Research Thoughts on...
Spinoza - Volume 2
Life, Death, Immortality and the Soul
Liba Kaucky
Series: Research Thoughts on… Spinoza - Volume 2
Sole author: Liba Kaucky
Copyright
© Liba (Libuse) Kaucky 2018
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First published 2018 by Liba (Libuse) Kaucky as a blog ebook
on blogger.com at My Spinoza Research Diary blog, available at:
http://myspinozaresearchdiary.blogspot.co.uk/
http://myspinozaresearchdiary.blogspot.co.uk/
Liba Kaucky ResearcherID: P-2484-2016
orcid.org/0000-0003-1598-0833
First edition.
Editor: Liba Kaucky
Cover photo: Copyright ©
Liba (Libuse) Kaucky (photographer) 2009
All rights reserved. No reproduction without written
permission from Liba Kaucky. No part of this ebook or the blog ebook version
may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
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without permission from Liba Kaucky. You must not circulate this ebook in any
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Practitioners and researchers must rely on themselves in
evaluating and using any information and methods described herein and do so at
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To the fullest extent of the law, the publisher, author,
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or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas
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Current titles in this series:
Research Thoughts on… Spinoza - Volume 1
Research Thoughts on… Lady Mary Shepherd – Volume 1
Forthcoming titles:
Research Thoughts on… Spinoza - Volume 3
Research Thoughts on… Lady Mary Shepherd - Volume 2
I would like to dedicate this book to my mother, Jana,
without whose endless love, continual encouragement and support this book would
not have been possible. I want to take this opportunity to thank her for always
being there for me throughout life’s ups and downs and for always having total
belief in me and giving me the confidence to follow my dreams. I love you!
Contents
AUTHOR’S NOTE
EDITORIAL NOTE
PREFACE
Chapter 2: Spinoza’s Letter to Oldenburg (32): Parts and Wholes - The Lymph Analogy
http://myspinozaresearchdiary.blogspot.com/2018/09/spinoza-vol-2-ebook-chapter-2-spinozas.html
Chapter 3: Spinoza’s Letter to Oldenburg (32): Parts and Wholes - The Worm Analogy
PART 1: Life and Death in Spinoza's Ethics and Letter 32: Introduction
Chapter 1: Living Well: The Language of Degrees and The Water Analogy
Chapter 2: Spinoza’s Letter to Oldenburg (32): Parts and Wholes - The Lymph Analogy
Chapter 3: Spinoza’s Letter to Oldenburg (32): Parts and Wholes - The Worm Analogy
http://myspinozaresearchdiary.blogspot.com/2018/09/spinoza-vol-2-ebook-chapter-3-spinozas.html
Chapter 4: The Psychological Impact of Fear and Anxiety on Freedom, Living Wisely, Dying Well and Attaining Eternity in Spinoza’s Ethics
https://myspinozaresearchdiary.blogspot.com/2018/09/spinoza-vol-2-ebook-chapter-4.html
Chapter 5: Knowledge, True Piety and the Soul and their Role in Living Well, Dying Well and Immortality in Spinoza’s Ethics
https://myspinozaresearchdiary.blogspot.com/2018/09/spinoza-vol-2-ebook-chapter-5-knowledge.html
Part 2: The Soul in Spinoza's Short Treatise upon God, Man, and His Well-Being: Introduction
Chapter 10: Concluding Remarks on Volume 2
Chapter 4: The Psychological Impact of Fear and Anxiety on Freedom, Living Wisely, Dying Well and Attaining Eternity in Spinoza’s Ethics
https://myspinozaresearchdiary.blogspot.com/2018/09/spinoza-vol-2-ebook-chapter-4.html
Chapter 5: Knowledge, True Piety and the Soul and their Role in Living Well, Dying Well and Immortality in Spinoza’s Ethics
https://myspinozaresearchdiary.blogspot.com/2018/09/spinoza-vol-2-ebook-chapter-5-knowledge.html
Part 2: The Soul in Spinoza's Short Treatise upon God, Man, and His Well-Being: Introduction
Chapter 6: The Immortality of the Soul in the Short
Treatise (Chapter 23)
Chapter 7: My Logic Framework Analysis of Spinoza’s Preface
to Part 2 of his Short Treatise
Chapter 8: How Can We Evaluate Spinoza on Immortality and
the Soul from his Preface to Part 2 of his Short Treatise?
