return to list of latest ideas

Single Idea 24348

[catalogued under 22. Metaethics / B. Value / 1. Nature of Value / f. Ultimate value]

Full Idea

[For Spinoza] nothing has value when compared to the value of clear inference. All other values are merely the consequence of unclear thought.

Gist of Idea

Spinoza's supreme value is clear thought, to which other values are subservient

Source

report of Baruch de Spinoza (The Ethics [1675]) by Friedrich Nietzsche - Fragments from 1886-87 (v 17) 7[02]

A Reaction

Spinoza certainly embodies the Enlightenment respect for reason. What if clear inference suggested that there are no values, or that lives go better if we are irrational? I see little connection between reason and value. Values label what is important.

Book Reference

Nietzsche,Friedrich: 'Fragments from 1886-87 (v 17)', ed/tr. Leiner, George H. [Stanford 2025], p.72