Spinoza on Essences, Universals, and Beings of Reason
Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 96 (2):58-88 (2015)
Authors |
Karolina Hübner
University of Chicago (PhD)
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Abstract |
The article proposes a new solution to the long-standing problem of the universality of essences in Spinoza's ontology. It argues that, according to Spinoza, particular things in nature possess unique essences, but that these essences coexist with more general, mind-dependent species-essences, constructed by finite minds on the basis of similarities that obtain among the properties of formally-real particulars. This account provides the best fit both with the textual evidence and with Spinoza's other metaphysical and epistemological commitments. The article offers new readings of how Spinoza understands not just the nature of essence, but also the nature of being, reason, striving, definitions, and different kinds of knowledge.
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Keywords | Spinoza metaphysics essence universals beings of reason nominalism |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
DOI | 10.1111/papq.12087 |
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References found in this work BETA
The Complete Works of Aristotle the Revised Oxford Translation.Jonathan Aristotle, J. A. Barnes, W. D. Smith & Ross - 1984 - Princeton University Press, 1984.
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Citations of this work BETA
Spinoza and the Logical Limits of Mental Representation.Galen Barry - 2019 - Journal of Modern Philosophy 1 (1):5.
Reply to Yenter: Spinoza, Number, and Diversity.Galen Barry - 2016 - British Journal for the History of Philosophy 24 (2):365-374.
Spinning Strands Into Aspects: Realism, Idealism, and Finite Modes in Spinoza.Noa Shein - forthcoming - European Journal of Philosophy.
Spinoza's Formal Mechanism.Christopher Martin - 2018 - Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 99 (S1):151-181.
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