How is the principle of anthropocentrism revealed in Christianity. The Christian picture of the world and its basic principles: monotheism, creationism, symbolism, Christian anthropocentrism
The ideological dominant of the Renaissance was Christian anthropocentrism, from the standpoint of which man was the center of the universe, the highest part of nature, its most perfect creation, and the whole the world- the creation of the hands of not only God, but also human. In place of the schematism of scholasticism, the figures of the Renaissance put an emotionally rich personal experience. Religious-ascetic worldview, assertion of sinfulness human life was not disputed, were supplemented by the proclamation of a person's personal right to satisfy ordinary earthly needs, to enjoy life. All these questions are reflected in such treatises of humanists as "Speech on the Dignity of Man" by G. Pico della Mirandoli, "On Hypocrisy" by Leonardo Bruni, "Praise of Stupidity" by Erasmus of Rotterdam. Individualism, the desire for diversity, the cult of heroism and glory, the desire for harmony were brought to the fore. physical health, human beauty and spirituality. Much attention was paid to the relationship of man with nature; human ability to comprehensive knowledge and creative activity; the problem of religious tolerance in confessional and religious affiliation; in the end, the recognition by the majority of Renaissance figures of the independence and freedom of science.
Anthropocentrism is inherent in one way or another in all types of art of the Renaissance. In architecture, it turned out to be in the proportionality of the building to the person, in the fact that the architectural image was based on the proportions of the human figure. This humanistic line went from such a building as the Pazzi Chapel in Florence, and to the temple of Tempietto, the half of Bramante. The arches hospitably address the visitor (the facade of the Brunelleschi Educational House). Old sacristy of the Florentine church San Lorenzo- this is a cozy building with calm horizontal divisions, which seems spacious and habitable.
It can be argued that anthropocentrism in the visual arts of the Renaissance is even more obvious than in the humanities studios. In the era of the early Renaissance - the Quattrocento, a portrait arose in European sculpture and painting, this was due to the fact that in the era of humanism, when the human person began to attract interest, a one-of-a-kind person (his ipiso) was revered. Medieval art, which in every possible way humiliated a person and did not recognize the right of an individual to an independent existence, was hostile to the portrait. The few portrait images of the Gothic day almost all had a cult purpose - these were portraits on tombstones. Quattrocento created an independent type of portrait, secular in purpose.
If for the sculptural portraits of the Renaissance antique sculptural busts were sometimes examples, then the profile and later three-quarter bust pictorial portrait of the early Renaissance is quite an invention of the day. Already in these picturesque portraits there is a pronounced anthropocentricity of Renaissance art. The image of a man occupied almost the entire surface. The artist either did not depict the landscape at all (works by the Florentine Domenico Veneziano) or subordinated the landscape to the image of a person (Piero della Francesca - portraits of Federico da Montefeltre and Sforza's Beat lines).
In addition, both the art of the Early and the art of the High Renaissance were characterized by typification and idealization. In different artists of different generations, these features were expressed to a greater or lesser extent. The equestrian statue of the condottiere Gattamelati (sculptor Donatello) is an example of the balance between the acute individualization of the image in all its originality and high typification. Moreover, there is no internal contradiction between individualization and typization. Individualization has to reveal character traits this person, because they are unique and constitute its essence, and typification is the pedestal on which the Renaissance man was placed, which was sung by Pico della Mirandola in the treatise “On Human Dignity”: “Man is a great miracle ... God created man not heavenly, not earthly, neither mortal nor immortal, so that a person himself becomes the creator of his form and so that she can, in accordance with her will and her choice, either degenerate into a lower and gross being, or be reborn into divine creation". So, from the beginning of the XV century. anthropocentrism became one of the main elements of Renaissance art in order to later become a typical feature of the Renaissance in general.
Commonality is associated with lifestyle, beliefs and key social institutions. One of the objective signs that Western civilization is an ancient classical heritage, the philosophy of rationalism and the social application of this philosophy is Roman law, as well as Christianity, especially, which is expressed in its 2 concessions: Catholicism and protistantism.
There is a continuity between antiquity and Christianity, because it was Christianity that did what is called the baptism of Hellenic wisdom (Hellenic philosophy). Christianity uses ancient philosophy. Baptism was necessary for Europe, because ancient rationalism, in its social and political applications, proved to be incapacitated. Antiquity provides 2 cognitive strategies, in many respects directly opposite: the aprioristic program of knowledge, the empiricist program of Aristotle. They are united by the fact that they create and form the archetype of the classical European worldview, and this archetype is called rationalism and has the form of a conditionally categorical syllogism. The human mind, since it is able to find the universal and necessary, is divine, and therefore substantial. The mind is the cause of itself, it is unconditional in relation to the multiplicity of sensory data, and therefore it is independent of the material. If the human mind is divine and therefore not subject to influence, then why does the mind in the sphere of human actions (phronesis) create evil?
The state is called upon to harmonize people under pain of punishment. The state is colossal, but colossal on feet of clay, since the state is justified in its existence in the fact that people are able to exist by causing harm to people. The state exists so that there is no hell on Earth, and moreover, the rulers themselves are prone to causing damage, using power, and therefore the task is to find out the reasons that prevent the rationalization of people's social life.
