Plato and the Revolution of the Modern Paradigm of Science

Abstract

The greatest coup that European science has experienced in its histo-ry took place in the Renaissance. It is common knowledge that at that time there was a revival of ideological paradigms which were formed in Antiquity. However, the application of this statement to the realm of philosophy requires clarification. The late Middle Ages was influenced by the philosophy of Aristo-tle, who was also an ancient philosopher. Therefore, on the eve of the Renais-sance, Antiquity was not forgotten. In the Renaissance, the philosophy of Plato was revived, and in the late Middle Ages, it was displaced by the philosophy of Aristotle. The philosophy of Plato became the foundation for the formation of the paradigm of modern science. The purpose of this study is to reveal which segments of Plato’s philosophy gave impetus to the development of science, and to prove that Plato influenced the development of science by three theses: 1) the theory is higher and more important than experience, as the world of ideas is higher and more important than the material world; 2) cognition of the world is impossible without the application of mathematical categories; 3) ex-perience is necessary for cognition, but it is completely subordinated to the theory.