The radical socio-cultural transformations that take place around the world have led to a depreciation of those social standards that ensure the welfare of an industrial society, leading to the emergence of a new social program. The latter should become the conceptual basis of modern pedagogical strategies, since the primary responsibility for providing man with the knowledge and competences necessary in the new socio-cultural conditions is put on them. Meanwhile, in today’s Ukrainian society, the reform of pedagogical strategies, as well as socio-cultural transformations, is perceived extremely ambiguously. According to media reports, a significant part of society is very concerned about the innovations that are taking place in the field of education, seeing them at risk of reducing education, which will necessitate an increase in social inequality and, accordingly, injustice and discrimination.Awareness of the irreversibility of the changes that take place in the modern society, and with it, the increase in the level of tolerance to changes, is possible only if in the public consciousness there will be a clear understanding of the historical nature of those concepts and social programs that determine the life of each particular person and the society as a whole. This, in its turn, actualizes the rethinking of those social programs that determined the life of society in different historical periods. Far from the last place in the context of such research belongs to the social program of the Renaissance, because, on the one hand, it is from this time that researchers have usually deduced the origins of the present, and on the other hand, this era, as well as our present, is marked by significant sociocultural and ideological transformations, and therefore understanding the processes that initiated the Renaissance can contribute to a better understanding of the changes in our days.Understanding the basic ideas of Renaissance humanism has repeatedly become the subject of scientific research by various researchers who have tried to form a general image and aspiration of thinkers of this age. In this context, it is appropriate to mention the works by S. Averintsev, L. Batkin, P. Bicilli, O. Horfunkel, I. Hoian, M. Hukovskyi, M. Doichyk, E. Cassirer, O. Losev, S. Storozhuk, J. Huizinga, O. Fedyk and other researchers who have enriched the modern vision of the achievements of this historical and philosophical period in the theoretical and methodological plan.The extraordinary attention of Ukrainian and foreign researchers to the intellectual achievements of the Renaissance period would seem to be accompanied by a lack of works, which reveals the peculiarity of the social program initiated by humanists. In between, in our opinion, it is the latter that makes it possible to understand the role, place and purpose of a person in the world. On the other hand, this approach makes it possible to realize the value of this program from the perspective of the present. After all, as a result of the turbulent socio-cultural, ideological and economic transformations of the Renaissance, the formation of a new type of man – the owner of a life independent of tradition and class which is self-determined only through his own activity. A world-view precondition for the formation of a new social program was a rethinking of Christian dogma, which contributed to the interpretation of man as the bearer of divine potentials, which he must realize in earthly life. Active participation in civil and social life was accompanied by the intention to liberate people from pre-determined classes of privileges, but without a constructive program of human development that, in its turn, has led to a person’s disorientation in the sociocultural space.Despite the fact that the social program of the Renaissance laid the foundations for the formation of a new image of man, at that time man did not turn into an autonomous social subject, nor to a person, both from objective and subjective reasons namely: the lack of modern democracy did not make it possible to realize the natural equality and uniqueness of all people, as a result of which man remained dependent on predetermined social factors. On the other hand, the unprecedented activity of the man of the Renaissance was combined with the lack of a constructive program of individual and social development, which has led to a significant disorientation of man in the world. In other words, activity that does not provide for a clearly defined goal should not be seen as a positive sociocultural phenomenon.
Under the Sign of Finitude: Social Philosophy as Empirical Philosophy
