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European Journal of Research www.journalofresearch.de ¹ 5-6 2018 [email protected]

SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES

Manuscript info: Received May 16, 2018., Accepted June 21, 2018., Published June 30, 2018.

FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF IDEAS OF HERMETICISM, WHICH INFLUENCED PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE PRESENT Toshov Khurshid Ilkhomovich, Doctoral candidate of the National University Of Uzbekistan named after MirzoUlugbek [email protected] http://dx.doi.org/10.26739/2521-3253-2018-6-8

Abstract: This article analyzes the problem of the formation and development of ideas of hermeticism from the time of antiquity, including the , and Enlightenment. It will be considered that Hermeticism is a unique teaching that influenced many philosophical and natural scientific teachings of the designated periods. Key words: Hermeticism, the Renaissance, the paradigm, , , creationism, , , occultism, science, man-.

Recommended citation: Toshov Khurshid Ilkhomovich, Formation and development of ideas of HERMETICISM, which influenced philosophical thought from antiquity to the present. 5-6 European Journal of Research P. 63-70 (2018).

As is known, the processes of formation and development of ideas of hermeticism in different periods of the development of philosophical thinking have been studied for various purposes and from different perspectives. Studies aimed at studying the history of the ideas of hermeticism, in particular their genesis, depending on the goals outlined in them, can be divided into three areas: - Reconstructive; - Argumentative; - Scientific research. In the studies of the reconstructive trend, the main goal is to search for texts and fragments that perform the functions of primary sources for the of Hermeticism, their reconstruction, formulating their comments to them, and publishing them as a single work. In the studies of the argumentative direction, the ideas of Hermeticism are studied as a necessary argument in proving the truth of a certain doctrine. In such works, not limited to the citation of the ideas of hermetism, their genesis and essence are analyzed from the position of the intended goals.

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In the studies of the purely scientific direction, the ideas of hermeticism are considered as the subject of scientific research. The periods of the emergence and development of hermetic doctrine cannot be clearly indicated from the chronological point of view[1]. It can be noted that in the studies devoted to this problem in various fields of social and human sciences the essence and genesis of the ideas of hermeticism were analyzed unilaterally, confining themselves to this issue only within the framework of their subject matter. For example, in textological studies aimed at studying hermetism, the goal is only to determine the period to which the source or text belongs. In many other studies, where the essence and genesis of the ideas of hermeticism were analyzed, they are also investigated precisely from the point of view of the propagation of this current in a certain period or in a certain territory, or in the context of the influence of these ideas on a special social phenomenon, on the views of a concrete thinker. Questions concerning the ideas of hermeticism can also be viewed from the standpoint of investigating the influence of a particular doctrine or a specific social phenomenon on the processes of formation of this current. . This, naturally, does not allow us to investigate the processes of the formation of ideas of hermeticism as a single phenomenon. As a result, there is a variety of interpretations related to the precise definition of the essence and genesis of Hermetic ideas. And this, in turn, contributes to the fact that the problem is still complex and contradictory, and prevents it from obtaining a relatively unambiguous decision. If we consider the processes of formation of this current as a single phenomenon, it will become possible to form a coherent, unambiguous and more or less concrete conception concerning the essence and genesis of Hermetic ideas. Of course, for this it is necessary to consider the processes of forming the ideas of hermeticism as an object of historical and philosophical research. Naturally, this approach is also not devoid of inherent controversial aspects, because: 1. As stated above, the processes of forming the ideas of hermeticism are determined for a very long time. It covers even unique stages in the development of general philosophical thought and doctrines that occurred during the period of primitive history, the period of ancient history, the period of the European Renaissance, and the period of new and modern history. 2. The ideas of Hermeticism interacted and influenced the ideas that arose in the thinking of local civilizations of the West and the East[2] as a result of the fact that they were transformed not only into the philosophical thinking of the West, but also into philosophical doctrines in the countries

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64 European Journal of Research www.journalofresearch.de ¹ 5-6 2018 [email protected] of the East. In other words, the territorial scope of the ideas of hermeticism is also very broad; according to this the range of influence of the ideas to which they were subjected is also very great. However, in spite of this, when analyzing the processes of forming the ideas of hermeticism in the context of the transformation of ideas, it will be possible, even relatively, to single out the individual stages of their formation, and to consider in general the processes of the formation of these ideas. Of course, with the proposed approach, in addition to the above- mentioned problems, a number of problems are clearly evident too, due to the fact that very few primary sources have reached the present day, with no information as to who and when the sources that came to us were created, and besides In addition, the lack of logical linkage in the content of these sources, and even in some dialogues in the "Hermetic Corps" (the presence of mutually contradictory parts in the same text in the dialogue "Asklepios")[3]. Considering the genesis of the ideas of hermeticism as a subject of historical and philosophical studies, it is from the point of view of this problem that it is expedient to use the term "formation" instead of the previously used term "occurrence", because: 1. In connection with the fact that the ideas of hermeticism were completely detached from their ancient roots stretching to the civilization of Ancient Egypt, and were adjusted to the paradigm of ancient Greek thinking, it is almost impossible to specify the date of their origin. 2. The ideas of Hermeticism were influenced by a multitude of doctrines, and vice versa, also had a great influence on the formation of various philosophical teachings. In this sense, the ideas of Hermeticism have demonstrated the property of constant dynamic development, more precisely, of formation. 3. According to the proposed approach, hermeticism is considered as a single doctrinal structure, and, relying on the classification of traditional division into periods in the history of philosophy, it is possible to determine the paradigm of the thinking of what period (for example, the period of antiquity and the period of the ), elements in their composition that prevailed prevailed in the formation of hermeticism as a concrete philosophical teaching. This will make it possible to put forward a valid hypothesis about the period during which, or within a range of what periods, hermetism was formed as a special teaching. Considering from the point of view of the transformation of ideas in the historical and philosophical aspect, one can see that the processes of the formation of Hermetic ideas as concrete teachings occurred on the basis of certain regularities. More precisely, the ideas of hermetism in the process