Chapter 9: Spinoza’s Appendix 2 ‘On the Human Soul’ in his
Short Treatise
Chapter 10: Concluding Remarks on Volume 2
Author’s Note
I can be contacted at:
Message me via: http://independentscholar.academia.edu/LibaKaucky
or message me via my contact form
on my academia website:
Send me a message via my contact
page at:
Leave a comment on My Spinoza
Research Diary blog:
The purpose of writing this ebook
and publishing it on my blog is to encourage wider access and participation in
philosophy and philosophical research, not just within but also outside of academic
institutions regardless of educational background. This is one of the reasons I
have included open access sources for Spinoza’s texts and translations of them
and cited them alongside printed copies.
Editorial Note
In this ebook, for consistency, I
have used the standard contemporary citation of Spinoza’s Ethics by referring
to all his scholiums as scholiums rather than occasionally referring to them as
notes, as in the 1901 edition of Spinoza’s Ethics. Page references I provide in
the references at the end will make this edition of Elwes’s note type scholiums
easy to find for readers who wish to read the 1901 ebook primary text of the
Ethics alongside this ebook.
This edition of volume 2 was published here on my Spinoza
blog chapter by chapter on a regular basis.
Preface
This blog ebook has been based on my abstract ‘Spinoza on how to
live well and die well’ which I submitted 19th October 2015 to the joint
conference of the European Society for Early Modern Philosophy and the British
Society for the History of Philosophy: Life and Death in Early Modern
Philosophy which took place on the 14th-16th April 2016 at the
University of London, UK and was organised by Professor Susan James.
I have been working on the topic of life and death and related
issues in Spinoza ever since and so this abstract has become the basis for this
volume 2 ebook. As in the previous volume, I translate parts of Spinoza’s Latin
text to elucidate the meaning behind his words so that, hopefully, I can come
closer to understanding Spinoza’s works. In order to do this, I call upon
knowledge I gained at the Open University on their undergraduate level course final
year module in Latin. In this volume, I have introduced an interlinear
translation format so that the Latin together with my translation can be seen
at a glance.
There are two people I’d like to thank.
Firstly, Professor Susan James to whom I am deeply indebted for
her inspiring lectures and talks on Spinoza and in the History of Early Modern
Philosophy in general which have given me the impetus to go on to do research
(as an independent scholar) in philosophy after graduation. From her lectures, I
learned the old-fashioned Cambridge University-style of looking at a
topic/philosopher with breadth which taught me to read widely and see how
things inter-relate, whether between texts by the same philosopher or between
philosophers and centuries. Historical context was also seen as important when
trying to understand a particular philosopher. Philosophers’ arguments were analysed and
fleshed out. Their texts examined with a charitable reading, no twisting the
text or adding anything that you would like to see there that isn’t.
Her
ability to explain complex thoughts/ideas/terminology meant she didn’t ‘dumb
down’ but gently brought you up to her level. This has all greatly influenced
my approach to reading and researching Early Modern Philosophy texts. Failing
to ask a question at her Q&A’s was not an option and would be met with a
humorous: I see you all understand everything perfectly. This made me ensure I
always had at least one question to ask and could demonstrate I had actually read
the primary text as well as the secondary literature. There were no short cuts with
her because you would be found out. You couldn’t bluff your way through and you
still can’t! She liked you to develop your own ideas, spot hidden layers of
complexity in the text together with having a robust argument about it that
would withstand a sceptical: How does that work? Is that plausible? Having your
text with you was something she encouraged but having it sitting on your table wasn’t
enough. She’d expect you to have read it in detail, prior to the lecture, with
your brain engaged. Even a chapter title was analysed – Why is it worded the
way it is and what’s it telling us about the chapter and book? You can never
assume a question from her is as easy as it appears at first blush.
Her
approach taught me to always be on my toes and wide-awake and concentrate
throughout her lectures or I’d miss a vital step in her train of thought. Her
lectures would incrementally become more complex as the lecture progressed so
you needed to keep up with her, actively and intensively thinking and asking yourself
questions not just sitting there letting it wash over you. I carried this invaluable
training through into all lectures, talks and conferences. This enabled me to
learn a great deal very quickly. Although thoroughly Cambridge, Professor Susan
James, nevertheless, went on to create her own style and niche in philosophy. I
have tried to model myself on her by creating my own style and voice as well as
finding my own niche in the world of philosophy. I think she is a great role
model not only for me but all aspiring women philosophers.
