European renaissance and Michelle Montaigne: the way of man's understanding himself

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European renaissance and Michelle Montaigne: the way of man's understanding himself

U. Kurbanov

Abstract

The article is devoted to a critical analysis of the text of the philosophical work of M. Montaigne «Experiments» in the aspect of the way a person comprehends himself, which is the key pathos of this work of the outstanding writer and philosopher of the French Renaissance, when a person gains confidence that he is fully capable of change and even construction new world in connection with a new concept for building a national state. It is argued that the main essence of Montaigne's «Experiments» consists, according to the author, in an attempt to set up experiments on oneself and one's own mind in order to comprehend oneself by a person.

Keywords: comprehension, concept, belief, absolutely, perception, reality, category, measurement.

Анотація

Main part

The purpose of the article is to comprehend and critically analyze the text of the philosophical work of M. Montaigne «Experiments» in the aspect of the way a person comprehends himself, which is the key pathos of this work and its role for modern scientific and philosophical thought. The methodological basis of the study is a comparative analysis, a systematic approach, the principles of universal mutual communication and historicism. For this purpose, a detailed contextual analysis of the work of M. Montaigne «Experiments» was carried out.

From this point of view, the disclosure and coverage of the influence and significance of the great (although he did not consider himself such) French writer and thinker M. Montaigne, especially his «Experiences», on European philosophy which left an indelible mark on the 16th century Renaissance, world culture and philosophy, of course, will help enlighten our people's worldview, especially youth. The question is, what kind of «meaning of life» can a young reader draw from such «experiments,» who himself can tell about his commitment to all kinds of idleness, his tendency and weakness for his favorite foods, stories about attacks of a particular illness, and how much his teeth remained and so on. However, if you open «Experiments» not for idle reading, if you succumb to the mesmerizingly charming manner of Montaigne's pen, writing style, and slowly follow the zigzag course of the author's thought and trust the sincerity of a person who is not going to «teach us anything», but is content with «Tellings» about himself [Experiments, III, Ch. 2], then we will step by step feel that, when we get acquainted with the life of a completely alien Gascony nobleman who lived more than 5 centuries ago, we, perhaps for the first time, catch ourselves thinking that we get acquainted with, and no one can resist such an acquaintance, because the secret is simple - a person, step by step, without suspecting it, opens the way to understanding himself. Montaigne speaks relaxed and natural and even convinces of the arbitrariness of his own way of philosophizing: «I have no other link in the presentation of my thoughts, except by chance. I express my thoughts as they appear to me; sometimes they are crowded together, sometimes they arise in turn, one after another. I want their natural and ordinary course to be visible, in all zigzags. I set them out as they arose» [10, p. 10].

Although the author of «Experiments» belongs to his time and the history of culture, Montaigne is a very colorful, almost unique figure in the history of Western European culture and philosophical thought. Therefore, each new era is inclined not only to talk about Montaigne, but also to mentally talk with him; his art is not intrusive to be an interlocutor, the ability to «read», to disavow our deeply veiled innermost thoughts, has always excited and continues to excite living philosophical and artistic thought.

During the Renaissance, the new European man gained confidence that he was capable of changing and building a new world in connection with existing ideas, among which the concept of Catholic monks to build a national state stood out. The conviction was formed that the future is completely open information, it is subject to man, and he himself is able to improve and change his own life in its various dimensions. The very perception of reality was changed, which was no longer confined to categories such as the present and the past, but was always open to the future as part of the process of constant development. Only the experience of this ever-changing reality is needed [13]. Especially indicative in this context are «Experiments» by M. Montaigne with his skepticism and pathos: «The human mind is so insufficient and blind that there is not a single thing that would be clear enough to him… that all phenomena and all nature unanimously reject his competence and claims» [8, p. 140] and Montaigne is not at all original here when he exclaims, «If even that fraction of the mind that we possess is given to us by Heaven, how can this grain of reason equate itself with it? How can we judge his essence and his abilities according to our knowledge!» [10, p. 12]. The philosopher further points out: «Is it not funny that this insignificant and miserable creature, which is not even able to control itself and is left to the blows of all randomness, proclaims itself the sovereign and lord of the Universe, the smallest particle of which it is not even able to know, command it!» [8, p. 141]. Montaigne's originality, first of all, in those skeptical conclusions that he draws from the fideistic position [14, 15]. Since the truth of Revelation immeasurably surpasses all human concepts and ideas, so far as «otherworldly aspirations» inspire the author of the Experiments not to abandon reason, but to put it to the test, to see what it stands for, being left to its own devices.

