Modern philosophy is based on concepts that have been formed over several millennia. There is no doubt that some of them were recognized archaic and ceased to be used in science in relation to phenomena. Others have undergone changes and rethinking, again entering the philosophical vocabulary.
Universum in History
Undoubtedly, mankind from ancient times pondered the questions of the causality of being, the finiteness and the creatureliness of matter. Despite the technical underdevelopment, ancient thinkers were able to comprehend speculatively the infinity of the universe and the limitations of human nature.
The philosophical vocabulary includes a variety of terms, which in different historical eras had different meanings. The concept of the universe was perceived differently. Of course, such an interpretation depended on the thinker and the place of application of the term in a philosophical concept.
Ancient atomists believed that the universe is a series of worlds that arise and collapse in the process of constant movement. Socrates held similar views. Plato, in contrast to atomists, suggested that the universe is a world of ideas that can be identified with the real world. There was also such a founder of modern science as Leibniz. He suggested that the universe is a multiplicity of worlds, among which only one is real and identified with our world.
Universum in modern philosophy
At the moment, a stable definition has formed in philosophy, which gives the following interpretation: the universe is a concept that designates all reality with its inherent attributes, time and space. It is the ratio of all the above attributes that makes it possible to assert with certainty about the existence of reality, but here the main question lies. What is reality and how subjective is it? Is objective reality possible?
Perhaps the manifestation of the “I” in the world has nothing to do with the Universe, but is exclusively a set of instincts in relation to other realities that individuals have to face.
Concept problem
The concept of "universe" in modern philosophy has several interpretations. This trend is directly related to the scope of this term. The materialist perceives the concept of “universe” as an absolute unity of the Universe and the microcosm, without drawing a definite distinction between these two.
The realist, most likely, will assume that this term can be used only when describing the process of contact of one's “I” and the Universe. As a result of this, certain consequences arise.
The theologian perceives this term only as the creature of the universe. That is, God, who is outside of time, creates the attributes of the universe - time, matter, space. The only thing that unites all representatives of philosophy is the perception of the concept of the “universe” as something close to the concepts of the Universe, the world, the cosmos, and being.
Anthropology and the Universe
In the view of philosophers, both ancient and modern, man is a creature that combines the particles of macrocosmos and microcosmos. Undoubtedly, man is a perfect being who possesses the theoretical integrity of his being. There are various ways to explain that human nature is disturbed. Even now, the individual is incapable of creating the integrity of his inner world, which is often torn from the contradictions in the nature of the individual.
The concept of the universe and man implies a state of integrity, the manifestation of one’s being in reality, the actualization of one’s “I” in potential infinity.
World and Universe
The term “world” is a fundamental philosophical concept that has fairly broad boundaries. Depending on the philosophical concept, it sometimes has completely opposite meanings. For example, consider the concept of atheism and the religious picture of the creation of the world.
The concept of "peace" is used to describe two completely opposite phenomena in reality. The creation of reality is an act of a higher consciousness that has reason and will, while the process of emergence and development is a natural process, coupled more with a happy accident.
There is an obvious difficulty in comparing the term “world” and the concept of “universe”, which has various interpretations depending on the semantic load that is put in by the philosopher.
Therefore, the most real way of contacting the concepts of “world”, “universe” is the possibility of identifying the Universe with the multiplicity of worlds that arise due to the existence of a variety of individuals. It is the multiplicity of individuals that gives rise to the multiplicity of worlds, which, based on subjective manifestation, form a multiplicity in relation to one reality.
Center of the Universe
The multiplicity of worlds arises due to the possibility of correlation of reality with the subjective worldview of an individual. The universe, in contact with a finite number of individual subjects, leads to the emergence of various relations with objective reality, forming a certain finite number of realities. If we assume that the center of the universe is attached to objective reality and arises from the interaction of the macrocosm and the microcosm, then it is indisputable that it is possible only when a person misses the existing reality and then gives out the changed into the macrocosm. It is worth talking about a kind of synergy between man and the universe.