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65 European Journal of Research www.journalofresearch.de ¹ 5-6 2018 [email protected] of its formation served as a transformer of ideas during the periods of the paradigm shift of philosophical thinking. The processes of the formation of Hermetic ideas during the change of the paradigm of philosophical thinking served as a transitional paradigm, as a result of which the ideas of hermeticism as a given transitional paradigm, on the one hand, created a favorable ideological environment for the penetration of elements of the new paradigm into the public consciousness, , and on the other hand, ensured the successful transformation of elements of the old paradigm into the public consciousness, emerging on the basis of a new paradigm. Depending on the periods of manifestation of this pattern, the processes of forming the ideas of hermetism can be conditionally divided into three stages: 1. The period when the polytheistic paradigm of ancient thinking began to degenerate, and the monotheistic paradigm of the Middle Ages began (III century BC-III century AD); 2. The Renaissance period, when the theological paradigm of the Middle Ages began to degenerate and the paradigm of mathematical-natural-science thinking of the new period of history (XV-XVII century) began to emerge; 3. The period when the paradigm of rationalistic in the period of European enlightenment began to degenerate, and an antiscytic principle alternative to the scientistic principle formed under the influence of the above paradigm (the end of the nineteenth century and the first half of the 20th century) began to form. At the first stage of the processes of formation and development of the ideas of hermeticism as a special philosophical doctrine embracing historical reality in the range of the III century. BC. - III century. AD, there was a paradigm shift of the polytheistic philosophical thinking of the ancient period to the paradigm of the monotheistic philosophical thinking of the Middle Ages. At this stage, the ideas of hermeticism in a syncretic manner reflected the elements of paganism and the Christian , and served as a transitional paradigm between the two paradigms of philosophical thinking. More precisely, if we consider the ideas of hermeticism developed at this initial stage as a single doctrinal structure, one can see in their elements, manifested as its main ideas, the mutual syncretic unity of the elements of the paradigms of the philosophical thinking of antiquity and the Middle Ages. This approach allows us to consider the ideas of Hermeticism at the considered stage as a transitional paradigm between the paradigms of the philosophical thinking of antiquity and the Middle Ages, in other words, the transitional paradigm expressing the processes of ideological struggle between paganism and Christianity, as well as fulfilling the functions of ideological adaptation of public consciousness in the course of the processes of changing these paradigms.

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All this can be seen by determining which elements of the paradigm of philosophical thinking dominated as the following main ideas of the Hermetic doctrine that was formed during the III century. BC. - III century. AD: 1. Syncretic manifestations of naturalistic and personalism; 2. Syncretic manifestations of elements in paganism and Christianity in the concept of a man-god; 3. The primary origin of the eschatological principle with respect to the end of history, and the syncretic manifestations of the elements of paganism and Christianity in it. Thus, hermeticism in the period of transition from ancient thinking to medieval thinking, or the replacement of the pagan paradigm by the paradigm of Christianity: 1. Realized the transition from pantheistic emanatism to dualistic creationism; 2. Created a basis in degenerating ancient thinking for introducing into widespread use and easier perception of the idea of a man-god that arose in Christianity, and did not exist in the ancient thinking (or paradigm of paganism); 3. Created a favorable ideological environment for the processes of changing ideas about the cyclical development of the world in ancient thinking by eschatological principles. 4. On the other hand, he led to the joint existence of the two above- mentioned phenomena with Christian , and the subsequent formation of alternative scientific and philosophical ideas of the Renaissance and a period of new history competing with it. As was mentioned above, the second stage of the processes of forming the ideas of hermetism as a special teaching occurs in the 15th-17th centuries. At this stage the ideas of hermeticism fulfilled the functions of the transitional paradigm in the process of transforming the paradigm of the Christian philosophical thinking of the Middle Ages into the paradigm of the experimental-mathematical philosophical thinking of the period of the new history. The second stage lasted from the period of the Renaissance to the beginning of the period of the new history, right up to the era of enlightenment. During the Renaissance, there was a very great interest in hermetic literature. In particular, after the translation into and the publication of the Hermetic Corpus by M. Ficino, the ideas of hermeticism acquired an increasingly significant influence. Hermeticism in the Renaissance acquired such authority that it began to seriously threaten the very unity of the Christian religion. Despite the fact that in 1614 Isaac Kazabon established that hermetic texts were written not by Egyptian priests, but by

