Nicholas of Cusa’s Rationalistic Project: the Concept of Mind in Idiota De Mente: The Layman, About Mind

The paper analyses Idiota de Mente and formulates the concept of the mind. In Idiota de Mente Nicholas of Cusa outlined the rationalistic views of the world order, believing the eternal and infinite mind to be the origin of creation. The article shows Nicholas of Cusa’s realistic assessment of the role and place of a person in the creation and structure of the philosophical system; the priority of the Aristotelian tradition over the Platonic tradition in the essay; and the fact of referring to natural-science knowledge (to «physics») when explaining perceptions. The obtained results alternatively supplement the generally accepted notions of the philosopher's adherence to Neoplatonism and pantheism. The author makes a conclusion about the productiveness of the ideas presented in Idiota de Mente for modern philosophy and psychology, as well as for modeling of thought in the area of computer technologies.