Pantheistic Implications of Descartes’  Epistemology and the Development of Spinoza's  Metaphysics

Vladimir Lasica

doi:10.54889/issn.2744-208X.2021.1.1.42

Authors

Vladimir Lasica Academia Analitica

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54889/issn.2744-208X.2021.1.1.42

Abstract

In this essay I intend to describe how Spinoza’s pantheism represents a consistent development of Descartes’ epistemology. While the fundamental starting point of Descartes’ epistemology is the self-certainty, from which the existence of God is deduced, that eventually guarantees the existence of the world outside of the doubting subject, Spinoza’s epistemology is based on the considerations of certain meanings, primarily of the meaning of ‘substance.’ Nevertheless, Spinoza’s metaphysics, as we are going to see, expands on the main Cartesian notions. The main difference is that Spinoza continues Cartesian reasoning in a univocal manner, while Descartes restrains himself from challenging the tradition by insisting on equivocity of all meanings concerning God.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Descartes, R. (1985). ''Discourse on the Method'', In Cottingham, J., Stoothoff, R., Murdoch, D. (eds.) The Philosophical Writings of Descartes, Vol. I. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.111-177.

Descartes, R. (1985). ''Principles of Philosophy'', In Cottingham, J., Stoothoff, R., Murdoch, D. (eds.) The Philosophical Writings of Descartes, Vol. I. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.177-293.

Descartes, R. (1984). ''Meditations on First Philosophy'', In Cottingham, J., Stoothoff, R., Murdoch, D. (eds.) The Philosophical Writings of Descartes, Vol. II. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.1-63. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511805042

Spinoza, B. (1960). Ethics. In: The Rationalists. Doubleday : Anchor Books.

Spinoza, B. (1970). Etika. Beograd: Kultura.

Ariew, R. (2014). Descartes and the First Cartesians. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199563517.001.0001

Augustinus, A. (auth.), Matthews, G.B.(edit.) (2002). On the Trinity, books 8-15, tranls. by Stephen McKenna. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Augustinus, A. (auth.), Benjamin, A. S. and Hackstaff, I. H. (transl.). (1964). On Free Choice of the Will, trans, Indianapolis.

Augustinus, A. (auth.), Ladan, T. (transl.) (1982). De Civitate Dei. Zagreb: Kršćanska Sadašnjost, (Latin and Croatian text).

Beyssade, J.-M. (2006). ''The Idea of God and the Proofs of His Existence'', In Cottingham, J. (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Descartes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.174-200. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521366232.007

Bertolacci, A. (2016). ''Establishing the Science of Metaphysics'', In Taylor R. C. and Lopez-Farjeat, L. X. (eds.) The Routledge Companion to Islamic Philosophy. London and New York: Routledge, pp.185-197.

Curley, E. (1969). Spinoza’s Metaphysics. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674330450

Della Rocca, M. (2011). ''Explaining Explanation and the Multiplicity of Attributes in Spinoza'', In Hampe, M., Renz, U., Schnepf, R. (eds.) Spinoza’s Ethics A Collective Commentary, Boston: Brill, Leiden, pp. 17-37. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004194250.i-380.13

Della Rocca, M. (2002). ''Spinoza’s Substance Monism'', In Koistinen. O. and Biro, J. (eds.) Spinoza; Metaphysical Themes. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, pp.11-38. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/019512815X.003.0002

Hatfield, G. (2014). The Routledge Guidebook to Descartes’ Meditations. London and New York: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315797878

Petronijević, B. (1982). Istorija novije filozofije (History of Modern Philosophy), Beograd: Nolit.

Santayana, G.(1974). Skepticizam i animalna vjera (Scepticism and Animal Faith), trans. Matej Mužina. Zagreb: Naprijed.

Šajković, R. (1970). Filozofija Baruha De Spinoze (Philosophy of Baruch De Spinoza), In: Spinoza, Etika , transl. Ksenija Atanasijević, Beograd: Kultura.

Sorell, T. (1987). Descartes. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.

Sosa, E. (1980). ''The Raft and the Pyramid: Coherence versus Foundations in the Theory of Knowledge '', Midwest Studies in Philosophy, 5 (1) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4975.1980.tb00394.x