The first thing to do is to revolutionize the human worldview. Christianity does this from the very beginning, therefore, in the remote Roman province, it arises as a politically significant event, as evidenced by the procedure for the execution of Christ. This political significance is associated with an act of soul-searching. Values are exactly what organizes people, what is good and true. Value is salvation. Christianity arises as a doctrine of salvation (soteriology). Catastrophic differentiation of people by property status. There are those who are subject to suffering, and there are those who are in power. The Sermon on the Mount gives the main and defining imperative (commandment), which reads: "whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will be saved." Consequently, the universal and necessary now appears not as what is, but as what should be. And this means that the action of the universal meets some essential resistance in this world, and this essential resistance is in the person himself and comes from the person himself, and therefore the human mind is non-substantial. There is something in a person that allows him to dodge universal necessity. A person is unique in his location and stay, this uniqueness lies in the fact that he is an individual and sinful being, and therefore it is necessary to justify why we overestimate all values.
Fundamental picture of the world of Christianity. Principles:
Monotheism
God cannot be defined, he has names. God is one, and therefore the absolute personality, which is transcendent (being beyond anything), which means that God is infinitely superior to everything he created, both together and separately.
The principle of creationism
God, who "asm is the being," creates the world in an act of free will, and this fundamentally changes the idea of the essence or nature of everything that exists. What exists is essentially created, and nature is now a formal principle. And every formal principle is a law formulated with the help of concepts. Therefore, the act of creation is accompanied by an utterance.
The world in Christianity is amazingly harmonious. Everything in this world is good, for everything in the world is from God. If there is evil in the world, then it is a corruption of good. This transcendental will is objectified in states, movements, connections and relationships. In this world of total objectification, there is only one creature that prevents this, that is, to spoil the good and the good - and this creature is a man.
Christian anthropocentrism (the man in the center)
Man is an absolutely exceptional creature, since he was created in the image and likeness of God and set to rule over everything else, and therefore his exclusivity is burdened with an ecological empiric. This similarity makes a person unconditionally individualistic, a person overcomes many differences and is not exhausted by them, in fact all people are equal because they are godlike, but this unconditional individualism is negatively revealed as the sinfulness of a person. This is what is called the burden of original sin.
The understanding of man as a sinful being is an absolute novelty for Europe of that time, since neither antiquity nor Rome knew sins. Sin is the desire for the forbidden, this is if you succumb to temptation, therefore the devil is a tempter. Personal responsibility of a person for committed sinful deeds. Eschatology is the theory of the end of a person's personal destiny. Original sin does not justify the sin of man, and that is why the sacrifice of Christ removes from man the sinfulness of the flesh. But now man himself is responsible for the sin he has committed. Personal sins give rise to the institution of purgatory. Personal immortality through the act of resurrection from the dead. Personal immortality is necessary from the point of view of salvation. This idea of immortality through resurrection changes the mechanism of action presented in the objectification of the law. In ancient rationalism, necessity is automatic and irresistible, all people are mortal, and therefore man too. In the Christian world, this automaticity of the impersonal universal force, encountering obstacles from the side of man, gives this force a new mode of existence - this is the mode of duty. In relation to man, the creator appears in his nomothetic nature as a legislator. He, as a legislator, prescribes to a person how to exist in truth. The first four commandments just speak of the existence of a person, as the creator prescribes, creating with his own will. For the will of the creator to be realized, for this the operation of the law must be accompanied by personal efforts, the desire of the person himself. The law must be written in the heart of a person, be his motive. AT Christian image world IF characterizes the will of the Lord, which has become the will of man himself. That is why Christian anthropology discovers in man a new instance unknown to man (transcendental). It is designed to constantly throw a person out of everything that surrounds him and affects him. This instance makes a person unconditional, both in relation to God, because he must become like his father and in relation to the created world, because a person, for his salvation, has only 2 ways: either to God or to the Devil.
A justified attitude to the world, which finds its expression in the irresistible force of deduction, collides with the uniqueness of the existence of the person himself, which is expressed in kenosis (emptiness). Kenosis is connected with the fact that the creator, at his own discretion, limits his power and accepts an act of condescension into human nature (humiliation). He limits his power, and this self-limitation of God opens the space of freedom, that is, allows a person to choose between good and evil. The word IF always assumes the choice of the person himself. Thus, in Christianity, the problem of the will and freedom of man appears, in which the creator, as a legislator, gives not just laws, but covenants and commandments. Therefore, the problem of man is the identity of being and will. This problem is posed as follows: there is a higher truth, this truth is objectified in states, relationships and processes. This absolutely-volitional truth is the absolute cause, but the action of this truth can be both natural and non-natural, that is, the action can be necessary and not necessary. When it comes to the being of a person, then he must be about the truth, and therefore keep the commandments and all his existence is existence, if his will is correct or true.
The true (correct) will is the desire of a person to perform the right actions for the sake of the very correctness or truth. This is an absolutely deontological problem, according to which any action of a person must be interpreted from the point of view of the correctness of his mindset, that is, a person knows the truth and wants it to be embodied. Therefore, the Christian solution to the problem of being and will does not presuppose a formula: the end justifies the means.
