2017610 SpinozaThethreekindsofknowledge

SpinozaThethreekindsofknowledge

Spinozabelongstoanagewheretheywerewitnessingthebirthofmodernscience.Atthattime,IsaacNewton
wasrevolutionizingtheundertandingofnaturethroughcalculusalongwithLeibniz.InFrance,ReneDescartes
wasbuilding,insolid,foundationsofreasonandthescientificmethod,BlaisePascalwasdiscoveringthemath
behindchance,inpolitics,Europewaspassingthroughtimesofwarandtormoil.Itwasanageofchanging.

There,insomeroom,grindinghislensesquietly,wasaman.Darkmelancholiceyes,curlyhair,oliveskin,small
complexionandordinarycostumes.Therewasamanbeyondanysuspicion.Butinhismindhewasmakingthe
mosteloquentthoughts.HisnamewasBaruchdeSpinoza.Spinoza'sfamilyfledfromPortugaltoNetherlands
after the expelling of jews during the reform in catholic countries. He studied very hard and was about to
becomearabine,buthisideasweretounberrablerevolutionarytothecommunityandhewasbanished.

Contrarytocommonsense,Spinozawasn'tmuchcondemnedforhiswritingsbecausehismajorwork"Ethics"
wasonlypublishedposthumously,butmainlyforhisideas,hisspeech.Butwhatthisquietmancould'vesaid
that made such a impact. First we most try to understand a little his major work "Ethics". The word ethic in
greek reffers to a practical side of philosophy, how man can behave in a right manner. So Spinoza tried to
explainhowsomeonecanbehavetoattainataraxia,orpeaceofmind.

ThesubtitleofEthicsis"shownbygeometricmethod".WhenSpinozawrotehisworkhechosetodemonstrate
his philosophy following Euclide's geometric rhetoric. But it does not consist in a work of math, it's the way
Spinozawritesit.Firstheproposesasetoaxiomswhicharepropositionwhicharetruewithoutanyproof.Then
based on these axioms he starts making propositions and proving them. One who aproaches this work may
becomeastonishedbyitsclarityofthought,or,becomeconfusedaswell.

WhatSpinozawantedfollowingthegeometricrhetoricwastovanishanydoubtfromhiswork,basinghiswork
onasolidbaseoftruths,justlikethe"castesianbuilding".First,SpinozadiscussesthenatureofGodandhow
everythingisadirectconsequenceofhispower.HedividesthepowerofGodintonaturanaturansandnatura
naturata.Theformermeanstheactofcreation,thelaterallthingswhicharecreated.SpinozasaysGodisthe
onlysubstanceintheuniverseandthatwearemodesofGod,or,inotherwords,modificationsofHim.

Second,Spinozatriestoexplainthenatureofideas.Hesaysthatwehavetwokindsofthem,theadequateand
theinadequateideas.Thefirstsetofideasaretheinadequateideaswhicharethefirstimpressionsoveranobject
throughoursenses.Theadequateideas,onthecontraryareideasmadebytheuseofreasonthroughinadequate
ideas. So the inadequate ideas are contingent which means they do not represent the real nature of things
becausetheyseemtobechaotic,imprecise.Knowledgebasedonthiskindofideasarealwaysincorrectaswe
see things by chance. No surprise Spinoza was appointed later as a earlyenlightenment philosopher. For
Spinoza reason was the most important thing and he believed that through reason we could understand the
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2017610 SpinozaThethreekindsofknowledge

natureofGodandthemoreweunderstanditthemoreourmindaimsperfectionthuswebecomehappy.The
secondkindofideasareorderedbyreasonandthereforetheyareseemascorrectandnecessary.Tounderstand
necessityisthekeytoSpinoza'sphilosophy.

Spinozagoesaheadonandsaysthatourafections,ourpassionsarefruitsofincorrectthought.Andhedevotes
the great part of his work explaining the various afections and their causes. Like love, hatred, jelousy and so
many others. For him, men suffer from these passions because they do not undertand that things occur
necessarily.Example,whensomeoneshoutsatanotheroneitsnotbecauseshewantedbutbecausetherewerea
reasonwhichmadeherdoitandthatwashiddenfromher.Well,that'sagreatproblembecause,wheredoesfree
willenter?ForSpinozafreewillisaninadequateidea.

ThenSpinozadefinesthreekindsofknowledgewecanattain.TheywerecalledFirst,SecondandThirddegrees
knowledge.Thefirstkind,ordegree,iswhensomeoneseethingsascontingent,happeningbychanceandthus
illusionoffreewill.Bytheuseofreasonweenterthesecondkindofknowledge,whenweperceivethingsas
necessary and eternal. But, that kind of knowledge isn't enough to make us realize the true nature of God,
because,beingfinite,wecannotbeinfereddirectlybyGodwhoisinfinite.God,beinginfinite,generatesinfinite
modes,whichwearepartof.

Forthatreason,Spinozabelievesinaknowledgeofthirdkindwhichintendstoknowtheadequateideawhich
comesfromtheessenceofthings.It'slikethrowingacandleintothefire,itmeltsintowax,thecandle'sgonebut
inessenceit'swax,itsessenceispreserved.SothethirdkindtalksaboutourownessenceasmodesofGodina
stateofpureperenity,eternity.It'sthemostmysticalthingtodo.

NowthatI'mcomingtotheendofmyexposition,wecanundertandwhySpinoza'sviewmadesuchanimpact.
TodaywemaycomfortablyreadSpinozaandfinditinteresting,butinhistimehisideaswastoomuchevenfor
Netherlandswhichwasalwaysapioneercountryinfreedomofideas.Why?Well,thereasonsaremany,suffice
tosaythatyoudon'thavefreewill,Goddoesnotanswertoyourprayers,but,instead,He'severywhereevery
thingcanhaveamindandsoon.It'snoteasy,though,eventoday,toattainthepeaceofmindSpinozadesired.
Becauseseeingthingsasnecessarywemaygetmoreandmoresadeven,fatalist,orupset.There'snothingwe
candoinSpinoza'sethicexcepttousereasonmoreandmore.Somepeoplecanbesufficientlystoictotakehis
philosophyasatenetandapplyittoherlife,Idon'tknow,butonethingIcantellis,ifsomeonegettothethird
kindofknowledgehewilllivehismostmysticrelationshipwiththeuniverseandperhapsSpinozadidit.

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