I agree with @TyeTass33. 99% of what I know about Spinoza comes from commentary and critique. Kind of weird, but despite how hard it is to read ETHICS; Spinoza presents some of my favorite thought. Deep down, I must be a monist. I'll check out more of your videos. I like Plato too. His translated writing is much easier to approach.
Actually I think what's hard to read in the Ethics are the proofs. They are sometimes not quite related to the content of the propositions and also hard to follow. I did read them but on my attempt to understand the book, I just skipped them and focused on the propositions themselves. As for Plato, agreed, it is a pleasure to read, it is creative and even humorous at times.
Spinoza’s philosophy is more than having an intellectual conversation, but to understand and live his ideas. Spinoza’s Ethics communicates a method of increasing the powers of one’s mind by improving its understanding. It’s possible to free oneself from emotional confusions by understanding that free will is an illusion and that we follow the laws of nature. I have dedicated my life to Spinoza’s philosophy and now I teach it. You can find my work on my website or on RUclips.
Hey Lewis, thanks for swinging by. Actually, one thing I wondered about is how Spinoza reconciles the question of free will since things will just happen as it is going to anyway. So to improve one's understanding, how can we choose to do so since there is really no choice in the matter anyway. Same thing with Schopenhauer, he talks about renunciation but since everything is determined, then it will just happen or not anyway.
@@PhilosophicalBachelor your understanding of free will and determinism needs more clarity. Spinoza understood that the mind is comprised of clear ideas and confused ideas. When your mind is clear it's expressing the mind of God. Being aware of that reality brings happiness and fulfillment. You are responding to the words passively without understanding.
It isn't the geometric method that is the barrier. It is the language itself. You can't get through the very first batch of definitions without being steeped in medieval metaphysics, or so it seems to me. What is he talking about on page 1?
I think in general, having some knowledge of what went before and even what went after is helpful to understand any thinker. In the case of Spinoza's Ethics, I do think he has been careful to define his terms. In fact, what I think is needed is to put aside what we think things mean, and try to understand what Spinoza means, because his definitions are not quite the same as how the term is commonly understood. He is doing something rather different from those before him, so it is important to understand him on his own terms. Anyway, it is precisely the point of the video to try to explain what is going on. So I do hope it is helpful.
@@PhilosophicalBachelor That very first sentence could be interpreted as discussing the totality of existence, or the experience of awareness; you literally cannot comprehend the experience of unconsciousness. Then he gets into attributes, modes, and the idea of "conceived through".
I agree with @TyeTass33.
99% of what I know about Spinoza comes from commentary and critique. Kind of weird, but despite how hard it is to read ETHICS; Spinoza presents some of my favorite thought. Deep down, I must be a monist.
I'll check out more of your videos. I like Plato too. His translated writing is much easier to approach.
Actually I think what's hard to read in the Ethics are the proofs. They are sometimes not quite related to the content of the propositions and also hard to follow. I did read them but on my attempt to understand the book, I just skipped them and focused on the propositions themselves.
As for Plato, agreed, it is a pleasure to read, it is creative and even humorous at times.
@@PhilosophicalBachelor Maybe I'll try and read Ethics the same way.
@@PhilosophicalBachelor Got some time. Gonna try and read Ethics your way.
Thank you for your hard work making these videos....its greatly appreciated to the layperson trying to understand.
:-)
Spinoza’s philosophy is more than having an intellectual conversation, but to understand and live his ideas. Spinoza’s Ethics communicates a method of increasing the powers of one’s mind by improving its understanding. It’s possible to free oneself from emotional confusions by understanding that free will is an illusion and that we follow the laws of nature. I have dedicated my life to Spinoza’s philosophy and now I teach it. You can find my work on my website or on RUclips.
Hey Lewis, thanks for swinging by. Actually, one thing I wondered about is how Spinoza reconciles the question of free will since things will just happen as it is going to anyway. So to improve one's understanding, how can we choose to do so since there is really no choice in the matter anyway. Same thing with Schopenhauer, he talks about renunciation but since everything is determined, then it will just happen or not anyway.
@@PhilosophicalBachelor your understanding of free will and determinism needs more clarity. Spinoza understood that the mind is comprised of clear ideas and confused ideas. When your mind is clear it's expressing the mind of God. Being aware of that reality brings happiness and fulfillment. You are responding to the words passively without understanding.
It isn't the geometric method that is the barrier. It is the language itself. You can't get through the very first batch of definitions without being steeped in medieval metaphysics, or so it seems to me. What is he talking about on page 1?
I think in general, having some knowledge of what went before and even what went after is helpful to understand any thinker. In the case of Spinoza's Ethics, I do think he has been careful to define his terms. In fact, what I think is needed is to put aside what we think things mean, and try to understand what Spinoza means, because his definitions are not quite the same as how the term is commonly understood. He is doing something rather different from those before him, so it is important to understand him on his own terms.
Anyway, it is precisely the point of the video to try to explain what is going on. So I do hope it is helpful.
@@PhilosophicalBachelor That very first sentence could be interpreted as discussing the totality of existence, or the experience of awareness; you literally cannot comprehend the experience of unconsciousness. Then he gets into attributes, modes, and the idea of "conceived through".
All actions/movements/moments are the Life Force of Creation
Moore Kimberly Thompson Helen Young Timothy