Ideas of Baruch de Spinoza, by Theme

[Dutch, 1632 - 1677, Born Amsterdam. Expelled from Amsterdam Jewish community for blasphemy. A lens grinder in the Hague, where he died.]

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1. Philosophy / A. Wisdom / 1. Nature of Wisdom
21875 The wisdom of a free man is a meditation on life, not on death
17230 If we are not wholly wise, we should live by good rules and maxims
1. Philosophy / F. Analytic Philosophy / 5. Linguistic Analysis
17200 We must be careful to keep words distinct from ideas and images
2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 3. Pure Reason
4840 Reason perceives things under a certain form of eternity
17194 Reason only explains what is universal, so it is timeless, under a certain form of eternity
2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 4. Aims of Reason
19917 Without reason and human help, human life is misery
17213 In so far as men live according to reason, they will agree with one another
2. Reason / B. Laws of Thought / 2. Sufficient Reason
4819 There is necessarily for each existent thing a cause why it should exist
2. Reason / D. Definition / 2. Aims of Definition
16541 All the intrinsic properties of a thing should be deducible from its definition
3. Truth / A. Truth Problems / 1. Truth
21864 Truth is its own standard
3. Truth / A. Truth Problems / 3. Value of Truth
8018 Spinoza's life shows that love of truth which he proclaims as the highest value [MacIntyre]
3. Truth / A. Truth Problems / 8. Subjective Truth
5641 For Spinoza, 'adequacy' is the intrinsic mark of truth [Scruton]
3. Truth / C. Correspondence Truth / 1. Correspondence Truth
4816 A true idea must correspond with its ideate or object
5. Theory of Logic / B. Logical Consequence / 5. Modus Ponens
20309 If our ideas are adequate, what follows from them is also adequate
6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 1. Mathematics
17185 Mathematics deals with the essences and properties of forms
6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 2. Geometry
17222 The sum of its angles follows from a triangle's nature
17197 The idea of a triangle involves truths about it, so those are part of its essence
7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 2. Types of Existence
17176 The more reality a thing has, the more attributes it has
17174 Outside the mind, there are just things and their properties
7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 5. Reason for Existence
17179 There must always be a reason or cause why some triangle does or does not exist
7. Existence / C. Structure of Existence / 1. Grounding / a. Nature of grounding
17186 Men say they prefer order, not realising that we imagine the order
7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 4. Naturalism
20127 Laws of nature are universal, so everything must be understood through those laws
8. Modes of Existence / B. Properties / 3. Types of Properties
17170 An 'attribute' is what the intellect takes as constituting an essence
8. Modes of Existence / B. Properties / 8. Properties as Modes
17171 A 'mode' is an aspect of a substance, and conceived through that substance
8. Modes of Existence / C. Powers and Dispositions / 2. Powers as Basic
17195 Things persevere through a force which derives from God
8. Modes of Existence / C. Powers and Dispositions / 4. Powers as Essence
17206 The essence of a thing is its effort to persevere
8. Modes of Existence / D. Universals / 6. Platonic Forms / d. Forms critiques
17192 The 'universal' term 'man' is just imagining whatever is the same in a multitude of men
9. Objects / B. Unity of Objects / 1. Unifying an Object / b. Unifying aggregates
17188 A thing is unified if its parts produce a single effect
9. Objects / B. Unity of Objects / 2. Substance / b. Need for substance
5639 Spinoza implies that thought is impossible without the notion of substance [Scruton]
9. Objects / B. Unity of Objects / 2. Substance / d. Substance defined
21857 Substance is the power of self-actualisation [Lord]
4813 Substance is that of which an independent conception can be formed
9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 1. Essences of Objects
4828 The essence of a thing is what is required for it to exist or be conceived
9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 6. Essence as Unifier
17187 Essence gives existence and conception to things, and is inseparable from them
9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 7. Essence and Necessity / b. Essence not necessities
17191 Nothing is essential if it is in every part, and is common to everything
9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 8. Essence as Explanatory
17184 All natures of things produce some effect
9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 14. Knowledge of Essences
4869 Experience does not teach us any essences of things
9. Objects / E. Objects over Time / 11. End of an Object
17205 Only an external cause can destroy something
9. Objects / F. Identity among Objects / 7. Indiscernible Objects
17175 There cannot be two substances with the same attributes
9. Objects / F. Identity among Objects / 8. Leibniz's Law
17173 Two substances can't be the same if they have different attributes
10. Modality / A. Necessity / 10. Impossibility
17183 Things are impossible if they imply contradiction, or their production lacks an external cause
10. Modality / B. Possibility / 5. Contingency
4824 We only call things 'contingent' in relation to the imperfection of our knowledge
4299 Contingency is an illusion, resulting from our inadequate understanding [Cottingham]
