Abstract

Spinoza accepted from the world view of early modern science the significance of mathematics as the language of physical nature, but he resisted the trend within the scientific world view toward mechanism, corpuscularism and dualism. ;The Cartesian analysis of matter led to the concept of Extension as the 'dimensionality' of space. For Spinoza, mere 'dimensionality' is nothing but an abstraction; and Extension is instead defined as an indivisible power of Substance. Where Cartesian physics can be shown to lack any principle of individuation for bodies, Spinoza builds into his concept of Extension an individuating, binding power. Bodies, in the Spinozistic construct, are systematic wholes of parts. ;Spinoza is first and foremost a moral philosopher, concerned with "man and his well-being." He goes so far as to state that whatever in the sciences does not lead to the moral development of man is to be rejected as useless. To put science on the right footing, Spinoza attempts to construct a physical theory of bodies in which the paradigm is the living organism rather than the lifeless particle; and, in particular, his paradigm is the free action of the enlightened man. ;The early modern scientists and allied philosophers searched for a set of primary qualities in the physical world to be the objects of knowledge. For Spinoza, the intelligible is not found within the phenomenal world but in a level of eternal being. This eternal level has a rich structure in Spinoza's system which includes the concrete essences of individual objects. These essences are, for Spinoza, dynamic patterns which determine the character of finite individuals. ;Spinoza's discussion of physical bodies culminates in the application of his principles to the human body. Perception, memory, emotion and even knowledge have roots in the structure of the human body. Finally, Spinoza's theory of human emendation finds a physical basis in his statement that our "chief endeavor" is to "change the body of infancy...into another body which is fitted for many things"