Contributions of Bruno As much as Bruno might be considered an oddity to our modernized conception of an academic, nonetheless, his great achievements towards freedom of speech, astronomy, and philosophy of science were of enormous impact and helped shift the history of science as we know it. If we are to commend Bruno for anything, we must commend him for his belief in the freedom of speech. H. James Birx has noted that “Bruno's iconoclastic ideas and unorthodox perspectives remain a symbol of creative thought and free inquiry”, and even up to the present time Bruno is considered one of the great champions of the freedom of speech. Not only did Bruno hold unorthodox views at the risk of Catholic inquisition, but what is most striking is that he spoke of them. Bruno could not tolerate the epistemological choke-hold that Catholicism had put people into; he likewise could not stand the Aristotelian and scholastic intellectual aristocracy that was not open to new discovery and which shunned all forms of perceived dissent. This distaste for Catholic fundamentalism became a tradition of its own, with men like Hume and Voltaire as its champions.
Not only did Bruno contribute to the eventual downfall of dogmatism with the arrival of free thought and toleration, he also supplied the necessary impetus for philosophy of science to take flight. What Bruno is mainly noted for in philosophy is his theory of infinite universes. “The whole of Bruno’s philosophy”, Dorothea Singer goes as far to say, “is based on his view of an infinite universe with an infinity of worlds”; this may seem like an overtly strong reduction, but upon reading his works one finds this theory to be of central significance. What Bruno gave philosophy of science was a daring cosmology that reinterpreted Copernican theory, adding onto it Lucretius’ arguments and Nicholas of Cusa’s metaphysics, which produced a new and dazzling system altogether. Even if one disagrees with Bruno’s theories altogether, even still, that person must appreciate the pioneering work of Bruno which eventually opened up new avenues of thought and slowly decayed the iron wall of scholasticism.
Lastly, one of the great contributions, and the one to which this paper mainly focuses on, is Bruno’s influence on Hermeticism. With the revival of Hermeticism and Occult philosophy, specifically by Henry Agrippa’s voluminous writings and Marsilio Ficino’s Latin translation of the Hermetica, Bruno was able to synthesize, formulate, and promote what may be considered a highly Hermetic worldview. Bruno’s insistence that humanity must rise to divinity, that God and the cosmos are ontologically connected, and that knowledge of one’s nature and the world produces psychic salvation, leave Bruno categorized as the epitome of a Hermetic Renaissance thinker. Bruno, as this epitome, was able to synthesize ancient Hermetic philosophy, Neo-Platonism, Occult, and Renaissance science into an all encompassing hybrid worldview which proceeded to influence his intellectual progeny.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it has been shown how the theology of the Hermetica influenced Giordano Bruno, yet there is another part to this story. The question now remains as towards the Hermetica and Bruno’s influence in contemporary Hermetic philosophies. What can be noted here is the great weight that the Hermetica and Bruno’s works have had on intellectual history from the Renaissance to the contemporary philosophical landscape. They continue the long tradition which urges humanity towards progress, both spiritual and scientific, with the hope that someday discovery will take us to the place we ultimately desire. The erection of Bruno’s memorial statue in the same location where he was executed by the inquisition reminds us of more than his place in Renaissance history; it speaks of his continuing influence up to the present.