4839 Reason naturally regards things as necessary, and only imagination considers them contingent
10. Modality / C. Sources of Modality / 1. Sources of Necessity
4822 Divine nature makes all existence and operations necessary, and nothing is contingent
10. Modality / C. Sources of Modality / 6. Necessity from Essence
17182 Necessity is in reference to essence or to cause
10. Modality / D. Knowledge of Modality / 4. Conceivable as Possible / a. Conceivable as possible
4818 People who are ignorant of true causes imagine anything can change into anything else
20310 Error does not result from imagining, but from lacking the evidence of impossibility
10. Modality / E. Possible worlds / 3. Transworld Objects / a. Transworld identity
17208 A horse would be destroyed if it were changed into a man or an insect
10. Modality / E. Possible worlds / 3. Transworld Objects / e. Possible Objects
17209 A thing is contingent if nothing in its essence determines whether or nor it exists
11. Knowledge Aims / A. Knowledge / 1. Knowledge
5640 Spinoza's three levels of knowledge are perception/imagination, then principles, then intuitions [Scruton]
11. Knowledge Aims / A. Knowledge / 2. Understanding
17211 Understanding is the sole aim of reason, and the only profit for the mind
11. Knowledge Aims / A. Knowledge / 4. Belief / e. Belief holism
21801 Unlike Descartes' atomism, Spinoza held a holistic view of belief [Schmid]
11. Knowledge Aims / B. Certain Knowledge / 1. Certainty
21863 You only know you are certain of something when you actually are certain of it
17199 A man who assents without doubt to a falsehood is not certain, but lacks a cause to make him waver
17193 True ideas intrinsically involve the highest degree of certainty
11. Knowledge Aims / B. Certain Knowledge / 5. Cogito Critique
5638 'I think' is useless, because it is contingent, and limited to the first person [Scruton]
12. Knowledge Sources / B. Perception / 5. Interpretation
4831 If the body is affected by an external object, the mind can't help believing that the object exists
12. Knowledge Sources / C. Rationalism / 1. Rationalism
4865 The eyes of the mind are proofs
12. Knowledge Sources / D. Empiricism / 2. Associationism
20306 Once we have experienced two feelings together, one will always give rise to the other
13. Knowledge Criteria / A. Justification Problems / 3. Internal or External / a. Pro-internalism
4835 Anyone who knows, must know that they know, and even know that they know that they know..
13. Knowledge Criteria / B. Internal Justification / 5. Coherentism / b. Pro-coherentism
20308 Encounters with things confuse the mind, and internal comparisons bring clarity
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / f. Necessity in explanations
4312 To understand a phenomenon, we must understand why it is necessary, not merely contingent [Cottingham]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / k. Explanations by essence
13073 To understand the properties we must know the essence, as with a circle
15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 1. Mind / a. Mind
4833 The human mind is the very idea or knowledge of the human body
15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 1. Mind / b. Purpose of mind
16198 Knowledge is the essence of the mind
15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 1. Mind / c. Features of mind
17196 The will is not a desire, but the faculty of affirming what is true or false
17198 Will and intellect are the same thing
17201 The will is finite, but the intellect is infinite
15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 5. Unity of Mind
21805 Spinoza held that the mind is just a bundle of ideas [Schmid]
15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 7. Animal Minds
17204 Animals are often observed to be wiser than people
15. Nature of Minds / B. Features of Minds / 1. Consciousness / d. Purpose of consciousness
17212 To understand is the absolute virtue of the mind
15. Nature of Minds / C. Capacities of Minds / 1. Faculties
21804 Faculties are either fictions, or the abstract universals of ideas
15. Nature of Minds / C. Capacities of Minds / 8. Remembering Contiguity
4832 If the body is affected by two things together, the imagining of one will conjure up the other
15. Nature of Minds / C. Capacities of Minds / 10. Conatus/Striving
21869 Our own force of persevering is nothing in comparison with external forces
20307 As far as possible, everything tries to persevere
21803 The conatus (striving) of mind and body together is appetite, which is the essence of man
16. Persons / B. Nature of the Self / 7. Self and Body / a. Self needs body
4836 The mind only knows itself by means of ideas of the modification of the body
16. Persons / C. Self-Awareness / 2. Knowing the Self
21861 Self-knowledge needs perception of the affections of the body
16. Persons / D. Continuity of the Self / 2. Mental Continuity / a. Memory is Self
17216 The poet who forgot his own tragedies was no longer the same man
16. Persons / F. Free Will / 1. Nature of Free Will
4814 A thing is free if it acts by necessity of its own nature, and the act is determined by itself alone
16. Persons / F. Free Will / 2. Sources of Free Will
19922 People are only free if they are guided entirely by reason
16. Persons / F. Free Will / 5. Against Free Will
4871 A thing is free if it acts only by the necessity of its own nature
21802 An act of will can only occur if it has been caused, which implies a regress of causes
4837 'Free will' is a misunderstanding arising from awareness of our actions, but ignorance of their causes