Thus, Christianity radically poses the problem of human freedom. Will is an ontological good, that is, it is related to a person and his being, but this is an average good, which means there is a higher good, that is, the greatest is truth (goodness and beauty). This is the highest good, without which salvation is impossible, but there is the least good, these are bodies without which one can live correctly. They come from the one who created them (both). It is an act of will that can turn a person from the highest good to the lowest good, but if a person is directed and lives according to the formula “live to eat”, then such a person will decide to sin. An evil will gives rise to evil deeds, but there is no one who gives an evil character to the will, because the will is given an evil character by the desire and desire of the person himself, therefore a vicious person is his perverted will, and this is a will free from the guidance of the mind, when a person is burdened with the deeds of the flesh, that is, does not understand reasonable settings.
Thus, the problem of being and will brings us back to the problem of the identity of being and thinking, because the true will is the will that guides the mind, and therefore. And also the problem of a method or a way to achieve true knowledge arises, since truth is given only to the mind.
The right will is the true will, and the truth is the result of the process of cognition, that is, human activity, while the need for truth for a person is obvious because the truth unites that and does not pose the problem of a shortage of resources. Consequently, the problem of being and will is transformed into the problem of being and thinking, but the cognitive situation is changing, because there is an abyss between what exists by the will of God and the general, necessary, legal, it is connected with the fact that the creator who made the world infinitely surpasses the world as a whole. , as well as separately. Consequently, the problem arises of how to remove this abyss between the eternal-infinite and finite, perishable and mortal. In the human soul there must be a great power, and this power is irrational (that which is stronger than human mind). Faith, as an intuition of the unconditional, that which combines the volitional and emotional in a person, giving rise to unshakable conviction, trust and hope. This faith dominates in Christian knowledge. Hence the original principle of the correct method of knowledge: “understand in order to believe; believe in order to understand." The implementation of this initial principle has instilled in the classical formulation of the relationship between faith and reason: "faith seeking understanding", hence the credo "I believe in order to understand." Why knowledge if we believe? The fact is that faith, and those who believe, allows you to stay in the word of God, and staying in the word of God allows you to know the truth, and it is the truth that will make us free. The problems of cognition are primarily related to the fact that for a believer, the truth appears as the word of the creator, moreover, “the word (logos) became flesh and dwelt with them full of truth, and we saw its glory.” Therefore, if the object of faith is the creator, then the object of faith (the bearer of the problem) is the word, and the word, as you know, is the bearer different values. From this follows the actual medieval philosophical problem which characterizes philosophizing in faith. Faith tells us that there is a theological truth, and this truth is a proposition. But there is human truth, and it also abides in the word. And so the problem of the correspondence between divine and human truth arises. Philosophizing in faith poses metaphysical problems, and this means the problem of the principles of being. The solution is metaphysical problem(the problem of the beginnings) can only be considered in the context of theological truth, which means that the problem of the beginnings of knowledge is posed in principle, otherwise the pagans of Plato and Aristotle. The problem of the beginnings of knowledge is scholastic. True faith is being in the word of God, and this is scholasticism, and the meaning of this word means the technology of scholasticism, because the lecture on the world has already been read, the truth has already been compensated and the creator has compensated for it. Therefore, the scholastic method of cognition directs us not to theoretical observation, in order to search for truth, because there is no need to search for truth. Scholasticism directs us to the interpretation and study of the truth already expressed, and therefore to the grammatical, logical, morphological, syntactic analysis of the text. Scholasticism is a method of staying in the word of God, one must be able to interpret what is proclaimed. Scholasticism as a method generates 2 methodologies: the methodologies of scholastic realism; methodology of scholastic nominalism.
Theophylact of Bulgaria wrote about the gospel parable of a hundred sheep (Luke 15:4-7): “The parable, obviously, by ninety-nine sheep means the righteous, and by one sheep it means the fallen sinner. Some, however, by a hundred sheep mean all rational creatures, and under one sheep a man reasonable nature, which, when she got lost, the good shepherd sought ... "(Theophylact of Bulgaria. 1911, p. 401). Moreover, according to Methodius of Patara, the meaning of a person is even greater: "mountains mean heaven, and ninety-nine sheep - forces and principles and authorities (heavenly beings - Z.Yu.), which, leaving, the chief and the shepherd went down to find the lost sheep "(Methodius of Patara. 1996, p. 49). Man is especially dear to God, for his salvation God sacrificed his Son.
But a person, unfortunately, does not always reciprocate with God. Often a person forgets his Creator and puts himself at the forefront. This anthropocentrism(centrality of man) was the main feature of European humanism, he opposed theocentrism, centrality of God, medieval religious outlook(Peter (Pigol). 1999, p.15).
anthropocentrism there is a desire to put man at the center of the universe, thereby usurping the veneration that is only fitting for God, creating a cult of veneration for man. It is very dangerous, because in essence it denies the god-likeness of man. It is precisely at the proud deification of man that such walking slogans as "man is the measure of all things", "everything for man", "man sounds proud", etc. are aimed. what he is, that is, with his susceptibility to sin, with his weaknesses and shortcomings, there can be no question of any perfection of man, and the commandment of the Savior: "Be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5, 48) - loses all meaning. In the Christian understanding, man is great not in himself, but as the crown of creation, as set by God, created in His image and likeness (Mikhail (Mudyugin), 1995, p. 90).
