Les idées de la nature humaine : l’anthropologie critique et pratique de Spinoza
Although the idea of a specific nature seems to be incompatible with the rejection of universals in the second part of Spinoza’s Ethics, the notion of human nature is yet clearly used by this philosopher for both descriptive and normative purposes. We can notice this ambiguity, in particular, by exa...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | fra |
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École Normale Supérieure de Lyon
2018-11-01
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Series: | Astérion |
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Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/asterion/3298 |
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author | Sophie Laveran |
author_facet | Sophie Laveran |
author_sort | Sophie Laveran |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Although the idea of a specific nature seems to be incompatible with the rejection of universals in the second part of Spinoza’s Ethics, the notion of human nature is yet clearly used by this philosopher for both descriptive and normative purposes. We can notice this ambiguity, in particular, by examining how the question of human nature is introduced in two famous extracts of his works: at the end of the prologue of The Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect and in the preface of the fourth part of the Ethics. On the one hand, Spinoza presents the improvement of human nature as a central goal of his ethical project; on the other hand, he deconstructs, in the foregoing passages, notions such as perfection, imperfection, good and evil, which seem to disqualify those same aims as derived from inadequate ideas. In order to sort out the meaning of those issues, this paper’s leading hypothesis will be that there’s a tension, in Spinoza’s reflection on human nature, between a critical analysis of the inadequate idea of this nature, which comes from imagination, and an attempt to form, by using reason, an adequate idea of it, and to make it play a lead role in the philosophical program and more specifically in its ethical and political stakes. |
first_indexed | 2024-04-12T22:27:36Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-c6674250ad14415ca21c501785901a73 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1762-6110 |
language | fra |
last_indexed | 2024-04-12T22:27:36Z |
publishDate | 2018-11-01 |
publisher | École Normale Supérieure de Lyon |
record_format | Article |
series | Astérion |
spelling | doaj.art-c6674250ad14415ca21c501785901a732022-12-22T03:14:04ZfraÉcole Normale Supérieure de LyonAstérion1762-61102018-11-011910.4000/asterion.3298Les idées de la nature humaine : l’anthropologie critique et pratique de SpinozaSophie LaveranAlthough the idea of a specific nature seems to be incompatible with the rejection of universals in the second part of Spinoza’s Ethics, the notion of human nature is yet clearly used by this philosopher for both descriptive and normative purposes. We can notice this ambiguity, in particular, by examining how the question of human nature is introduced in two famous extracts of his works: at the end of the prologue of The Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect and in the preface of the fourth part of the Ethics. On the one hand, Spinoza presents the improvement of human nature as a central goal of his ethical project; on the other hand, he deconstructs, in the foregoing passages, notions such as perfection, imperfection, good and evil, which seem to disqualify those same aims as derived from inadequate ideas. In order to sort out the meaning of those issues, this paper’s leading hypothesis will be that there’s a tension, in Spinoza’s reflection on human nature, between a critical analysis of the inadequate idea of this nature, which comes from imagination, and an attempt to form, by using reason, an adequate idea of it, and to make it play a lead role in the philosophical program and more specifically in its ethical and political stakes.http://journals.openedition.org/asterion/3298anthropologynominalismnaturalismcommunitySpinozapsychology |
spellingShingle | Sophie Laveran Les idées de la nature humaine : l’anthropologie critique et pratique de Spinoza Astérion anthropology nominalism naturalism community Spinoza psychology |
title | Les idées de la nature humaine : l’anthropologie critique et pratique de Spinoza |
title_full | Les idées de la nature humaine : l’anthropologie critique et pratique de Spinoza |
title_fullStr | Les idées de la nature humaine : l’anthropologie critique et pratique de Spinoza |
title_full_unstemmed | Les idées de la nature humaine : l’anthropologie critique et pratique de Spinoza |
title_short | Les idées de la nature humaine : l’anthropologie critique et pratique de Spinoza |
title_sort | les idees de la nature humaine l anthropologie critique et pratique de spinoza |
topic | anthropology nominalism naturalism community Spinoza psychology |
url | http://journals.openedition.org/asterion/3298 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT sophielaveran lesideesdelanaturehumainelanthropologiecritiqueetpratiquedespinoza |