"It is not possible, I think, to rise from the perusal of the arguments of Clark and Spinoza without a deep conviction of the futility of all endeavors to establish, entirely à priori, the existence of an Infinite Being, His attributes, and His relation to the universe. The fundamental principle of all such speculations, viz. that whatever we can clearly conceive, must exist, fails to accomplish its end, even when its truth is admitted. For how shall the finite comprehend the infinite? Yet must the possibility of such conception be granted, and in something more than the sense of a mere withdrawal of the limits of phænomal existence, before any solid ground can be established for the knowledge, à priori, of things infinite and eternal."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
George Boole, An Investigation of the Laws of Thought (1854) Ch. 13. Clarke and Spinoza, pp. 216-217.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Baruch_Spinoza
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Baruch Spinoza
philosopher, Bible translator, grinder of lenses
1632 – 1677 · Dutch Republic
Benedictus de Spinoza (24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a social and metaphysical philosopher known for the elaborate development of his monist philosophy, which has become known as Spinozism. Controversy regarding his ideas led to his excommunication from the Jewish community of his native Amsterdam. He was named Baruch ("blessed" in Hebrew) Spinoza by his synagogue elders and known as Bento de Spinoza or Bento d'Espiñoza, but afterwards used the name Benedictus ("blessed" in Latin) de
517 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Baruch Spinoza →
Related Quotes
"Perhaps then we shall take note that the eternity of substance is not, as Spinoza himself reflected, directly assimil…"
"Spinozism dominated the eighteenth century both in its later French variety, which made matter into substance, and in…"
"Hegel's History of Philosophy presents French materialism as the realization of Spinozistic Substance, which in any c…"
"Even in the case of philosophers who give systematic form to their work, Spinoza for instance, the true inner structu…"
"...But no matter how enamoured one may be with Postmodernist instability of meanings and signification slippage, abso…"
"An important part of Deleuze's oeuvre is devoted to the reading of philosophers: the Stoics, Leibniz, Hume, Kant, Nie…"
"[Spinoza] — A God-intoxicated man. [Original in German: Ein Gottbetrunkener Mensch.]"
"In Hegel there are three elements, Spinoza's Substance, Fichte's Self-Consciousness and Hegel's necessarily antagonis…"
"Herr Bauer picked out French materialism as a school of Spinoza from Hegel's History of Philosophy. But when he found…"
"And what this Lange has to say about the Hegelian method and my application of the same is simply childish. First, he…"