Spinoza and the Sciences

Spinoza and the Sciences PDF Author: Marjorie Grene
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400945140
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 347

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Book Description
Prefatory Explanation It must be remarked at once that I am 'editor' of this volume only in that I had the honor of presiding at the symposium on Spinoza and the Sciences at which a number of these papers were presented (exceptions are those by Hans Jonas, Richard Popkin, Joe VanZandt and our four European contributors), in that I have given some editorial advice on details of some of the papers, including translations, and finally, in that my name appears on the cover. The choice of speakers, and of addi tional contributors, is entirely due to Robert Cohen and Debra Nails; and nearly all the burden of readying the manuscript for the press has been borne by the latter. In the introduction to another anthology on Spinoza I opened my remarks by quoting a statement of Sir Stuart Hampshire about inter pretations of Spinoza's chief work: All these masks have been fitted on him and each of them does to some extent fit. But they remain masks, not the living face. They do not show the moving tensions and unresolved conflicts in Spinoza's Ethics. (Hampshire, 1973, p. 297) The double theme of 'moving tensions' and 'unresolved conflicts' seems even more appropriate to the present volume. What is Spinoza's rela tion to the sciences? The answers are many, and they criss-cross one another in a number of complicated ways.

Spinoza and the Sciences

Spinoza and the Sciences PDF Author: Marjorie Grene
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400945140
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 347

Get Book

Book Description
Prefatory Explanation It must be remarked at once that I am 'editor' of this volume only in that I had the honor of presiding at the symposium on Spinoza and the Sciences at which a number of these papers were presented (exceptions are those by Hans Jonas, Richard Popkin, Joe VanZandt and our four European contributors), in that I have given some editorial advice on details of some of the papers, including translations, and finally, in that my name appears on the cover. The choice of speakers, and of addi tional contributors, is entirely due to Robert Cohen and Debra Nails; and nearly all the burden of readying the manuscript for the press has been borne by the latter. In the introduction to another anthology on Spinoza I opened my remarks by quoting a statement of Sir Stuart Hampshire about inter pretations of Spinoza's chief work: All these masks have been fitted on him and each of them does to some extent fit. But they remain masks, not the living face. They do not show the moving tensions and unresolved conflicts in Spinoza's Ethics. (Hampshire, 1973, p. 297) The double theme of 'moving tensions' and 'unresolved conflicts' seems even more appropriate to the present volume. What is Spinoza's rela tion to the sciences? The answers are many, and they criss-cross one another in a number of complicated ways.

The Importance of Spinoza for the Modern Philosophy of Science

The Importance of Spinoza for the Modern Philosophy of Science PDF Author: Nancy Brenner-Golomb
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110319594
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 425

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Book Description
The question raised in this book is why Spinoza’s work which comes so close to the modern view of natural science is not prominent in the social sciences. The answer suggested is that this is due to the lingering influence of the Cartesian differentiation between the domain of science, dealing with material bodies in space and time, and the realm of thought to which the mind belongs. Spinoza’s rejection of this mind/body dualism was based on his conviction that the human mind was an essential part of the ‘forces’ which maintain human existence. Since this view fits so well the evolutionary view of life, the book suggests that after Darwin, when this dualism became untenable, it was replaced by a nature versus culture dichotomy. The book examines whether the history of the philosophy of science supports this explanation. The author believes that answering this question is important because of the rising influence of cultural relativism which endangers the very survival of modern science and political stability.

The Spiritual Automaton

The Spiritual Automaton PDF Author: Eugene Marshall
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191663018
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Eugene Marshall presents an original, systematic account of Spinoza's philosophy of mind, in which the mind is presented as an affective mechanism, one that, when rational, behaves as a spiritual automaton. The central feature of the account is a novel concept of consciousness, one that identifies consciousness with affectivity, a property of an idea paradigmatically but not exhaustively instantiated by those modes of thought Spinoza calls affects. Inadequate and adequate ideas come to consciousness, and thus impact our well-being and establish or disturb our happiness, only insofar as they become affects and, thus, conscious. And ideas become affects by entering into appropriate causal relations with the other ideas that constitute a mind. Furthermore, the topic of consciousness in Spinoza provides an eminently well-placed point of entry into his system, because it flows directly out of his central metaphysical, epistemological, and psychological commitments—and it does so in a way that allows us to see Spinoza's philosophy as a systematic whole. Further, doing so provides a thoroughly consistent yet novel way of thinking about central themes in his thought. Marshall's reading provides a novel understanding of adequacy, innateness, power, activity and passivity, the affects, the conatus, bondage, freedom, the illusion of free will, akrasia, blessedness, salvation, and the eternity of the soul. In short, by explaining the affective mechanisms of consciousness in Spinoza, The Spiritual Automaton illuminates Spinoza's systematic philosophical and ethical project as a whole, as well as in its details, in a striking new way.

