On the Improvement of the Understanding
- Idioma:
- anglès
- Completesa:
- Obra completa
- Autoria:
- Escrita per l'autor
- Estat del text:
- Sense soroll d'escaneig detectat (mesura automàtica sobre tot el text, no revisada a mà)
- Extensió:
- ~16.800 paraules · 80 passatges
Cita aquesta obra
- APABaruch Spinoza. (n.d.). On the Improvement of the Understanding. Digital reproduction: SigPhi. https://sigphiai.com/ca/works/baruch-spinoza/on-the-improvement-of-the-understanding
- MLABaruch Spinoza. On the Improvement of the Understanding. Digital reproduction, SigPhi, https://sigphiai.com/ca/works/baruch-spinoza/on-the-improvement-of-the-understanding.
- ChicagoBaruch Spinoza. On the Improvement of the Understanding. Digital reproduction, SigPhi. https://sigphiai.com/ca/works/baruch-spinoza/on-the-improvement-of-the-understanding.
Referència de l’edició reproduïda. SigPhi és la reproducció digital, no l’editor. S’hi inclouen l’any, l’editorial i el traductor quan consten; «n.d.» indica que no consta l’any. La responsabilitat d’un pròleg o d’una nota es determina segons el passatge citat.
De què tracta
La traducció anglesa del tractat inacabat de Spinoza sobre com s'ha d'endreçar l'enteniment per conèixer bé.
Context i història
Comença amb una pàgina que no s'assembla a res més de Spinoza: una confessió en primera persona sobre haver vist que la riquesa, l'honor i el plaer no donen res que duri, i haver decidit buscar un bé que sí en doni. Del que ve després n'hi ha prou per veure el mètode: distingir les maneres com coneixem —d'oïda, d'experiència vaga, de raonament, i el quart, la percepció d'una cosa per la seva essència— i mostrar que només l'última val. El tractat es va quedar sense acabar; Spinoza el va abandonar per escriure l'«Ètica», que aplica el mètode en comptes d'explicar-lo. És per això que és la millor porta d'entrada: es veu què buscava, abans que la geometria ho tapés tot.
Context editorial, no una font citable: a diferència dels passatges de l'obra, aquestes dades no es poden contrastar amb el corpus.
that it may thus proceed, our method must furnish us, first, with a means of distinguishing a true idea from all other perceptions, and enabling the mind to avoid the latter; secondly, with rules for perceiving unknown things according to the standard of the true idea; thirdly, with an order which enables us to avoid useless labor. (49:4) When we became acquainted with this method, we saw that, fourthly, it would be perfect when we had attained to the idea of the absolutely perfect Being. (5) This is an observation which should be made at the outset, in order that we may arrive at the knowledge of such a being more quickly. [50] (1) Let us then make a beginning with the first part of the method, which is, as we have said, to distinguish and separate the true idea from other perceptions, and to keep the mind from confusing with true ideas those which are false, fictitious, and doubtful. (2) I intend to dwell on this point at length, partly to keep a distinction so necessary before the reader's mind, and also because there are some who doubt of true ideas, through not having attended to the distinction between a true perception and all others. (3) Such persons are like men who, while they are awake, doubt not that they are awake, but afterwards in a dream, as often happens, thinking that they are surely awake, and then finding that they were in error, become doubtful even of being awake. (4) This state of mind arises through neglect of the distinction between sleeping and waking. [51] (1) Meanwhile, I give warning that I shall not here give essence of every perception, and explain it through its proximate cause. (2) Such work lies in the province of philosophy. (3) I shall confine myself to what concerns method--that is, to the character of fictitious, false and doubtful perceptions, and the means of freeing ourselves therefrom. (4) Let us then first inquire into the nature of a fictitious idea.…