4843 Would we die if we lacked free will, and were poised between equal foods? Yes!
4844 The mind is not free to remember or forget anything
16. Persons / F. Free Will / 6. Determinism / a. Determinism
4311 We think we are free because we don't know the causes of our desires and choices
7828 The actual world is the only one God could have created
17. Mind and Body / A. Mind-Body Dualism / 5. Parallelism
21860 Ideas and things have identical connections and order
17. Mind and Body / A. Mind-Body Dualism / 8. Dualism of Mind Critique
4308 Mind and body are one thing, seen sometimes as thought and sometimes as extension
4846 We are incapable of formulating an idea which excludes the existence of our body
17. Mind and Body / E. Mind as Physical / 1. Physical Mind
4834 Mind and body are the same thing, sometimes seen as thought, and sometimes as extension
18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 3. Emotions
7832 Stoics want to suppress emotions, but Spinoza overcomes them with higher emotions [Stewart,M]
17203 Minds are subject to passions if they have inadequate ideas
4863 An emotion comes more under our control in proportion to how well it is known to us
4864 An emotion is only bad if it hinders us from thinking
4849 The three primary emotions are pleasure, pain and desire
18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 6. Judgement / b. Error
4841 People make calculation mistakes by misjudging the figures, not calculating them wrong
18. Thought / C. Content / 2. Ideas
21807 Ideas are powerful entities, which can produce further ideas [Schmid]
4830 An 'idea' is a mental conception which is actively formed by the mind in thinking
4842 Ideas are not images formed in the brain, but are the conceptions of thought
20311 An idea involves affirmation or negation
20. Action / B. Preliminaries of Action / 2. Willed Action / a. Will to Act
4309 Spinoza argues that in reality the will and the intellect are 'one and the same' [Cottingham]
4838 Claiming that actions depend on the will is meaningless; no one knows what the will is
20. Action / C. Motives for Action / 1. Acting on Desires
20305 Whenever we act, then desire is our very essence
20. Action / C. Motives for Action / 4. Responsibility for Actions
21868 We love or hate people more strongly because we think they are free
17202 We are the source of an action if only our nature can explain the action
21865 We act when it follows from our nature, and is understood in that way
21. Aesthetics / A. Aesthetic Experience / 5. Natural Beauty
4870 The most beautiful hand seen through the microscope will appear horrible
22. Metaethics / A. Value / 1. Nature of Value / d. Subjective value
4845 We don't want things because they are good; we judge things to be good because we want them
22. Metaethics / A. Value / 2. Values / f. Love
17217 Love is joy with an external cause
4848 Love is nothing else but pleasure accompanied by the idea of an external cause
22. Metaethics / A. Value / 2. Values / h. Self interest
7833 Spinoza names self-interest as the sole source of value [Stewart,M]
22. Metaethics / B. The Good / 1. Goodness / f. Good as pleasure
21870 Music is good for a melancholic, bad for a mourner, and indifferent to the deaf
22. Metaethics / B. The Good / 2. Happiness / d. Routes to happiness
4860 Man's highest happiness consists of perfecting his understanding, or reason
22. Metaethics / B. The Good / 3. Pleasure / a. Nature of pleasure
4847 Pleasure is a passive state in which the mind increases in perfection
22. Metaethics / B. The Good / 3. Pleasure / f. Dangers of pleasure
4859 Pleasure is only bad in so far as it hinders a man's capability for action
22. Metaethics / C. Ethics Foundations / 1. Nature of Ethics / f. Ethical non-cognitivism
4867 Whether nature is beautiful or orderly is entirely in relation to human imagination
22. Metaethics / C. Ethics Foundations / 2. Source of Ethics / b. Rational ethics
21873 Men only agree in nature if they are guided by reason
21872 We seek our own advantage, and virtue is doing this rationally
17224 If our ideas were wholly adequate, we would have no concept of evil
22. Metaethics / C. Ethics Foundations / 2. Source of Ethics / e. Human nature
17207 By 'good' I mean what brings us ever closer to our model of human nature
17189 The essence of man is modifications of the nature of God
8019 Along with his pantheism, Spinoza equates ethics with the study of human nature [MacIntyre]
17229 If infancy in humans was very rare, we would consider it a pitiful natural defect
23. Ethics / A. Egoism / 1. Ethical Egoism
4851 Reason demands nothing contrary to nature, and so it demands self-love
17220 Self-satisfaction is the highest thing for which we can hope
23. Ethics / B. Contract Ethics / 1. Contractarianism
4852 Both virtue and happiness are based on the preservation of one's own being
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 1. Virtue Theory / b. Basis of virtue
17214 To act virtuously is to act rationally
17210 All virtue is founded on self-preservation
