in the era of the overthrow of the old order. Finally, the progress of science and experimental knowledge gradually convinced us of the truth of the scientific picture of the universe.
The development of the bourgeois mode of production gave rise to the need for applied sciences. Since the Renaissance, the role of natural sciences in culture has increased. Mechanics took the leading place in natural science. Science ceased to be an armchair activity of lone scientists. New forms of organizing research work have emerged - scientific societies, academies of sciences. In 1635, the French Academy was created, and in 1660, the Royal Society of London. The scientific revolution was based on a fundamentally new assessment of the capabilities of the human mind and the sources of knowledge. Even before Rene Descartes (1596-1650) in his Discourse on Method declared the human mind to be the main instrument of knowledge of the world, Francis Bacon (1561-1626) declared that knowledge is power, its source is experience, not divine revelation, and the measure of value is the practical benefit it brings. The most important methods scientific knowledge an experiment (Galileo, Bacon, Newton), a mechanical hypothesis, a mechanical model (Descartes) were announced.
Antonio van Leeuwenhoek's microscope made it possible to study the structure of living organisms down to the smallest physiological processes. And the telescope made it possible for Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) and Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) to develop the heliocentric teaching of Nicolaus Copernicus and discover the laws of planetary motion. Using a telescope he designed with 30x magnification, Galileo discovered volcanoes and craters on the Moon, and saw the satellites of Jupiter. The Milky Way appeared before him as a countless cluster of stars, confirming Giordano Bruno’s idea about the inexhaustibility of worlds in the Universe. All this brought Galileo the well-deserved fame of “Columbus of Heaven” and turned the biblical picture of the universe upside down.
The development of earth mechanics (Galileo, Torricelli, Boyle, Descartes, Pascal, Leibniz) showed the inconsistency of the medieval understanding of nature, based on Aristotelian physics. In the works of Isaac Newton (1643-1727), mathematical science reached its peak. Newton's discoveries in the field of optics (dispersion of light) made it possible to construct a more powerful reflecting telescope. Newton (simultaneously with Leibniz and independently of him) discovered differential and integral calculus. He also formulates a number of the most important laws in physics. Newton's predecessor, Rene Descartes, was one of the creators of mechanics, algebra and analytical geometry. He combined the genius of a natural scientist and a philosopher. Having become interested in physiology, he was able to understand and appreciate the importance of blood circulation. Having deeply studied the laws of optics, he discovered the refraction of light. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), based on Torricelli's assumptions, firmly proved the existence of atmospheric pressure. The theory of probability was developed in the works of Pascal, Fermat and Huygens. William Harvey (1578-1657) discovered the secret of blood circulation and the role of the heart, and came closer to revealing the secret of the origin of human life.
In the 17th century a huge number of discoveries and inventions were made, and this allows us to talk about the scientific revolution of the “age of geniuses,” as the 17th century is sometimes called. But the main result of the scientific revolution was the creation of a new image of the Universe. The geocentric cosmos collapsed, and the Earth took its true place in the picture of the universe. The world appeared as a result of the evolution of matter, governed by mechanical laws, and not by divine providence, and ceased to be a physical emanation of the spiritual providence of God.
But the scientific worldview in the 17th century. has not yet broken the ties connecting it with more ancient - esoteric and religious - ideas. The leaders of the scientific revolution were deeply religious people. Faith was their source creative inspiration. The laws of nature discovered by natural scientists were presented as a new acquisition of divine knowledge, lost at the time of the Fall. The mechanical models of the world created by scientists found a logical complement in the ideas of an impersonal creator who laid the foundation for the world, gave it a complete form and harmony, and then removed himself from it. Both Descartes and Newton built their systems of the universe based on the divine principle. Newton believed that matter could not be explained from itself, that “the most graceful combination of the Sun, Planets and comets could not have happened except by the intention and authority of a powerful and wise being.” Greatest Harmony, the consistency and beauty of the universe, - believed Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, - is a consequence of the miracle that happened during the creation of things, “it is a constant miracle in the same way as the multitude of natural things.” Benedict Spinoza speaks of God as the first principle of being, the first cause of all things, and also the first cause of himself.
But despite the “assumptions” of divine intervention, the image of the Copernican-Newtonian Universe was simple and understandable in comparison with the cumbersome Ptolemaic system.
They tried to apply the principles of knowledge of nature to the sphere of public life. This is exactly how D. Locke and the French enlighteners understood Newton’s teachings: the outdated structures of feudalism with their class and church hierarchies must give way to the rationality of a mutually beneficial social structure and recognition of individual rights. This is how natural law theories of modern times emerge, which soon turned into a weapon in the fight against feudal class privileges. The founders of the theories of natural law were Hugo Grotius (1583-1645), Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), John Locke (1632-1704), who made the transition to the positions of human behavior and vital interest and laid the foundation for utilitarianism and pragmatism. The abstract mind of the rationalists turned into common sense bourgeois.
