Stanislav Orikhovsky on the ideal form of state government

Abstract

The article focuses on the fact that one of the first, in the national Renaissance philosophical thought, who considered the issue of the ideal form of government was Stanislav Orikhovsky. In works of a socio-political nature, he devoted a lot of space to the problems of the state: its essence, the origin of state power, forms of government, the structure of society, relations between the state and the church. The ruler, in his opinion, should be Enlightened monarch, "philosopher on the throne", who cares about the "common good", peace and harmony in the state, observes laws, natural law, is just, brave, courageous, protects subjects and borders from external and internal enemies, cares about the education and upbringing of his people. Attention is also drawn to the fact that, developing his theory of the state, S. Orikhovsky thoroughly studied the theoretical heritage of not only ancient thinkers – Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, but also Thomas Aquinas, Augustine, Erasmus of Rotterdam. But he used their ideas creatively, critically. Orikhovsky's views on the essence of the state, its tasks and internal structure are the pinnacle of the socio-political doctrine of the thinker. Orikhovsky presented his recommendations on the better ordering of the state system in a separate treatise entitled "Dialogue on the execution of Polish states", which cites a number of duties not only of citizens to the state, but also vice versa – of the state to citizens. In his concept of the state, S. Orikhovsky defended the need to protect the interests of wide social strata. It was found out that Orikhovsky developed his theory of the state, moreover, thanks to the introduction to scientific circulation and analysis of foreign-language primary sources, this study deepens the understanding of the development of domestic philosophical and political thought and refutes a number of stereotypes in their interpretation.