The title of this blog references Spinoza's revolutionary ideology of finding a "true good" among his surroundings and dominant influences. Spinoza believes we are brain washed into thinking what is important in our lives. This "Evil Trinity" of riches, honour and sensual pleasure is presented to our society as the answer to our question of what this life is all about. As students, about to embark into our next stage of life, many options are presented to us. The question is how strong we are to conjure for ourselves a meaningful path and existence. To break apart from what we know and enter into the unknown. Looking into the abyss, we are frightened but excited, willing but afraid. It is hard to break apart from our past and present condition and accept and embrace an unknown path and ideology. As Spinoza writes "Losing a certain good for the sake of an uncertain good"( The Essential Spinoza, pg.165). Spinoza believes that thinking for ourselves and creating our own method of living is crucial, regardless of the risk . Spinoza believes that our very existence is depended upon grasping the unknown, dissataching ourselves from comfort and leaping in to the great abyss of the unknown and uncertain.
Reading poetry at home, working at our church or temple on the weekend, meditating at our lunch break. These are all ways of finding meaning situated between our normal existence of work and daily habituation. Is this enough though? Spinoza believes not as he writes " I therefore debated whether it might be possible to arrive at a new guiding principle-or at least the sure hope of its attainment -without changing the manner and normal routine of my life.This I frequently attempted but in vain"(The Essential Spinoza, pg.164). The "true good" that Spinoza believes is above all else requires a leap of faith into a new world that is without the three elements of honour, riches and sensual pleasure. But this new world is an abyss that can be pierced at but not truly understood until one is truly enmeshed within it.
The truth is that most of us are consumed by sex, money and status on a daily level. It constricts our perception of the universe and ourselves. "With these three the mind is so distracted that it is quite incapable of thinking of any other good"(pg.164). We must extract ourselves from this life to understand ourselves. It is not enough to insert periodically our most importamt beliefs into daily monotonus existence. We must extract ourselves and leap into another sphere of existence that suppourts our most cherished beliefs and ideologies.
Spinoza’s Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect attempts to improve or correct on elements of the intellect which are faulty or erroneous, in pursuit of a ‘true good’. A common fault made by many, according to Spinoza, is how exactly the highest or true good is defined. Spinoza observes that the erroneous highest good can for the most part be broken down into one of three elements: riches, honor, and sensual pleasure. It is the focus or targeting, on each or any of these three aspects as a goal, which distracts the mind and leads one down a faulty path during the pursuit of the true good. Spinoza does realize the necessity of these three aspects as a living means towards the goal of understanding, as opposed to them being goals in and of themselves. Stating that ‘we have to continue with our lives while pursuing this end and endeavoring to bring down the intellect into the right path (167,17),’ Spinoza lays down a ‘good rule’ framework to be used as a standard of living while still incorporating the three elements previously mentioned. It is through this framework that one can increase understanding within him (her)self, approaching the true good. Through the joining of oneself with others who have also reached this level of understanding, one can also reach an even higher state of being termed a ‘supreme good’.
ReplyDeleteSpinoza’s idea of “true good” is one that can only be understood by first realizing Spinoza’s distinction between the concepts of “good and evil.” When we think of good and evil we consider it to be things that are good or bad for us, such as pleasure or pain to ourselves or others. Spinoza throws out these definitions that we have always understood to be what good and evil mean by saying that this is how humans understand good and evil but in reality those are the definitions of those words related only to humans in their world. The way Spinoza distinguishes good and evil is by saying that “good is reached when we act through our reason and that things are only evil if we act through our emotion.” So when one looks at the concept of the “Evil Trinity,” which consists of riches, honour, and sexual pleasure, one can see how, according to Spinoza, these things would be considered evil because they are often driven by our emotional mind and not our reason. And if we were all able to solely follow our reason we would strive to achieve and come closer to what Spinoza called the “true good.”
ReplyDeleteIt does not seem that the term “evil” is the correct term for labeling riches, honor and sensual pleasure. As Spinoza notes “good and bad are only relative terms, so that one and the same thing may be good or bad in different respects, just like the term perfect and imperfect” (pg. 166). Rather than being “evils”, riches, honor and sensual pleasures are merely things that causes one to stray from obtaining the “true good”. In other words, riches, honor and sensual pleasures are more like fakes that are impersonating the “true good”. However, the “true good” as Spinoza notes is “the union which the mind has with the whole of Nature” (pg.166). That poses the yet another difficulty. There seems to be an infinite number of things to know about Nature and it is impossible to know an infinite number of things. Then does not mean that knowing the “true good” is also impossible? If that is so, then are we supposed to settle for lesser goods? Are riches, honor and sensual pleasures not lesser goods? Are we then supposed to settle for those?
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how much of an influence Descartes had on Spinoza. Spinoza's "true good" originates from the mind, the intellect, will, etc.
ReplyDeleteThis reflects Descartes view on the mind, how it's our closest link to God, who is perfect.
On the other hand, the "3 Great Evils" are derived of the body, the senses, imagination, etc. The body is further away from perfection than the mind, and subject to impurity.
In the Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect, Spinoza examines what a “good life” is and how we can achieve it. The “Evil Trinity” has its place in the process because the need or want for sensual pleasures, money, and honor are not necessarily bad. I prefer to use the terms perfect and imperfect in place of good and evil as Spinoza did in the text. As humans we are not perfect, it is our imperfections that push us to strive for the “true good” or perfection as we see it. It is this drive that creates our greed, selfishness, and unwillingness to accept that a “good life” requires a union with others. “Thus he is urged to seek the means that will bring him to such perfection, and all that can be the means of his attaining this objective is called the true good, while the supreme good is to arrive at the enjoyment of such a nature, together as individuals, if possible.” (pg. 166, 13). Even though we are plagued by the “Evil Trinity” on a daily basis, we must perfect our imperfections, and create a “life plan” that will ensure the achievement of the “supreme good” which is joy for everyone.
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ReplyDeleteI'm glad so many of you have commented on the use of the word evil, although it seems like there's a conflict between LeShawn and Kevin, versus Andrew.
ReplyDelete@Kevin. The "union of the mind with Nature". So that means knowledge of all of Nature? Is Nature composed of finite things? Which Nature is the nature that the mind is united with?
@Justin: although I have made comments on the influence of Descartes, I think this may be a point where there is actually a reaction against Descartes and the implicit Scholastic tradition. I wonder if Spinoza would put it as you do, that the body is farther from perfection than the mind.
While it is true that emotions often lead us to takeimpulsive and erroneous decisions which tend to lead to a bad end, still no onecan say that evil comes from the body, senses and imagination, and that ourdesire for wealth, social elite and carnal pleasure belong to evil. Ok we have it clear too that "true good" must originates from the most pure essense of the human being, the mind. If thatwere the case, then we are affirming that we are partially evil though, which Ibelieve it is true. I mean, I'd be hypocrite If I don’t acknowledge that I achievecertain goals only by being motivated, using the impulse of desire.
ReplyDeleteOf course one will make lot of mistakes in the path forreaching the "true good", by doing things driven by your senses only,but it's the same if we only use our intellect to reach the good. We are notmachines, we need to be first be motivated, and then think dto o the right. we all know that we can not divorce of our impulses, as well as we know that we need to meditate previously before to make a decision about what is best for us. we need put all in a balance.