The starting premise of Hobbes's natural law theory is the concept of human nature. Human nature is evil and selfish: “Man is a wolf to man.” Natural state - initial stage human history- characterized by a “war of all against all”, in which a person is guided by “natural law” - the law of force. Natural law is opposed to “natural laws” - the rational and moral principles of human nature. Among them are the law of self-preservation and the law of satisfying needs. Since the “war of all against all” threatens a person with self-destruction, there is a need to change the “state of nature” to a civil one, which is what people do through the conclusion of a social contract, voluntarily ceding some of their rights and freedoms to the state and agreeing to comply with the laws. The natural law of force is replaced by the harmony of natural and civil laws, which takes on real life in the state. Hobbes views the state as a work of human hands, the most important of the artificial bodies it creates. The state is a necessary condition for culture; outside it there is war, fear, abomination, barbarism, poverty, ignorance. In the state there is peace, security, wealth, the rule of reason, decency, knowledge. The practical basis for such ideas was the endless wars between feudal estates and the devastation, fear for their lives and for the lives of their loved ones that these wars brought with them. XVII century permeated with a feeling of tragic loneliness in the human world - a toy in the hands of fate. From these feelings and sentiments grew the ideas of the need for a strong state capable of protecting its citizens.
Locke believed that the truth of social life lies not in the state, but in the individual himself. People unite in society to guarantee the individual his natural rights. Locke considered the main natural rights not the right of force, but the right to life, liberty and property. The state, through its laws, protects the natural rights and free private life of every person. Individual rights are best ensured by the principle of separation of powers. The philosopher considered it necessary to assign legislative power to parliament, federal power (relations with other states) to the king and ministers, and executive power to the court and army.
The theory of natural law had an anti-theological and anti-feudal orientation. Emphasizing the “natural” origin of law, she opposed the theory of “divine” law, which turned God into the source of the laws of the feudal-absolutist state. Insisting on the inalienability of the most important “natural rights” of the individual, this theory also opposed the practice of their constant violation in feudal society, being an instrument of its criticism.
XVII century rich in utopias in which criticism of the foundations of feudal absolutism is combined with the development of projects for a perfect society. Thus, an admirer of Descartes' philosophy, Cyrano de Bergerac, developed ideas of progress in his science fiction novels. Showering a hail of ridicule to contemporary society, he enriched the traditions of Rabelais' humanism. Set out in the form of travel novels, the utopian programs of the Italian Campanella (“City of the Sun”) and the French author Denis Veras (“History of the Sevarams”) oriented public consciousness towards the search for a harmonious social order. Utopians discovered it on distant islands, other planets, or attributed it to the distant future, seeing no possibility of changing the state of things in their contemporary world.
Francis Bacon's New Atlantis, which absorbed the spirit of the times of the scientific revolution, differs from these utopias in its techno- and sciencecratic orientation. The wise men who sit in the “House of Solomon” are scholars, high priests, politicians, - they know very well that “knowledge is power.” Scientific and technical advances are regarded as the main wealth of the nation, their secrets are carefully guarded. The Bensalemites can desalinate water and condition air, regulate weather and simulate human behavior, they produce synthetic food and know the secret of eternal life. Similar ideas in Europe in the 17th century. were in the air (thus, the dream of a collective organization of scientists’ activities, which soon came to life in the activities of the Royal Society of London, the Paris Academy, etc.) In part, these fantasies can also be considered as a kind of mind game: in the culture of this serious scientific, sometimes tragic century, significant game component. As I. Huizinga notes, the 17th century was passionate about playing with Baroque forms.
Culture XVII V. created the necessary preconditions for the cultures of subsequent eras. The 17th century is the beginning of the formation of bourgeois society, the development of a new bourgeois worldview, the foundation of which was Newtonian-Cartesian cosmology. The Earth ceased to be the center of the Universe and became one of the planets moving around the Sun, which in turn became just one of a great many stars. The Universe took on the appearance of a complex system consisting of material particles, subject to mechanical laws. Social life also became an integral part of this system; the spread of Newtonian-Cartesian conclusions to it gave rise to natural law theories of modern times. The role of God in this worldview still remained significant: since the world is like a giant clockwork, it must have its own Master. The Creator, who created the world and then disappeared from it, appeared in the images of the Divine Architect, Mathematician and Watchmaker.
The power of man lies in the fact that by the power of his Mind he can penetrate into the heart of the universal order and then turn the acquired knowledge to his benefit. Realizing himself as a cognizing subject and creator of culture, a person masters the role of ruler of the world. Reason became the slogan of the new world (just as God was the slogan of the old world). Rationalism has become the dominant culture; science - the main instrument of Reason - acquired a worldview status, knowledge - a social orientation.
