Materializmas ir infantilizmas: baroko diskursų formacijos
Materialism and Infantilism: Formations of the Baroque Discourses

Summary/Abstract: The Baroque is often treated as the era of the return of materialism. Pleats, textures, naturalism, atomism were widespread in philosophy, science, architecture, literature and other spheres. However, there were also sharp critical discourses. In this article, we focus on two edges of materialism – its relation to religious consciousness, on the one hand, and its relation to childhood or infantilism, on the other. According to the Italian philosopher Giambattista Vico, materialism is the way of thinking which is useful “for the children’s narrow minds”. In this research, we are examining different hypotheses related to materialism and atomism (which were treated as representing the irreligious attitude or even atheism) in their connections to childishness or playfulness, which were also thought of as separated from religious consciousness. This problem is analysed in three chapters which are related to the main features of materialism and infantilism. In the first chapter, the meaning and criticism of sensuality is analysed. Vico and other critics of materialism considered autopsy as disbelief, the atheistic position. At the same time, we point out that the position of materialists was not unambigiuos. What is more, sensuality was positively treated in some religious practices, too. In this way, the boundary between the materialists and their critics is no longer obvious as it seemed to be from the first sight. We show that the question of historicity, is also ambivalent. Not all materialists were skeptical about historic texts. In the works of Vico history was an integral part of ontology. At the same time it was the past stage of which it was needed to “grow up”. So, in this research, we make a distinction between two different concepts of childhood. The first one was treated positively and was organically linked to religious thinking. The second, which we have called infantilism, was negative, marked by the lack of thought and was opposed to the 141MATERIALIZMAS IR INFANTILIZMAS: BAROKO DISKURSŲ FORMACIJOS religious attitude. Vico searched for a new level of thinking when philosophy and religion would be separated from infantilism and materialism. In the last chapter, the problem of symbolism is touched upon and a paradoxical way of thinking is discussed. By trying to find a middle course between materialistic and theological language, Vico created a conscious philosophical symbolism and became very close to materialism himself. We draw a conclusion that Vico’s critical discourse was more typical than exceptional to the Baroque period, when infantilistic and religious consciousness were separated and appeared in tension with each other.

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