Spinoza's Science

Spinoza's Science PDF Author: Louis Russell
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781983057212
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 54

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Book Description
Baruch Spinoza wants us to do one thing only: think clearly. But how? This book offers the reader an accessible picture of Spinoza's three-grade theory of knowledge, one that culminates in what Spinoza calls intuitive science (scientia intuitiva). Spinoza thinks that intuitive science is the highest possible human achievement. So, how do we achieve it? This book explores the Spinozist strategy for clear, critical thinking and why the human body itself makes achieving the third kind of knowledge so difficult.

The Role of God in Spinoza's Metaphysics

The Role of God in Spinoza's Metaphysics PDF Author: Sherry Deveaux
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 0826488889
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 155

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Book Description
An analytical discussion and overview of Spinoza focussing specifically on the role of God in his seminal work, the Ethics.

Looking for Spinoza

Looking for Spinoza PDF Author: Antonio R. Damasio
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780156028714
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
Publisher Description

Spinoza

Spinoza PDF Author: Stuart Hampshire
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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Book Description


Spinoza and the Sciences

Spinoza and the Sciences PDF Author: Marjorie Grene
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9789027719768
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 339

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Book Description
Prefatory Explanation It must be remarked at once that I am 'editor' of this volume only in that I had the honor of presiding at the symposium on Spinoza and the Sciences at which a number of these papers were presented (exceptions are those by Hans Jonas, Richard Popkin, Joe VanZandt and our four European contributors), in that I have given some editorial advice on details of some of the papers, including translations, and finally, in that my name appears on the cover. The choice of speakers, and of addi tional contributors, is entirely due to Robert Cohen and Debra Nails; and nearly all the burden of readying the manuscript for the press has been borne by the latter. In the introduction to another anthology on Spinoza I opened my remarks by quoting a statement of Sir Stuart Hampshire about inter pretations of Spinoza's chief work: All these masks have been fitted on him and each of them does to some extent fit. But they remain masks, not the living face. They do not show the moving tensions and unresolved conflicts in Spinoza's Ethics. (Hampshire, 1973, p. 297) The double theme of 'moving tensions' and 'unresolved conflicts' seems even more appropriate to the present volume. What is Spinoza's rela tion to the sciences? The answers are many, and they criss-cross one another in a number of complicated ways.

Spinoza's Book of Life

Spinoza's Book of Life PDF Author: Steven B. Smith
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300128495
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Offering a new reading of Spinoza's masterpiece, Smith asserts that the 'Ethics' is a celebration of human freedom and its attendant joys and responsibilities and should be placed among the great founding documents of the Enlightenment.

The Importance of Spinoza for the Modern Philosophy of Science

The Importance of Spinoza for the Modern Philosophy of Science PDF Author: Nancy Brenner-Golomb
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783110319194
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 425

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Book Description
The question raised in this book is why Spinoza s work which comes so close to the modern view of natural science is not prominent in the social sciences. The answer suggested is that this is due to the lingering influence of the Cartesian differentiation between the domain of science, dealing with material bodies in space and time, and the realm of thought to which the mind belongs. Spinoza s rejection of this mind/body dualism was based on his conviction that the human mind was an essential part of the forces which maintain human existence. Since this view fits so well the evolutionary view of life, the book suggests that after Darwin, when this dualism became untenable, it was replaced by a nature versus culture dichotomy. The book examines whether the history of the philosophy of science supports this explanation. The author believes that answering this question is important because of the rising influence of cultural relativism which endangers the very survival of modern science and political stability."