Western civilization proclaimed an open separation from God in the 14th century, when in the Renaissance the ancient (essentially pagan) motto was again put forward: man is the measure of things. Christianity as a God-human religion is also aimed at man, anthropological, but does it in a completely different way. Only Christianity gives the truly true content of genuine humanity. God became Man for this, so that man could approach Him, become a god by grace (Peter (Pigol), 1999, p. 169).
In modern European-American anthropocentrism freedom turns into arbitrariness, and personality into a mask, a set of masks, social roles, etc. And such a sinful person turns into an object of special reverence and, almost, worship. Worship of man (anthropolatry) is no better than any other idol worship, when they worship anything but God. At the end of the Middle Ages, "anthropolatry overcame love for God and faith in the holiness of the Church..." (Leontiev, 1996, p. 332). But idols perish and are destroyed by God's will, and if a person himself becomes such an idol, then a similar fate awaits him.
LITERATURE
Leontiev K. N. East, Russia and Slavdom. Philosophical and political journalism. Spiritual prose (1872-1891). M., 1996.
Bishop Methodius Patarsky. Complete collection of creations. M .: Palomnik, 1996 (repr. re-ed.: 2nd ed.: St. Petersburg, 1905; together with the works of Gregory the Wonderworker).
Michael (Mudyugin) archbishop. An introduction to basic theology. M.: Public Orthodox University, 1995.
Peter (Pigol) hegum. Saint Gregory of Sinai and his spiritual successors. M., 1999.
/Theophylact of Bulgaria/. The evangelist, or interpretation blessed Theophylact, archbishop Bulgarian, on the Holy Gospel. St. Petersburg: P. P. Soikin Book Publishing House, 1911 (reprinted: M.: SKIT, 1993).
2. Anthropocentrism and genuine humanism
So we say that modern culture, whatever its positive historical purpose and achievements, in its spiritual dominant is, as I tried to show, anthropocentric: humanism here separated from the Incarnation. In the concept according to which the era of modern times and modernity was formed and is now being formed by culture, we can single out three stages, or three moments: the first moment is the one when civilization generously distributes its most beautiful fruits, forgetting about the roots, where the juices that feed it come from. . It is believed that she must establish, based only on the authority of reason, a certain human order, considered still in the Christian style inherited from previous times, a style that becomes burdensome and begins to deteriorate. We can call this moment classic a moment of our culture, a moment of Christian naturalism.
The second point allows us to notice that a culture deprived of the highest supernatural standards must inevitably turn against itself; then it is required to establish an order that is considered based on nature and is designed to liberate a person and establish in him the spirit of wealth, bless him with peaceful possession of the land: this is a moment of rationalistic optimism, bourgeois moment of our culture. We hardly get out of it.
The third moment is the moment of materialistic pessimism, revolutionary the moment at which man, clearly seeing his ultimate goal in himself and no longer able to withstand the machinations of this world, begins, as we see it today in Russia, a courageous battle against the transcendent foundations of natural law and against their creator; he takes on the task of creating an entirely new humanism out of radical atheism.
These three points, despite their apparent contradiction to each other, are connected by continuity; if we thoroughly schematize the state of things, then we can say that these moments replace each other chronologically; but they both coexist and mix with each other at various stages. All these concepts ignore human nature and eventually begin to demand for it the privileges of pure reason, however, in the bosom of itself and through the strengthening of purely material power. False liberation, spoilage and waste of human substance with an endless increase in needs and despondency.
Dominance over fertility is not through chastity, but through a violation of the natural course of affairs; dominance over race by eugenic sterilization of inferior subjects; domination of man over himself by abolishing family ties and caring for the younger generation; dominance over life through suicide and euthanasia. It is noteworthy that a certain idea of man's domination of nature pays off impressively uniformly, with the same result: the cessation of life.
The "anthropocentric" concept of culture is opposed by the Christian concept as a truly humane and humanistic, and in using the word "humanist" I think of the only humanism that does not lie against its etymology, and of which Thomas Aquinas gave us an example: the humanism cleansed by the blood of Christ, the humanism of the Incarnation.
Such a humanism, observing the hierarchy of essences, places the contemplative life above the active life; it knows that the contemplative life leads more directly to love for the First Beginning, which contains perfection. This does not mean that the active life should be sacrificed, but it should gravitate towards the type of life that it assumed in perfect people, that is, to the kind of activity that springs entirely from excessive contemplation.
But if we accept the contemplation of saints as the highest stage of human life, then should we not say that all the actions of people and civilization itself should be oriented towards it as a goal? It seems that it should be so, said (perhaps not without some irony) St. Thomas Aquinas. For what is slave labor and trade for, if not for the body, provided with all the vital necessities and, therefore, ready for immersion in contemplation? What are the moral virtues and prudence for, if not for the pacification of passions and the acquisition of inner peace, what is so necessary for contemplation? What is all the management of civil life for, if not to strengthen the external world, necessary for contemplation? - "Thus, if you consider them properly, then all the functions of human life seem to serve those who contemplate the truth."
