Combining Philosophers

Ideas for Paul Bernays, Saunders MacLane and Baruch de Spinoza

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4 ideas

3. Truth / A. Truth Problems / 1. Truth
Truth is its own standard [Spinoza]
     Full Idea: Truth is its own standard.
     From: Baruch de Spinoza (The Ethics [1675], II Pr 43S)
     A reaction: A gloriously bold solution to all the problems of epistemology. Read the whole of P43S to see the context.
3. Truth / A. Truth Problems / 3. Value of Truth
Spinoza's life shows that love of truth which he proclaims as the highest value [MacIntyre on Spinoza]
     Full Idea: Spinoza's life unites philosophy and practice; he manifests that very impersonal love of truth which he proclaims in his writings as the highest human value.
     From: comment on Baruch de Spinoza (The Ethics [1675]) by Alasdair MacIntyre - A Short History of Ethics Ch.10
     A reaction: Spinoza has become a secular saint in our times. If the big three values are Beauty, Goodness and Truth, why should the third be given top status? I once heard a philosopher say that truth was the only value.
3. Truth / A. Truth Problems / 8. Subjective Truth
For Spinoza, 'adequacy' is the intrinsic mark of truth [Spinoza, by Scruton]
     Full Idea: For Spinoza, the intrinsic mark of truth is the property which he calls 'adequacy'.
     From: report of Baruch de Spinoza (The Ethics [1675]) by Roger Scruton - Short History of Modern Philosophy §5.6
     A reaction: This is presumably the sort of theory to which early rationalists were confined, and it seems to be no advance on Descartes' 'clear and distinct conceptions'. I take it that the coherence theory is a better account of what they were after.
3. Truth / C. Correspondence Truth / 1. Correspondence Truth
A true idea must correspond with its ideate or object [Spinoza]
     Full Idea: A true idea must correspond with its ideate or object.
     From: Baruch de Spinoza (The Ethics [1675], I Ax 6)
     A reaction: Allowing for his usage of 'idea' and 'object', this seems to be a straightforward commitment to the modern correspondence theory, perhaps the earliest clear statement of it. I agree with him.