Intuition and Reality: A Study of the Attributes of Substance in the Absolute Idealism of Spinoza

by James Thomas

Overview

Published in 1999, this study focuses on the work of absolute idealist readers of Spinoza's metaphysics, such as John Clark Murray and Leslie Armour. The text is intended to establish a better absolute idealist interpretation of the identity of Spinoza's one substance (reality) with each of its diversity of "attributes". Consideration is given to the interpretations developed by these earlier commentators, who read the attributes as one metaphysical being diversely interpreted. The author finds this disadvantageous in understanding the "parallelism" of the attributes, or Spinoza's doctrine that the same order and connection of things is found in each. This problem can be solved with an alternative absolute idealist reading of the attributes as one order diversely intuited.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138326927
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	08/06/2018
Series:	Routledge Revivals
Pages:	146
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.62(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Part 1: The Identity and Diversity of the Attributes 1. The Uniqueness of Substance 2. The Identity of Substance and Attribute 3. The Diversity of the Attributes Part 2: The Perspectival Theory of the Attributes and the Absolute Idealist Spinoza 4. The Arguments for an Absolute Idealist Spinoza 5. Two Accounts of the Independence and Parallelism of the Attributes Part 3: The Intuitionist Theory 6. Conceptual Independence 7. Thought and its Object in Extension 8. The One and the Many.

Editorial Reviews

Offers an extended reflection on the problem of Spinoza's attributes, centering on idealist readings of the . Early chapters establish the conditions of the problem: that substance is unique; attributes are each identical to substance; and that attributes are diverse. Later chapters set out the absolutist reading of Spinoza, discuss the perspectival theory, and develop the intuitionist theory. Contends that Spinoza's arguments can be carried on intelligibly because they respond to a genuine puzzle having to do with the ways in which our knowing activities mesh or fail to mesh with reality. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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