The Pendulum of Philosophical Understanding of the “Architecture of the World”: from Earthly Reality to Heavenly (Spiritual) and Back

Abstract

The article analyzes the turns of philosophical comprehension, which, figuratively speaking, can be likened to a pendulum, namely from understanding being as an earthly reality to interpreting it as a spiritual and heavenly reality, but also a re­verse turn. We consider the turn made by Plato, who opposed the world of things and ideas, placing ideas in the sky among the gods and goodness, then Aristotle’s reaction to this move, which, on the contrary, endows the ordinary world with be­ing (its first essence coincides with single things). The turn that was outlined by St. Augustine: if initially he thought of God within the framework of earthly exis­tence, then he realized that this is the Spirit, the creation according to the Word, the way and the truth. The next turn takes place in the Renaissance, it is prepared by Nicholas of Cusa, who removes the opposition of earthly and heavenly, natural and artificial. Francis Bacon completes this turn to earthly reality and nature. The author tries to understand the pendulum described by him not just as the oppo­sition “earth – sky”, “real and sacred”, but as a difference between two methodolo­gies of historical understanding and study of the world. At the end of the article, a possible turn is discussed, which is outlined in our time, associated with the cri­sis of modern civilization. This is not about the rejection of earthly reality and the pragmatics of life, but about the effort and will to live, about faith in the possi­bility of continuing life on earth, but different, rethought, rebuilt. The question is raised: are not such a turn, efforts and faith – the movement of the pendulum in the other direction? This, of course, is not the sky of Plato, and not the sky of the Lord, and not even the cosmos in which humanity could find a more perfect life. Most likely it will be the sky of our real life, but a life thought out, trans­formed, having a real chance for continuation and development.