21871 The more we strive for our own advantage, the more virtuous we are
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 2. Elements of Virtue Theory / b. Living naturally
4856 To live according to reason is to live according to the laws of human nature
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 2. Elements of Virtue Theory / j. Unity of virtue
17221 A man ignorant of himself is ignorant of all of the virtues
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 3. Virtues / d. Courage
17225 In a free man, choosing flight can show as much strength of mind as fighting
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 3. Virtues / f. Compassion
17218 People who live according to reason should avoid pity
17219 A person unmoved by either reason or pity to help others is rightly called 'inhuman'
4857 Pity is a bad and useless thing, as it is a pain, and rational people perform good deeds without it
17223 Pity is not a virtue, but at least it shows a desire to live uprightly
23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 4. External Goods / c. Wealth
17228 Rational people judge money by needs, and live contented with very little
23. Ethics / D. Deontological Ethics / 3. Universalisability
4853 Rational people are self-interested, but also desire the same goods for other people
4858 A rational person will want others to have the goods he seeks for himself
24. Political Theory / A. Basis of a State / 1. A People / a. Human distinctiveness
4855 If people are obedient to reason, they will live in harmony
24. Political Theory / A. Basis of a State / 1. A People / c. A unified people
19935 Peoples are created by individuals, not by nature, and only distinguished by language and law
21874 The ideal for human preservation is unanimity among people
24. Political Theory / A. Basis of a State / 3. Natural Values / a. Natural freedom
8020 Only self-knowledge can liberate us [MacIntyre]
24. Political Theory / A. Basis of a State / 3. Natural Values / c. Natural rights
19914 In nature everything has an absolute right to do anything it is capable of doing
19915 Natural rights are determined by desire and power, not by reason
7412 Spinoza extended Hobbes's natural rights to cover all possible desires and actions [Tuck]
24. Political Theory / B. Nature of a State / 1. Purpose of a State
7487 Society exists to extend human awareness [Watson]
19943 The state aims to allow personal development, so its main purpose is freedom
24. Political Theory / B. Nature of a State / 2. State Legitimacy / a. Sovereignty
19930 Sovereignty must include the power to make people submit to it
24. Political Theory / C. Ruling a State / 2. Leaders / b. Monarchy
19937 Monarchs are always proud, and can't back down
19936 Kings tend to fight wars for glory, rather than for peace and liberty
19940 Deposing a monarch is dangerous, because the people are used to royal authority
24. Political Theory / C. Ruling a State / 4. Changing the State / c. Revolution
19931 Every state is more frightened of its own citizens than of external enemies
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 5. Democracy / c. Direct democracy
19920 Democracy is a legitimate gathering of people who do whatever they can do
24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 10. Theocracy
19938 Allowing religious ministers any control of the state is bad for both parties
19933 If religion is law, then piety is justice, impiety is crime, and non-believers must leave
25. Social Practice / A. Freedoms / 1. Slavery
19923 Slavery is not just obedience, but acting only in the interests of the master
17227 Slavery is a disgraceful crime
25. Social Practice / A. Freedoms / 2. Freedom of belief
19939 Government is oppressive if opinions can be crimes, because people can't give them up
19944 Without liberty of thought there is no trust in the state, and corruption follows
25. Social Practice / A. Freedoms / 3. Free speech
19942 Treason may be committed as much by words as by deeds
25. Social Practice / A. Freedoms / 6. Political freedom
19924 The freest state is a rational one, where people can submit themselves to reason
25. Social Practice / C. Rights / 1. Basis of Rights
7827 Spinoza wanted democracy based on individual rights, and is thus the first modern political philosopher [Stewart,M]
19926 The sovereignty has absolute power over citizens
25. Social Practice / C. Rights / 3. Alienating rights
19928 No one, in giving up their power and right, ceases to be a human being
19918 Forming a society meant following reason, and giving up dangerous appetites and mutual harm
19919 People only give up their rights, and keep promises, if they hope for some greater good
19921 Once you have given up your rights, there is no going back
19925 In democracy we don't abandon our rights, but transfer them to the majority of us
19929 Everyone who gives up their rights must fear the recipients of them
19932 The early Hebrews, following Moses, gave up their rights to God alone