Here is the idea of a hierarchy of values, which is quite different from the concept of industrialism, which is entirely turned to production, which modern world brought out of civilization for himself. We see to what extent the primacy of the economy, which itself springs from a regime based on the fecundity of money - unlimited fecundity, like everything that follows from certain natural conditions - and the materialistic conception of culture, whether capitalist or Marxist, are opposed to the thought of the universal Doctor of the Church.
Doesn't this mean that the Christian concept of culture has nothing to do with the modern world, except for a relationship of incompatibility? And that it cannot offer us any other ideal than the ideal of the past, completely absorbed by history, the Middle Ages? Do I need to repeat that the movement of time, as we know, is irreversible. Christian wisdom does not invite us to return to the Middle Ages. First of all, she invites us to move. In addition, the civilization of the Middle Ages, as great and beautiful as it really was, and, of course, even more beautiful in memories cleansed of history, remained far from the full embodiment of the Christian idea of civilization.
Yes, this idea is opposed to the modern world, but to the extent that it is inhumane.
And to the extent that, despite its qualitative inferiority, the modern world carries real historical development, no, the Christian concept of culture does not oppose it. On the contrary, she would like to save in him and put into reasonable order those vital riches that he possesses.
Suffering itself, great suffering that is tearing apart the modern world, from what do they come, if not from everything that is permeated with inhumanity? And this means that the world, without knowing it, is striving for a civilization of the Christian type, such as the civilization of which the principles of St. Thomas.
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And the very creation of the world, its preservation
and government proclaims the majesty of the Godhead.
Rev. John of Damascus
EVOLUTION OF THE UNIVERSE
A remarkable achievement of cosmology and physics of the 20th century is the description of the evolution of the Universe and its matter (matter and radiation), which in in general terms agrees with the account of the creation of heaven and earth presented in the Book of Genesis by the prophet Moses. Recall that for the 1st day of creation, the main coincidences of both descriptions (with a not too symbolic interpretation of the text of the Bible) are: the beginning of the material world (the Universe), the emergence of light (radiation) before the formation of the Sun and stars, and the separation of light from darkness (radiation from matter ).
So, according to modern scientific ideas, we live in an expanding Universe, which arose 15-20 billion years ago as a clot of matter, from a state of a "false" physical vacuum created by the Creator "out of nothing". This bunch of matter and radiation, which has a gigantic density, a fantastically high temperature, and dimensions that are many orders of magnitude smaller than the dimensions of an atomic nucleus, began to expand, creating space and time. The expansion of the Universe is described by the standard cosmological model, in which the initial moment is unfortunately called the "Big Bang". Since space and time are formed by matter, this is not an exploding, but rather an inflating universe. The model of the evolving Universe is based on astronomical and astrophysical results, as well as on the data of elementary particle physics. It has been developing for more than 70 years and has acquired the status of a physical picture of the world, organically entering common system knowledge. The model makes it possible to estimate the density of matter, its temperature (energy) and the size of the Universe at any time after the beginning of creation. And using the energy dependences of elementary particles, it also predicts the composition of the matter of the expanding Universe.
At the same time, by the end of the 20th century, scientists came to understand the physical foundations of the universe, which actually act as combinations of only 4 types of interactions (forces) - gravitational (gravity), strong (nuclear), electromagnetic and weak (radioactive decay). These forces are described by a set of fundamental physical constants, such as the gravitational constant, the speed of light, Planck's constant, electron charge, proton mass, and others, which link elementary particle physics and cosmology. At the same time, it is assumed that the constants took on their values at an early stage of the expansion of the Universe rather arbitrarily, that is, with scientific point vision, to some extent by accident. And so, in the second half of the 20th century, scientists found a striking connection between the exact values of the constants and the possibility of the emergence of life and intelligence in the Universe. Even slight changes in these parameters lead to the structures and properties of the Universe in which life is not realized.
CHANGING THE FUNDAMENTAL CONSTANTS
Already from the very early moments of the evolution of the expanding Universe, there are parameters that determine with a very high accuracy the further development of the Universe, leading to the emergence of the conditions necessary for the emergence of life and man.
For example, the gravitational energy, which depends on the average density of matter, slows down the expansion rate of the Universe, which is determined by the kinetic energy of expansion. At a certain critical density of matter, these energies are balanced. Then at time t=10-35 sec. (one divided by a number with 35 zeros) from the beginning of the origin of the Universe, the average density should be equal to the critical one with fantastic accuracy - 10-55. If the average density were greater than the critical one, then the Universe after a few million years began to contract sharply and collapsed to its initial state, not having developed until the modern era. At an average density less than the critical one, there would be a rapid expansion of the Universe, in which matter did not have time to develop to the forms necessary for life. In this case, hydrogen atoms do not have time to form and, consequently, stars, planets and galaxies do not form.