Montaigne passionately resorts to quoting Pliny the Elder: «There is nothing reliable, except for the unreliability, and there is no creature more unfortunate and more arrogant than man» [8, p. 574]. Based on this, we can understand the reason for Montaigne's expression: «There is nothing more believable and useful than pyrrhonist. He draws a man naked and empty; recognizing their natural weakness; ready to accept some help from above; deprived of human knowledge, and all the more able to contain divine knowledge» [8, p. 206]. The author speaks of the need to «impair the mind» of a person so that they can be easily controlled.

In the «Apology of Raymond Sabund» the process of exposing the human mind began with the words of the apostle Paul: «Our wisdom is only madness in the face of God» [8, p. 140]. The work of A. Nettesheim, «On the Uncertainty and Vanity of Sciences,» referring to 1526, also serves as an example of this kind of skepticism. The previously reasonable world, which was characterized by dominance of sympathies and antipathies, is stratified into the being of nature, which is devoid of forms of reason, and on only the possible mind. The previous understanding of the world is perceived as simple speculation, which is not based on reason, but on feelings of passion and self-interest, as well as imagination. The reality that has a direct impact on a person is constantly stipulated and interpreted by him to some extent, and therefore it is effective. «…There is no such fiction that originated in the human imagination, no matter how extravagant it is, which would not meet somewhere as a common custom and, therefore, would not receive the approval and justification of our mind» [8, p. 141].

It should be noted that the famous philosophers of the ancient period which include Thales, Pythagoras, Democritus, Plato, etc., resorted more quickly to the power of imagination than to reason and reason. «It's not easy to convince me,» says Montaigne, «that Epicurus, Plato and Pythagoras took at face value their atoms, their ideas, numbers: they were too smart to believe in such unreliable and controversial things» [8, p. 212].

The thinker in his reasoning indicates that if reality is fictitious, then first of all it is necessary to purify the mind for the subsequent commencement of its activity and searches for itself. M. Montaigne seems to be preparing the ground for a radical doubt that will determine the main direction of the new European thinking formed in the late Renaissance period by Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes. The world dominating man, in which forces, spheres and beings predominate, begins to be perceived as a creation of the human imagination, which is meaningful and justified through his mind. This acts as a fictional world, about which was mentioned already in the works of Aristotle in the framework of the analysis of the theories of his predecessors, and which emphasized that this fictitious world excludes the possibility of perceiving to contemplate a truly existing reality, moreover, one, one and only. This position is reflected in Montaigne, which emphasizes the existence of the world of God, which is not invented and imagined by human whim and hope. Similarly, Man is deprived of any opportunity to have his own view of the world, as he is, to have his clear and distinct view, at least with regard to the world order, not to mention his own nature and the nature of the social structure of human positions and deeds. «If one day,» Montaigne writes, «nature would want to reveal its secrets to us, and we would see firsthand what are the means that it uses for its movements, dear right, what mistakes, what errors we would discover in our miserable science!.» And further the great thinker continues to develop his thought: after all, nature is not so much comprehended as it is distorted in «a hidden and blurred picture that shines through an infinite number of deceptive colors, over which we are

guessed» [8, p. 240-241].

A century later, Boruch Spinoza will note: «So, we see that all the ways that nature is usually explained are only different kinds of imagination and show not the nature of anything, but only the state of the ability of imagination» [1, p. 42].

