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Full Idea
When men make mistakes in calculation, they have one set of figures in their mind, and another on the paper. If we could see into their minds, they do not make a mistake.
Gist of Idea
People make calculation mistakes by misjudging the figures, not calculating them wrongly
Source
Baruch de Spinoza (The Ethics [1675], II Pr 47)
Book Ref
Spinoza,Benedict de: 'Ethics, Improvement of Understanding, Letters', ed/tr. Elwes,R [Dover 1955], p.119
A Reaction
A wonderfully optimistic assertion of faith in reason! He seems to imply an infallibility in reason, which seems a bit implausible. If I make 7+6=14, MUST I have muddled the 6 with a 7? Presumably Spinoza was good at arithmetic.
Related Idea
Idea 4764 We cannot directly control our beliefs, but we can control the causes of our involuntary beliefs [Engel]
| 2284 | I make errors because my will extends beyond my understanding [Descartes] |
| 5007 | Most errors of judgement result from an inaccurate perception of the facts [Descartes] |
| 4841 | People make calculation mistakes by misjudging the figures, not calculating them wrongly [Spinoza] |
| 21542 | Do incorrect judgements have non-existent, or mental, or external objects? [Russell] |
| 6443 | Surprise is a criterion of error [Russell] |
| 22306 | To explain false belief we should take belief as relating to a proposition's parts, not to the whole thing [Russell] |
| 6097 | The theory of error seems to need the existence of the non-existent [Russell] |
| 5425 | In order to explain falsehood, a belief must involve several terms, not two [Russell] |
| 23475 | The form of a proposition must show why nonsense is unjudgeable [Wittgenstein] |