Another example. Since space is formed together with matter at the initial moment of the creation of the Universe, its dimension is one of the most important parameters of our world. However, its value is not derived from physical principles, but is considered a random number. But an analysis of the laws of gravity and electrodynamics shows that only in three-dimensional space are stable orbits of motion possible. celestial bodies and electrons in atoms. At lower dimensions, the motion is very limited, and at higher dimensions, the formation of planetary systems and chemical elements is impossible. Thus, only in three-dimensional space is the development of matter to intelligent life ensured.
Further, in one of the early periods of the evolution of the Universe (t<10-4 сек.) материя представлена тяжелыми частицами и античастицами, образующими вещество и антивещество. При взаимодействии частицы с античастицей происходит их уничтожение (аннигиляция), то есть они превращаются в излучение. Если бы число частиц и античастиц оказалось бы поровну, то все вещество и антивещество аннигилировало в излучение, эволюция вещества прекратилась, а Вселенная представляла бы собой расширяющийся объем, наполненный одним излучением. Естественно, во Вселенной без вещества зарождение жизни представляется невозможным. Однако в этот период количество частиц оказалось на одну миллиардную часть больше, чем количество античастиц, и после аннигиляции этот избыток вещества обеспечил дальнейшее развитие материи вплоть до появления жизни и человека.
The end of this period (hadron era) is characterized by nuclear fusion, that is, protons (hydrogen nuclei) and neutrons (neutral particles involved in the formation of atomic nuclei) begin to form. The proton is stable, and the free neutron decays in 15 minutes. In the formation of nuclei, the accuracy of the mass difference between the neutron and the proton is very important. A decrease in this difference leads to the radioactivity of the proton and the stability of the neutron. In this case, there would be no stable hydrogen atoms in the Universe, and the world would consist mainly of helium atoms. But without hydrogen, there are neither organic molecules nor water, that is, there is no life.
In general, the composition of the matter of the Universe is extremely sensitive to changes in the masses of the proton, neutron and electron. Thus, an increase in the mass of an electron would lead to a similar effect, described above, and the predominance of helium atoms in the Universe.
The prestellar period (the era of radiation) ends with the formation of hydrogen and helium atoms, from which stars are further formed. The nuclei of other elements are synthesized in the interiors of stars as a result of nuclear reactions. These elements are distributed in the Universe during the explosion of supernovae. However, with a change in the masses of the proton, neutron and electron in any direction, the lifetime of stars would be sharply reduced. They would quickly explode, and there would not be enough time for the accumulation of vital elements (for example, carbon and oxygen).
In addition, if the weak interaction constant turned out to be greater or less than its current value, then supernovae would not explode at all, and the Universe would consist only of hydrogen and helium. Therefore, the chemical composition of the Universe, of which all nature and man consists, would not have been formed.
The chemical composition of the Universe is also very sensitive to the nuclear force constant. If the value of this parameter were less, then much less stable (non-radioactive) nuclei were formed. With a decrease in the constant by 50%, carbon and iron would turn out to be radioactive nuclei and could not participate in the formation of organic and inorganic matter, that is, life would not arise.
Thus, according to modern scientific concepts, both man and the nature surrounding him consist of "cosmic dust", which was formed under the exact parameters of physical laws. Here it is appropriate to recall the Bible text: And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground... (Genesis 2:7).
There are also strict restrictions on the human habitat in the Universe. So, if the gravitational constant were weaker, and the electromagnetic interaction constant a little stronger, then all stars would turn out to be red giants. If these parameters deviate in the other direction, that is, if gravity were stronger and electromagnetic forces weaker, all stars would become blue dwarfs. In both cases, the formation of inhabited planets would not have occurred.
This list of violations of the exact values of fundamental physical constants that prevent the emergence and development of life in the Universe can be continued almost indefinitely. It also includes: changes in the speed of light and the binding energy of the deuterium nucleus, the presence of a resonant energy level in the carbon nucleus, changes in the parameters of the Earth (distance to the Sun, position in the Galaxy, composition of the atmosphere, very narrow limits of biosphere variability, etc.) and much more other.
Thus, the scientific results have shown a striking inner harmony of nature, expressed in the numerical ratios of fundamental physical constants from different branches of physics and astronomy, which describe the structure and properties of the Universe. It turned out that only with these ratios is life possible and the appearance of an intelligent person in the Universe.
ANTROPIC COSMOLOGICAL PRINCIPLE
Too many "happy accidents", testifying to the amazing regularity and harmony of the universe, require a metaphysical explanation of the expediency of the emergence and development of the Universe. Therefore, in the second half of the 20th century, some scientists, mainly with an atheistic worldview, formulated the anthropic cosmological principle, which should connect cosmology, the properties of the Universe and the fact of the existence of a person ("observer") in it.
The use of the anthropic principle at first had a purely ideological character, in contrast to physical principles, such as Fermat's principle in optics or Pauli's principle in quantum mechanics. Hence the ambiguous attitude to the anthropic principle of both philosophers and physicists. Later, as a heuristic principle, some physicists began to use it when constructing theories of quantum cosmology.
Weak and strong anthropic principles are considered. Weak comes from the assumption of the existence of an infinite set of causally unrelated, random universes in time and space with an infinite variety of values of fundamental physical constants. Among these universes, our Universe accidentally appeared, in which the ratio of fundamental parameters allows the emergence and development of life and reason, that is, the "observer".