The existing various teachings do not assist in the comprehension by man of his own nature, how much isolate him from it. In them, a person comes into contact with own «I». By virtue of his nature, he is in the world he is imagining, which separates him from reality. The human world, which he comprehended, does not have compatibility with nature as such. In this regard, «confidence in certainty is the surest indicator of unreasonableness and extreme unreliability; and there are no people more frivolous and less philosophical than the philodoxes of Plato» [8, p. 246]. However, this is not important. A person is either able to judge things to the end, or he is completely unable to do this [7, p. 171]. The lack of faith in Montaigne, as it were, foresees the coming self-confidence of a person within the framework of a judgment on everything; he casually and unexpectedly points out: «It is very likely that natural laws exist, but we have lost them by the grace of the wonderful human mind, which intervenes in everything and everywhere wants to control and order, but the consequence of our vanity and inconstancy only obscures the appearance of things» [8, p. 294].

The philosopher notes the need for a new mind, which is characterized by a lack of selfknowledge and dimension. «A mental experience cannot be gained instantly, it crystallizes gradually, absorbing the already existing experience of life and combining it with that internal structure, which can be called the «first experience» [9, p. 145]. Thus, he speaks of the existence of a skeptical mind here and now, which casts doubt on all existing opinions, knowledge and concepts. The Thinker speaks of the recklessness of reason itself, which manifests itself in self-conceit: «Reason is a weapon,» Montaigne points out, «dangerous to the owner himself, unless he knows how to use it wisely and carefully» [8, p. 267-268]. He later notes: «For three millennia, the firmament with all its luminaries revolved around us; the whole world believed in this until Cleanthus of Samos or… Giket of Syracuse did not even think to assure that in reality the Earth moves around its axis in the ecliptic of the zodiac; and in our time, Copernicus justified this doctrine so well that it very convincingly explains with its help all astronomical phenomena. And who knows if there will be any third point of view that refutes both previous ones» [8, p. 281].

As a critical analysis of the text of «Experiments» shows, the main essence of Montaigne's «Experiments» consists, as we see it, in an attempt to set up experiments on oneself and one's own mind to comprehend oneself by a person. After all, man does not know the essence of things in their fundamental principle; «For if we knew things as they are, we would perceive them the same way» [8, p. 271]. The mind seeks to comprehend all that exists, leaving itself in itself, while participating in permanent interaction with doubt.

It is important to note that it was Montaigne who, in his «Experiments», paved the way for the new metaphysics, which received a fundamental foundation in the philosophical position of Rene Descartes.

Montaigne reflects on the theme of faith with the position of those who could not «comprehend themselves and know their nature, which invariably abides before their eyes and is imprisoned in themselves.» And he exclaims: «But who is able to imagine how in the picture the great face of our mother nature in its entire royal splendor; who can read its infinitely variable and diverse features» [8, p. 17].

The second chapter of the third book of Montaigne's «Experiments» begins with the words: «Others create man; I only talk about him and portray a person who is by no means a pearl of creation, and if I had the opportunity to fashion it again, I would have created it completely different. But the job is done, and now it's too late to think about it. The strokes of my sketch do not distort the truth in any way, although they change all the time and these changes are unusually diverse. The whole world is an eternal swing. Everything that he includes in himself is constantly swinging: the earth, the rocky mountains of the Caucasus, the Egyptian pyramids - and all this is swinging along with everything else, as well as in itself. Even stability - and it is nothing but a weakened and slowed down swing» [10, p. 342]. Further, the thinker states: «I am not able to fix the object I represent. He wanders at random and staggering, drunk from birth, for he is also created by nature. I take it as it is in front of me the moment it occupies me.» Along the way, as if fleetingly, he also warns of time that «you need to remember that my narrative refers to a particular hour».

Montaigne puts the emphasis: «I put on display life ordinary and devoid of any brilliance, which, however, is one and the same. All moral philosophy can be applied with the same success to everyday life and simple, as well as to a life more substantial and eventful; each person has everything that is characteristic of the entire human race» [10, p. 343]. Turning to reality, Montaigne does not seek to follow practical laws, but he takes knowledge from the existing polymorphism of events that determine the dynamics of the vital rhythm characteristic of the internal movement of his own soul. All this assists in finding him inner harmony, which is characteristic of a person's personal autonomy, and which is manifested in his essence, defined as truth. Montaigne's desire for self-knowledge, according to Montaigne, is a certain empirical principle that helps to comprehend the deep essence of a person and his substance, as well as to get the real semantic context of his «Ego» through a personally constituted inner experience.

