He explains that even these emotions and our reactions should not be confused with free will because they occur through our innate striving to "preserve" our self, or, our natural pursuit to seek pleasure while avoiding pain, which Spinoza refers to as our conatus. Our actions then are caused by external forces that are beyond our control. The idea that we can influence the world through our actions is completely false.
Spinoza would have us believe things could not have been produced by God/nature in any other way than the way we see it. This is because, although God is not constrained by laws of nature, he must follow these laws as they unfold. To change them would mean imperfection to Spinoza and he feels that this idea is absurd (Spinoza, 1992; 44). God therefore is a necessity of his own nature and even he does not have free-will. Spinoza says that in order for god to be truly free, he would have to have a stock of unrealizable realities that he could use to change the reality we see everyday however he does not because it simply is not necessary. Whereas Descartes"" god creates out of want and choice, Spinoza's idea of god acts purely out of necessity. What we can take from this is that God is indeed the creator of the world we (humans) see, but he cannot change this reality or its form to an alternate reality because it simply is not necessary for him to do so. Spinoza says that "there is nothing in nature that is incomplete" thus there is nothing that needs to be changed. Therefore if God is said to act out of necessity rather than merely wanting to change, he has already perfected (according to Spinoza) a world and would not have to change anything because he has left nothing out (Spinoza, 1992; 77) .
On the subject of human action and passions, Spinoza believes that there is a sort of "limited control" in that we have the ability to increase or decrease our power of acting with regards to certain things.
Spinoza believed that God was here on earth. ... Spinoza then argues that two separate substances can't share the same attributes. ... More generally for Spinoza, imagine an infinitely long list of qualities. ... Spinoza argues that these differences in modification are not relevant. ... Spinoza next tries to prove the existence of God. ...
This is, in theory, the same conclusion found by Spinoza, though different reasoning than taken by Hobbes. Firstly, Spinoza gives a greater weighting to the differences of a man than Hobbes. Instead of Hobbes view that all men are equal and therefore are in competition for the same things, Spinoza instead argues that we are in essence a product of our environment no different from other species, and as in nature ˜fishes are naturally conditioned for swimming, and the greater devour, the less' (Spinoza, 1951) in pursuit of self-preservation, and so too are men conditioned by nature; as ...
Spinoza does not hold a very optimistic view of the "mass of mankind". ... Nevertheless, I thought it shouldn't be surprising, given the type of philosopher Spinoza was, that he holds the highest confidence in the powers of reason to apprehend G-d's decrees - but what hope does he hold, if any, for the masses in terms of reason being able to act as a positive force in their lives? Or is Spinoza relying upon persuading religious leaders to his point of view in order that they may offer to the mass of mankind a more edifying form of worship or devotion? ... It seems as if that Spinoz...
Now for Spinoza's metaphysical take on the baseball game scenario. Spinoza's philosophy is based upon Pantheism. "Besides God," says Spinoza, "no other substance can be conceived." ... Here is Spinoza's argument for his Pantheism briefly: 1. ... Spinoza argues that! ...
Doc Holliday John Henry Holliday (a.k.a. Doc) was one of the most famous gunfighters of his time. ... With his newly acquired extra time, John "Doc" Holliday took to the saloons. ... Doc started to dress in a very gentlemanly and formal manner. ... With this newfound persona, Doc left Dallas and relocated to Denison, Texas. ...
Spinoza highlighted the tensions of enlightenment. ... Samuel Shirley was inspired to translate Spinoza's works by the belief that Spinoza had, "a vision of truth beyond what is normally granted to human beings."" ... For Spinoza, thought is an attribute of substance. ... It is also not clear that Spinoza ever denies that the soul is immortal. ... Even though Spinoza still wrote about God, he identified God with Nature. ...
Doc can play Brahms, Beethoven, and Mozart. ... Doc is a strange mixture of brains and heart and that is something to remember. ... When Doc first meets Peekay he is a scared, unassured boy and Doc helps to mold him into a confident young man. ... Doc, a loving teacher, is such an unforgettable person. Doc has many qualities that make him a significant player in The Power of One. ...
He introduced himself as Daniel, but he said to call him Doc. ... I told Doc I was ready and wanted to begin as soon as possible . Doc said "alright lets get you up in that ring." ... Doc called up Aaron, one of the biggest and oldest fighters there. ... One time I vomited while running because Doc pushed me so hard, Doc just laughed and kept going. ...
