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The Philosophical Method of Spinoza

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 April 2010

Vance Maxwell
Vance Maxwell
Affiliation:
Memorial University of Newfoundland
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Extract

The main purpose of this paper is to argue, against the formalist or hypothetico-deductivist approach now dominant, that God or substance is for Spinoza a discovery, or indeed a kind of revelation. In both TdlE and Ethics, Spinoza affirms substance as the outcome of a search for salvation. He could not have held that a postulate or presupposition, even if thought necessary, can save man through abstract entailment. Indeed, salvation depends on “the quality of the object to which we cling with love”, the object being “the eternal and infinite thing” (TdlE 8–10).

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Type
Articles
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Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review / Revue canadienne de philosophie , Volume 27 , Issue 1 , Spring 1988 , pp. 89 - 110
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Philosophical Association 1988

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