A large number of excerpts from the work of Montaigne indicates that he sought to describe himself, to show understanding of the laws of nature by his own example [8, p. 238239]. He points out that other researchers, philosophers, carry out the process of man's creation while he himself simply seeks to tell about himself as a concrete person: «Authors, speaking of themselves, tell readers only that which marks their features and unusualities with a seal; as for me, I am the first to talk about my essence as a whole, as Michel de Montaigne, and not as a philologist, poet or lawyer» [7, p. 173].

Due to the fact that the world is constantly undergoing change, and man is its constituent element, he is also subject to constant transformation. Montaigne perceives a person not as a creature possessing great power and being a riddle that causes respectful surprise. He also does not strive for the tragic perception of man and the existing reality. In his opinion, man is «an amazingly vain, truly unstable and ever-wavering creature», «as ridiculous as funny», «buffoon from farce», etc. Experience is needed to comprehend man as a constantly fluctuating being. These are «experiments on oneself» or «experiments on oneself' [8, p. 242]. Montaigne indicates his desire to give society the opportunity to analyze the evolution of his ideas in accordance with his «descriptions.» He talks about his desire to independently follow the process of its change [12, p. 192].

According to Montaigne, the external environment of changeable things creates the practical meaning in which the formation of an intellectual load takes place, reproducing the philosophical methodological efforts of self-comprehension for self-control and understanding of one's own «Ego». The author constantly talks about his own self-interest, but not the surrounding reality. He indicates his own ignorance, but it is shown to him as a strong and noble phenomenon. Montaigne emphasizes that only his own ignorance, and not selfconfidence, contributes to the process of self-knowledge, which acts as the right path to a good life: «No special merit,» Montaigne points out, «will overwhelm with pride one who is aware of the great many inherent imperfections and weaknesses, and on top of that, the whole insignificance of human existence…. Socrates… as a result of… self-knowledge was imbued with contempt for himself, he was awarded the title of sage. One who manages to know himself in the same way may not be afraid to talk about the results of his knowledge» [8, p. 201].

Montaigne indicates the need for own knowledge in the surrounding reality. This is the essence of everything: «The very desire gives rise to the image of the thing that we have in mind, and yet it contains a good fraction of what our actions should lead to, and the idea of the thing is one with its image in essence» [9, p. 12]. He mentions things in the existing reality of life, focusing on the essence of achieving one's personal integrity by a person within the framework of his life. Montaigne's pathos is reflected in his statements when he mentions himself as a pioneer: «I am the first» and «no one ever». Before him, there were practically no such references. Famous ancient and medieval philosophers did not resort to such statements. In turn, the author of «Experiments» points to the essence of human life, which is always filled with twists and turns. And this relates both to the life of the «greats of this world» and to ordinary citizens. The author cites the idea of human life in this discussion: only selfknowledge can help in understanding the inner emotional impulses, since «The subject that I study,» says Montaigne, «is more than anything else, it's myself' [6, p. 174].

The desire to know oneself is constantly fueling the dialogue of Montaigne's internal speech which is characterized by a polyphony of shades that reveal new meanings of their own recognition. Such active tension is characterized by an attempt to gain and explain through the author's own «Ego».

Thus, the process of discovering oneself for a person is carried out as part of an experimental activity that is implemented «on oneself». Montaigne indicates that a person is subject to constant change due to empirical circumstances in which he carries out his life activities. The skepticism through which the spirit of man must pass is a necessity of his own nature. But the need to know one's own soul, to learn the secret of human existence reflects a new pathos, which is characterized by a different alignment of values and in which the human «I» is advanced, it is an active, real force, both of an ordinary person and the author of the work.

The absolute self-knowledge of man will be reflected historically later in Hegel's philosophy, but his analysis, as our analysis has shown, is already laid down in Montaigne's «Experiments» - in this outstanding link in European - and world - philosophical thought. And this is the key pathos of the genius of the ever-validly sounding thoughts of the great French writer-humanist and philosopher Michel Montaigne on the ways of human comprehension of himself, which are no less genius and humanly simply revealed in his «Experiments».