Thus, in the weak principle, the old atheistic concepts of multiple and random occurrences of universes with endless repetitions of their cosmological development are revived. It seems that the hypothesis of the existence of many other universes is a metaphysical speculation. Indeed, due to the causal unrelatedness of such universes, each "observer" will never know anything about other universes except his own - for him, other universes are fundamentally unobservable and, possibly, do not exist.
The strong anthropic principle states that our unique Universe, with all its exact laws and constants, must be such that at some stage of its evolution, the emergence of a reasonable person, that is, an "observer", is ensured. It is believed that quantum mechanics and quantum cosmology are meaningless without an "observer".
The emergence of anthropic principles in science testifies to attempts to answer fundamental metaphysical questions, for example, why is the Universe, its origin and evolution perfectly described by exact rational laws that ensure the emergence of life? In addition, the study of these laws gave rise to the metaphysical problem of the origin of the laws of nature and their mathematical expression. When trying to answer these questions within the framework of physics itself, the "Gödelian difficulty" arises, and only metaphysical premises allow us to somehow substantiate the internal perfection of the universe. Pantheist A. Einstein says: "I can't find a better word than "religion" to denote belief in the rational nature of reality." The Orthodox follow the Apostle Paul: By faith we know that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that out of the invisible came the visible (Heb. 11:3).
At the same time, besides the metaphysically anthropic principle, it can also be interpreted from a religious point of view. Since the evolution of the Universe is subordinated to a certain goal - the creation of a reasonable person, the Universe did not happen by chance, but its harmony and interconnectedness testifies to the Mind of the Creator. But since the laws discovered by science are not self-sufficient, a theological understanding of the evolution of the Universe and the place of man in it is also necessary.
CHRISTIAN ANTHROPOCENTRISM
The cosmological anthropic principle, postulated by scientists of the 20th century, is trying to metaphysically substantiate the laws of the evolution of the Universe, leading to the appearance of a reasonable person ("observer"). However, the concept of astronomical anthropocentrism was first formulated in the 19th century by the American biologist A. R. Wallace (one of the authors of the theory of biological evolution) and gave it a religious interpretation. But already in the Bible, an anthropology is proposed in which man occupies a central place in God's creation of the universe.
In the 1st chapter of the Book of Genesis, the creation of man is given as the completion of the creation of the universe: And God said: Let us make man in Our image, [and] after Our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, [and over the beasts, ] and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. And God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (Gen. 1:26-27). It shows that man was created after all the necessary elements and habitat had arisen. And when studying the evolution of matter in the Universe, a schematic evolutionary chain can be traced: elementary particles and radiation - protons and neutrons - nuclei of hydrogen and helium, electrons - hydrogen and helium atoms - atoms of chemical elements - molecules - plants - animals - man. Man, as in the Bible, here turns out to be the highest stage of cosmic evolution and, according to the anthropic principle, is the "observer" who is called upon to cognize the Universe.
In the biblical texts, the creation of a spiritualized person is emphasized: And the Lord God created man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7). At the same time, man is considered not only the crown of creation, but also the ruler of the Universe, that is, the Universe was created for man. The psalmist also speaks of this: When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, at the moon and stars that You have set, what is a man, that You remember him, and the son of man, that You visit him? Not much did You belittle him before the Angels: You crowned him with glory and honor; made him dominion over the works of your hands; put everything under his feet... (Ps. 8:4-7).
In addition, man was created not only as a finite and perfect being in the chain of creation, but also as an image of God, called to strive for God's likeness. Here is how St. Gregory the Theologian writes about this: “The Divine Logos took on a particle of the newly created earth, molded our body with His immortal hands and gave it life: for the spirit that He breathed into it is a stream of invisible Divinity. Thus, from mud and spirit, man was created - the image of the Immortal..." (Dogmatic Poems, 8).
The creation of man in the image of God means that he receives unique abilities that reflect the Divine properties. Since the Creator is a Personality, Wisdom and Love, these qualities are reflected in a person as a desire for freedom and knowledge, as an ability for creativity and love. "Creation in the image of God means that royalty is inherent in man from the moment of creation .... Divinity is wisdom and logos: you see in yourself the mind and thought, which are the image of the first mind and first thought ..." (St. Gregory of Nyssa. On the dispensation of man ).
Thus, man turns out to be both a product of the evolution of the Universe and a son of God. It is like a "border" between the Creator and matter. "Man was created as an animal in order to become a god," says St. Basil the Great. And G. R. Derzhavin poetically reflected this duality of man in the ode "God":
Part of the whole universe,
Delivered, it seems to me, in a venerable
In the middle of nature I am the one
Where did you end the bodily creatures,
Where did you start the spirits of heaven
And the chain of beings bound everyone by me.
I am the connection of the worlds everywhere,
I am the extreme degree of matter;
I am the center of the living
The trait of the initial Deity;
I'm rotting in the ashes,
I command the thunders with my mind,
I am a king - I am a slave - I am a worm - I am a god!
This poetic description of a man is quite consistent with the image of the "observer", for the sake of which the Universe arose and evolves, according to the anthropic cosmological principle.