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67 European Journal of Research www.journalofresearch.de ¹ 5-6 2018 [email protected] the authors of the Christian period, in Western culture the warm attitude to hermeticism remained, as in the Renaissance, and it became the foundation for its subsequent development . In short, we can identify the following conclusions: 1. The naturalistic nature of hermeticism served to create the pantheism of the Renaissance period. This, in turn, can be regarded as a kind of attempt aimed at limiting the dominion of church ideology. More specifically, this phenomenon has given impetus to the process of secularization. As a result, this led to the formation of the principle of deism, aimed at limiting the socially-regulative function of God (more precisely, the church). 2. The idea of the god-man existing in the Hermetic identified in the naturalistic spirit the church, the devil, evil spirits, and opened the way to the study of nature, a comprehensive study of which was forbidden. In addition, the association with hermeticism in such areas as and also created a basis for the development of this process (research of nature, or, more accurately, of natural-science knowledge). 3. Hermeticism created favorable conditions from the ideological point of view for the emergence of practices associated with the , and also considered to be related to Egyptian magic (although the views in this area are contradictory), educational trends and teachings, such as the Rosicrucians. Hermeticism as a counterculture, formed during the period of modern history, supplanted the Christian doctrine, and manifested itself as an alternative to a culture applying a mechanistic approach to man and the world. Thus, during the Renaissance, hermetism served as a transitional paradigm, creating favorable conditions for coordinating and mutually adapting the paradigms that existed in the early Middle Ages, and the emergence of a new paradigm in place of the old paradigm:A) The principle of naturalistic personalism in the Hermetism served as a bridge for transition from creationism to the principle of humanistic pantheism during the Renaissance. B) The idea of a god-man in a pagan form, giving rise to doubts about the idea of mediating the church between man and God, gradually created the possibility of its denial. This can be expressed more simply by the formula: from creationism to pantheism, from pantheism to deism, from deism to . C) The influence of such sciences as , magic, , and Kabbalah, synthesized long ago, on the in the period of modern history-the sharp acceleration of the development of natural scientific fields of knowledge, in particular, opened the way for the emergence of heliocentric theory and the inductive method Bacon, as well as to criticize the deduction of Aristotle, which is the methodological basic church philosophy.

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D) Hermeticism, which caused the emergence of such secret esoteric societies as theRosicrucians, also led to the formation of science as a social institution among them. This can be seen in the draft of the sciences, formulated in the works "New Atlantis" and "On the Dignity and augmentation of Sciences" by F. Bacon, who was considered to be directly related to the Rosicrucian society. In other words, large-scale studies of Hermetic doctrine during the Renaissance and the ideological consequences that they entailed have created a theoretical and ideological basis for the secularization process. 4. During this period, defined between the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, and proposed as the third stage of the formation of Hermetic ideas as a concrete philosophical teaching, this current gave impetus to the formation of an antispecistic tradition, an alternative to the scientistic tradition created by him in the period Revival and based on such principles as mechanistic natural science, humanistic enlightenment, a one-sided in rationalism. During this period, the ideas of European enlightenment began to degenerate, in particular, its principles aimed at the absoluteization of man's intellectual capabilities. The interest in the field of hermeticism, associated with occult practices, involving an appeal to the human psyche and , has intensified. Created by Goethe in the XVIII century, the image of Faust was formed under the influence of the ideas of Hermeticism, later it developed also in the works of Thomas Mann and H. Hesse. In addition, the ideas of Hermeticism, associated with occult practices and providing for the spiritual perfection of man, have formed magical theatrical traditions in literature and art. In the works of Thomas Mann, H. Hesse, W. Joyce, magical theatrical traditions were manifested as a symbol of the inner spiritual world of man, or more precisely, the subconscious analysis of man. Also, in the emergence of the concept of archetype in the views of CG Jung, one also senses the direct influence of hermeticism. The concept of the "man-god" that emerged during the transition from the late antique period to the Middle Ages and developed during the Renaissance in hermeticism is manifested in the creativity of the above writers as the idea of an "ideal person". In particular, in the work The Deserted Wolf, G. Hesse, who demonstrated in the revised form the views of writers such as Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, this idea is manifested by the synthesis of the concept of K. Jung's archetype. At the first stage of the formation of ideas of hermeticism, the concept of "God-man" expressed the idea that along with the perfect divine substance in itself, the physical instinctive side is also an integral part of the human nature. In the work of H. Hesse this concept is manifested, firstly, in the form of an "ideal person", reflecting the subconscious and instinctive aspects of

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69 European Journal of Research www.journalofresearch.de ¹ 5-6 2018 [email protected] a person, and secondly, as a symbol of a spiritual phenomenon that provides for the joint existence of an elite and mass culture. In addition, one can also notice the influence of the ideas of hermeticism in the views of a number of representatives of science in the fields of chemistry and medicine, such as those working in the twentieth century F. Farr, R.A. Waite, W.A. Ayton, J.S. Zhones, J. Baker, A. Bennet, on the alchemical element, which is an integral part of hermetism.

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