Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the philosophical and worldview foundations underlying the emergence of early modern science. The problem of the genesis of modern natural science is examined within the context of the debate between the technoscientific interpretation of the origin of science and approaches that associate the Scientific Revolution of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries with profound intellectual and spiritual transformations in European culture. Particular attention is paid to the mathematization of nature as a defining feature of the new form of scientific rationality. It is argued that the application of mathematics to the description of physical processes was not a self-evident consequence of practical activity or empirical development, but rather resulted from overcoming the ancient natural-philosophical tradition grounded in the conception of a heterogeneous cosmos and the fundamental distinction between the celestial and terrestrial realms.

The paper analyses the interpretations proposed by A. Koyré and P. P. Gaidenko, which emphasise the importance of philosophical and theological preconditions of the Scientific Revolution. The study substantiates the thesis concerning the significant role of Christian Platonism, particularly the doctrines of Creation and Incarnation, in shaping the conception of nature as rationally ordered and cognitively accessible. The influence of the Hermetic tradition of the Renaissance is also considered, as it simultaneously stimulated interest in nature while preserving elements of cosmological dualism. The article concludes that the formation of early modern science was the result of a complex interaction between ancient philosophical heritage, Christian theology, and new methodological orientations that ultimately led to the establishment of a mathematised conception of the world.

Keywords:Scientific Revolution, genesis of science, mathematization of nature, Christian Platonism, Galileo Galilei, philosophy of science, Hermeticism.