[xmca] Re: Method/Methodology - Baruch of Spinoza

From: Ricardo Japiassu (rjapias@uol.com.br)
Date: Mon Aug 22 2005 - 05:37:54 PDT

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Tanks professor Alexander for the link to Spinoza’s “treatise on the
correction of intelect” - translated to English as “on the improvement of
the understanding”.

It is interesting to point that Baruch (Benedict or Bento) of Spinoza did
not believe in a “prime cause” like the Cartesian, Scholastics and
Peripathetics (Aristotlelians). The “substance” - God or the Truth - would
be the cause of its own, would be an autoproducer or “something” (res) that
produces its own being. The idea of divine Creation is abolished in
baruchian thought – and thus the Cartesian dualism between res cogitans and
res extensa. There is no teleology (final scope) in God conceived this way.

“In order to accomplish this [ the best way of “perceiving” ], we must first
take care not to commit ourselves to a search, going back to infinity ---
that is, in order to discover the best method of finding truth, there is no
need of another method to discover such method; nor of a third method for
discovering the second, and so on to infinity. By such proceedings, we
should never arrive at the knowledge of the truth, or, indeed, at any
knowledge at all.”

“A true idea (for we possess a true idea) is something different from its
correlate (ideatum); thus a circle is different from the idea of a circle.
The idea of a circle is not something having a circumference and a center,
as a circle has [ like God anthropomorphically conceived by common sense ];”

In: SPINOZA, Benedict. On the Improvement of the Understanding

http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/spinoza/Improvement.html

Ricardo Japiassu

Professor Adjunto

UNIVERSIDADE DO ESTADO DA BAHIA-UNEB

Departamento de Educação/Campus XV - Valença/Ba

Núcleo de Pesquisa e Extensão-Nupex

Rua do Arame, s/n

Tento - Valença

45400-000 BAHIA

Brasil

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