adequate / inadequate cause
adequate: whose effect can be clearly and distinctly be
perceived through it
inadequate: whose effect cannot be perceived through it
‘perception’ for Spinoza – is what is given to the mind –
as distinct from the action of the mind
that which is given to the mind – independent of
interpretation – is undefined –
is unknown
any interpretation is open to question – open to doubt – is
uncertain –
whether ‘clear and distinct’ – or not
an inadequate cause –
as that which is not given
that is to say – unknown
any so called cause of an effect –
is an hypothesis
active / passive
active:
when something takes place within us or outside of us –
whose adequate cause we are –
when from our nature follows in us or outside us which can
be clearly and distinctly understood through that alone
any such ‘understanding’ –
is open to question – open to doubt –
is uncertain
passive:
we suffer or are passive –
when something takes place in us or follows from our nature
of which we are the partial cause
any ‘cause’ – partial or not –
is an hypothesis –
open to question open to doubt –
uncertain
suffering then is the interpretation
–
that we are the partial cause
this is hardly an adequate account of suffering
the reality is –
we can and will suffer –
however we interpret the world
emotion
modifications of the body by which the power or action in
the body is increased or diminished
and at the same time the ideas of these modifications
if we can be the adequate cause of these modifications –
then the emotion is action –
otherwise a passion
we can make this interpretation – active / passive – action
/ emotion (effect)
Spinoza here puts this as an interpretative model –
and it may indeed be a useful model –
yes – we may imagine we
are the ‘adequate cause’ of our actions –
or that we are not
whatever the case –
we are always in the realm of interpretation –
my own view is –
an action is a reaching out to the word in whatever way
an emotion is a sense of oneself in relation to the world
there is no action without emotion
a passionate response to the world –
is an intense engagement of the self with the world –
passion is active
© greg t. charlton. 2013.
