The Distinction between Reason and Intuitive Knowledge inSpinoza'sEthics

Abstract

While both intuitive knowledge (scientia intuitiva) and reason (ratio) are adequate ways of knowing for Spinoza, they are not equal. Intuitive knowledge, which Spinoza describes as the ‘greatest virtue of mind’, is superior to reason. The nature of this superiority has been the subject of some controversy due to Spinoza's notoriously parsimonious treatment of the distinction between reason and intuitive knowledge in the Ethics. In this paper, I argue that intuitive knowledge differs from reason not only in terms of its method of cognition—but also in terms of its content. More specifically, I maintain that there is something that is known by intuition, namely the unique essences of things, that is not known by reason. My argument is supported by an examination of Spinoza's account of essences in the Ethics, which reveals that he is committed to both unique and shared essences. Based on this dual commitment, I argue that whereas for Spinoza both reason and intuition can be said to reach adequate knowledge of the shared essence of a thing, the unique essence of a singular thing, which is nothing but its actual essence, can only be known through intuitive knowledge.

Part V of Spinoza's Ethics: Intuitive knowledge, contentment of mind, and intellectual love of God

“…Although their interpretations differ from mind, other scholars have also emphasized that scientia intuitiva confers self-knowledge. See, e.g., Lloyd (1994), Sharp (2010), and Soyarslan (2016).…”

Spinoza's Account of Blessedness Explored through an Aristotelian Lens

“…Attaining intuitive knowledge of singular things is 34 Note that, due to Spinoza's limited treatment of the distinction between reason and intuitive knowledge in the Ethics, the nature of the superiority of intuitive knowledge has been the subject of some controversy among commentators such as Spencer Carr (1978), Henry Allison (1987), Ronald Sandler (2005, Steven Nadler (2006), Garrett (2010), andKristin Primus (2017). For the purposes of this article, rather than delving into the details of this scholarly controversy, I present an overview of my own account of this subject, which I defend in detail in Sanem Soyarslan (2016).…”

Narrative-Based Nature of Heritage: Between Myth and Discourses: Case of Šiluva Place-Making in Progress

“…Thus, being capax Dei, every individual must be able to ascend to the higher layers of reality, or to the myth reality, by using his intuition merged with cognitive knowledge. To B. Spinoza, intuition was knowledge of the highest degree since it required both cognitive skills deriving from the mind and a priori reasoning that comes from the spiritual capabilities of the individual or from a meta-reality [17,18]. Jewish sages in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance suggested that reality might not be a positive act of creation.…”