25. Social Practice / D. Justice / 2. The Law / c. Natural law
19916 The order of nature does not prohibit anything, and allows whatever appetite produces
25. Social Practice / E. Policies / 2. Religion in Society
19927 State and religious law can clash, so the state must make decisions about religion
25. Social Practice / E. Policies / 5. Education / c. Teaching
17226 The best use of talent is to teach other people to live rationally
25. Social Practice / F. Life Issues / 4. Suicide
4854 It is impossible that the necessity of a person's nature should produce a desire for non-existence
25. Social Practice / F. Life Issues / 6. Animal Rights
17215 Animals feel, but that doesn't mean we can't use them for our pleasure and profit
26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 1. Nature
17190 We can easily think of nature as one individual
26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 2. Natural Purpose / b. Limited purposes
4826 Nature has no particular goal in view, and final causes are mere human figments
26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 2. Natural Purpose / c. Purpose denied
1587 Spinoza strongly attacked teleology, which is the lifeblood of classical logos [Roochnik]
12731 Final causes are figments of human imagination
1588 For Spinoza eyes don't act for purposes, but follow mechanical necessity [Roochnik]
26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 5. Infinite in Nature
4821 An infinite line can be marked in feet or inches, so one infinity is twelve times the other
26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 6. Early Matter Theories / c. Ultimate substances
17177 In nature there is just one infinite substance
26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 3. Final causes
4850 A final cause is simply a human desire
26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 9. General Causation / d. Causal necessity
4815 From a definite cause an effect necessarily follows
28. God / A. Divine Nature / 1. God
7835 The key question for Spinoza is: is his God really a God? [Stewart,M]
28. God / A. Divine Nature / 2. Divine Nature
4823 God does not act according to the freedom of the will
12928 Spinoza's God is just power and necessity, without perfection or wisdom [Leibniz]
4314 God is wholly without passions, and strictly speaking does not love anyone [Cottingham]
7609 God is the sum and principle of all eternal laws [Armstrong,K]
19435 God is not loveable for producing without choice and by necessity; God is loveable for his goodness [Leibniz]
17231 God feels no emotions, of joy or sorrow
7571 Spinoza's God is not a person [Jolley]
21859 God as no purpose, because God lacks nothing
17172 God is a substance with infinite attributes
28. God / A. Divine Nature / 3. Divine Perfections
4866 God is a being with infinite attributes, each of them infinite or perfect
7829 God no more has human perfections than we have animal perfections
28. God / A. Divine Nature / 6. Divine Morality / c. God is the good
4825 To say that God promotes what is good is false, as it sets up a goal beyond God
28. God / B. Proving God / 2. Proofs of Reason / a. Ontological Proof
21856 Spinoza says a substance of infinite attributes cannot fail to exist [Lord]
17178 Denial of God is denial that his essence involves existence, which is absurd
21858 God is being as such, and you cannot conceive of the non-existence of being [Lord]
4820 God must necessarily exist, because no reason can be given for his non-existence
17169 Some things makes me conceive of it as a thing whose essence requires its existence
28. God / B. Proving God / 2. Proofs of Reason / b. Ontological Proof critique
4817 If a thing can be conceived as non-existing, its essence does not involve existence
28. God / B. Proving God / 3. Proofs of Evidence / e. Miracles
4868 Trying to prove God's existence through miracles is proving the obscure by the more obscure
4827 Priests reject as heretics anyone who tries to understand miracles in a natural way
28. God / C. Attitudes to God / 2. Pantheism
17180 Everything is in God, and nothing exists or is thinkable without God
17181 God is the efficient cause of essences, as well as of existences
12757 That God is the substance of all things is an ill-reputed doctrine [Leibniz]
4829 The human mind is part of the infinite intellect of God
28. God / C. Attitudes to God / 4. God Reflects Humanity
7830 A talking triangle would say God is triangular
28. God / C. Attitudes to God / 5. Atheism
7836 In Spinoza, one could substitute 'nature' or 'substance' for the word 'God' throughout [Stewart,M]
29. Religion / B. Monotheistic Religion / 2. Judaism
19934 Hebrews were very hostile to other states, who had not given up their rights to God
29. Religion / B. Monotheistic Religion / 5. Bible
4300 The Bible has nothing in common with reasoning and philosophy
29. Religion / D. Religious Issues / 2. Immortality / a. Immortality
7831 Spinoza's theory of mind implies that there is no immortality [Stewart,M]
21876 After death, something eternal remains of the mind