My knowledge of Spinoza is continually being enhanced by the
many excellent talks and discussions at her London Spinoza Circle which she
began in October 2015. I appreciate being part of this vibrant community she
has created where enthusiasts and scholars of Spinoza regularly come together
to enjoy exchanging ideas about him.
I’d also like to thank my undergraduate dissertation supervisor
and final year tutor in the History of Philosophy, Professor Anthony Price. He also
encouraged close study of the text (including being comfortable with the odd
Greek word or two in Ancient Greek Philosophy) and was constantly Οing and Οing. His words still
ring in my ears: Is it in the text? This emphasis on the original primary text
has held me in good stead as I approach my own research in Early Modern
Philosophy, especially Spinoza, Lady Mary Shepherd and Hume. Our supervisions
were an academically lively, sometimes academically adversarial, debate which
forced me to have to justify my stance and arguments. However, he was always
ready to discuss and consider, exploring all possible angles asking: What if?
Would it work under all conditions? Is it in the text? Where? Is it clearly in
the text not just wishful thinking? Are you thinking it through yourself rather
than relying on secondary literature which can be wrong? That was an
eye-opener. When a student, there is a tendency to think secondary literature is always a true
depiction of the text. Both he and Professor Susan James always emphasized
thinking for yourself and finding your own interpretation that is as unbiased
as possible and so represents the philosopher in their true light. He was keen
on exploring diverse opinions despite holding strong opinions himself. It was
an intense hour of constant dialogue between us. His supervisions taught me to
enjoy both calm, relaxed, explorative philosophising together as well as
adversarial debate. I think both are important in philosophy. His
unconventional style by today’s standards, old-fashioned Oxford University approach
increased my confidence and ability in asking and answering questions at
Q&A sessions, constructing plausible arguments and defending my theses, all
of which I find useful now when trying to hold my own against professors in my
field.
It is due to both Professor
Susan James and Professor Anthony Price that I have gone on to focus my
research on primary texts rather than secondary literature.
So, between the two professors I was lucky to receive two
different yet complementary styles rooted in the Oxbridge tradition. The one
thing they both emphasized was: Is it in the text, where, how and why? They
were objective and neutral in their approach not wishing to super-impose the contemporary
views/opinions, ideologies of others or their own onto the text. Both allowed
you the freedom to find your own voice, and interpretation rather than parrot
theirs. They encouraged you to find your own style, and how or what methodology
you preferred to use. This has been invaluable in my own research and has given
me confidence to carry out research in philosophy straight after graduating.
My continued thanks to Professor Oystein Linnebo for his
Metaphysics lectures which taught me not only Metaphysics (Level 6) but also
how to incorporate logic into my essays. I also learnt a great deal about logic
and how to logically structure my philosophical arguments and interpretations by listening to his paper, and other speakers’ papers, when attending the conference ‘Varieties
of Higher-Order Logic’ (in conjunction with the ERC Plurals, Predicates and
Paradoxes research project) in London, 18-19th June 2010. All this
has enabled me to understand complex logic and incorporate it into my research
papers and books. I have found this a highly useful skill and an important one
in the field of philosophy.
My overarching philosophical aim in writing up my research in an
accessible manner is to open up the debate that Spinoza was and remained
throughout his life a religiously devout Jew and that evidence of this can be
found in his texts. This is seen as a highly controversial stance and one that
is not taken up by even those who think Spinoza was not an atheist and that
Jewish ideas are present in his text. However, I wish to press this further in
my Analytic-Jewish interpretation of Spinoza, and present the idea that
Spinoza’s texts are based on his Jewish faith, which, in my opinion, he never
wandered away from, and that by having a better appreciation of Judaism,
especially that practised in 17th century Netherlands, we come closer to
understanding this complex philosopher. In order to achieve my aim, over the
course of these volumes, I shall closely analyse his texts not only in
translation but also in Latin, which was the language he chose to write in to
reach a wide audience, as well as some of his Hebrew additions to the Latin. I
hope by doing this, I can understand Spinoza’s thoughts, ideas and arguments in
a rational, unprejudiced way, unprejudiced as in not pre-judging the layers of
meaning within his writings.
This
ebook is volume 2 of my series ‘Research Thoughts on… Spinoza’, and deals with
three main subject areas: life, death and immortality.
