The Mind's Body: The Body's Self-Awareness
Dialogue December 1, 1984 DOI: 10.1017/s0012217300046266 (opens in new tab)
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThis paper examines Spinoza's philosophy of mind, focusing on the nature of mind, its relation to the body, and the concepts of adequate/inadequate and true/false ideas. The author reviews criticisms leveled against Spinoza's theory and argues that these criticisms either misunderstand his framework or can be resolved within it. The author concludes that Spinoza's theory of mind is a success because the apparent problems are not genuine or are resolvable within his system.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Argues that Spinoza's theory of mind is a success because criticisms of it are either not genuine problems or can be resolved within his own philosophical system. |
Abstract
In order to find out how successful or unsuccessful Spinoza's philosophy of mind is, I will examine what Spinoza says about (1) the nature of mind, (2) its relation to the body, (3) its adequate/inadequate and true/false ideas. In doing so I will see what problems critics say he runs into and then find out if what they say about these difficulties can be resolved. If these difficulties can be resolved within Spinoza's own framework then his theory of mind is a success. If not, then it is a failure. I shall argue that his theory of mind is a success because the problems that his critics say he has are not really problems at all or if there are problems they can be resolved within his own system.