From the divine abilities of man, invested in him by the Creator, duties also follow: “He who created man so that he participates in His fullness disposed of his nature in such a way that it contained the beginning of every good and that each of its abilities aroused in man a desire corresponding Divine quality" (St. Gregory of Nyssa, Great catechetical sermon, 5).
One of the divine abilities of man is his desire to know his Creator as the Creator of the Universe and as the Heavenly Father, to whose likeness he is called to strive. Christ calls: Be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48). And the first possibility of cognition of the Creator lies in the study of His creations - nature: "... We can cognize Him, firstly, contemplating the well-being of the Universe created by Him, which in some way is a reflection and likeness of His Divine prototypes ..." (Priest Martyr Dionysius Areopagite On Divine Names). God the Creator is revealed to man when studying nature in its laws: For His invisible, His eternal power and Divinity, from the creation of the world through the consideration of creations are visible ... (Rom. 1:20). Thus, nature is the "natural Revelation" of the Creator, which is known and studied by rational scientific methods. Here the person acts as an "observer" in the terminology of the anthropic principle.
The second possibility is the "supernatural Revelation" of the Creator, which is given through Tradition and Scripture. The works of the holy fathers and the Bible belong to the latter.
"Natural Revelation" testifies that the material Universe obeys certain physical laws, which are not the self-expression of matter, but are formed by the Word of God. Obviously, the creation of matter is preceded by a Divine plan, which establishes the ideal laws of nature and ensures the harmony and beauty of the universe. Therefore, we can say that nature is the material embodiment of the Creator's thought. It follows that the Universe and everything that fills it exists because there are laws of classical and quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, nuclear and molecular physics and other branches of science. At the same time, the Creator creates the Universe "out of nothing": 1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2. It was in the beginning with God. 3. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that came into being (John 1:1-3). One of the greatest miracles of Divine natural revelation, together with the Incarnation, is the creation "out of nothing."
Man, despite many Divine abilities, does not create the laws of nature and therefore is not able to create "out of nothing". He only discovers them by exploring nature, and his work is mainly associated with the knowledge of matter and with the alteration of its forms. A scientist with a religious outlook considers the laws of nature to be a grain of the divine Mind, and nature itself to be a "natural revelation" of the Creator. Such a scientist acts both as an "observer", according to the anthropic principle, and as a "theologian" of nature. The study of "natural revelation" and its comparison with supernatural revelation allows such a scientist to build a Christian metaphysics in which the central place is given to God the Creator.
CONCLUSION
Thus, when comparing Christian anthropocentrism with a strong anthropic cosmological principle, in both concepts we find a person for whose sake the Universe and its matter are created and develop. In addition, in both concepts, a person is called upon to cognize nature, that is, the Universe. But in Christian anthropology, such knowledge implies the discovery of the Creator through His creations and the veneration of Him as one's prototype. In the anthropic principle, a person acts only as a scientist ("observer"), for the appearance of which the matter of the Universe accidentally evolved using the exact laws of nature. It remains a mystery here how an "observer" that appeared after 15 billion years could influence the already formed Universe, if the very emergence of the Universe is declared a random act. In this metaphysical interpretation, the anthropic principle contains a rather unfortunate alternative to Divine design and creation.
On the other hand, the experimental and theoretical results of astrophysics, cosmology, elementary particle physics and other disciplines can be considered as clear evidence of the creative selection of the fundamental parameters of matter, performed by the Creator when creating the Universe. Together with the creation of the Universe, this selection ensured the emergence and development of highly organized living matter and man, who, having created science, discovered the thought of the all-wise Creator in creation. This interpretation of the strong anthropic principle coincides with Christian anthropocentrism in terms of the relationship between man and nature, leaving aside other vocations of man as a Christian. For the heavens proclaim the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the works of His hands (Ps. 18:2).
Naturally, the indicated commonality of the anthropic principle and Christian anthropocentrism contradicts the concept of the so-called "creationism", which rejects the evolution of the matter of the Universe and postulates the Creator's non-interference in the created nature, to which the corporeal person also belongs. Meanwhile, the anthropic principle testifies to the exact parameters that led in the process of evolution to the formation of matter, from which both the habitat and the corporeal man himself are created. Christian anthropocentrism additionally insists on creation and its spiritual essence, which ensures the completeness and integrity of the human personality. So, "The Great Architect of the universe conceived and created a being endowed with two natures - visible and invisible. God created man, creating his body from the previous matter, animated by His own spirit ... Thus, a new cosmos was born in a certain way, large and small at the same time. .. an animal going to another homeland and - the crown of the sacrament - likened to God by the simple acceptance of the Divine will" (St. Gregory the Theologian, Word 45, on Easter).
Finally, the appearance of the anthropic principle indicates the unconscious desire of some scientists to know the Divine Wisdom, which "... we can achieve, as was said, by investigating everything that exists, for Wisdom, according to the Scriptures, is the organizer of the Universe, from the ages creating everything that exists , as well as the Cause of indestructible order and harmony throughout the world ... "(The Hieromartyr Dionysius the Areopagite. On Divine Names).
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