TEI The First 3 Paragraphs with Commentary

I am looking chiefly for the particular actions Spinoza

suggests to his readers. so I may go too quickly for some through

some parts. On the other hand, I may accede to the desire to

ponder and savor this or that sentence along the way in this banquet

for the soul. But, a main theme, in addition to ferreting out the clear

instructions Spinoza is offering, I will also be discovering whether the

text itself can give us clues as to why the work was left

languishing, incomplete…Is there some insoluble main problem 

which Spinoza had not yet been able to conceive in such a way

that he could sensibly write it down?  I think so, but we will get to

that later.

Let's look at the first 3 Paragraphs in TEI.  Please read the material slowly

and make notes of of any sentences or ideas you don't understand.

If you would like to join a conference call to discuss the study, send

me an email.  I have read these paragraphs many times, and never

fail to feel vivified, and I will usually ponder anew to discover what

fears are ruling parts of my life, etc.

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[1] (1) After experience had taught me that all the usual

surroundings of social life are vain and futile; seeing that none

of the objects of my fears contained in themselves anything either

good or bad, except in so far as the mind is affected by them,

I finally resolved to inquire whether there might be some real

good having power to communicate itself, which would affect the

mind singly, to the exclusion of all else: whether, in fact, there

might be anything of which the discovery and attainment would

enable me to enjoy continuous, supreme, and unending happiness.

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I sometimes wonder if many students of the Ethics (especially those

focussed on the ontological aspects) are able to bear in mind that

Spinoza's aim was to rejoice inwardly. From the gate here, he is

talking about fear and joy, etc. He doesn't say that his aim was to

propose a solution to the "mind-body" problem, as such, although

he does accomplish this in Ethics.  Many are unable to see that. If he

sounds to anyone here at the outset of his treatise as if he is

concerned chiefly with abstractions of philosophical speculation (I

don't say he is never concerned at all), then I can only say that our

readings are very different.  Spinoza wants to discover the great joys

in life: conceiving "the true idea" is both the means and the end.

Implicit here perhaps is the imprimatur that, if we have not learned

to a large degree about the "futility and vanity," concerning the ordinary

pursuits people give their efforts to, leaving little time and energy for the

fundamental inquiries, then we may lack acertain prerequisite for giving

 our hearts and minds to those inquirieswith sufficient desire. Everything 

about the manner in which Spinoza described the object of his inquiry is 

profound and highly specific,worthy of considering every phrase and word.

So, here in this study, little by little, we have the opportunity of really en-

hancing our understanding of this consummate spiritual master who also

happens to be one of the chief architects of "The Enlightenment" which

profoundly altered the trajectory of the octave of Western history.

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[2] (1) I say "I finally resolved," for at first sight it seemed

unwise willingly to lose hold on what was sure for the sake of

something then uncertain. (2) I could see the benefits which are

acquired through fame and riches, and that I should be obliged to

abandon the quest of such objects, if I seriously devoted myself

to the search for something different and new. (3) I perceived

that if true happiness chanced to be placed in the former I should

necessarily miss it; while if, on the other hand, it were not so

placed, and I gave them my whole attention, I should equally fail.

[3] (1) I therefore debated whether it would not be possible to

arrive at the new principle, or at any rate at a certainty

concerning its existence, without changing the conduct and usual

plan of my life; with this end in view I made many efforts,

in vain. (2) For the ordinary surroundings of life which are

esteemed by men (as their actions testify) to be the highest

good, may be classed under the three heads - Riches, Fame, and

the Pleasures of Sense: with these three the mind is so absorbed

that it has little power to reflect on any different good.

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Spinoza seems to say he had to make some changes in his lifestyle. I

don't know all the particulars he means, although he could be referring

to his transition out of the Jewish community, etc. Has anyone studied 

the life of Spinoza so as to add some comments here?  Are my own

surroundings and my daily routines so engrossing , am I so habituated

to a routine, mechanical existence, perhaps as a barrier to keep doubt

and wonder away, that I have no hopeof devoting myself to such an inquiry? 

After all, Spinoza says that we must direct all of our thoughts and actions to 

the end of attaining to a certain character. Notably, Gurdjieff advised his

students to just begin observing themselves in their present circumstances rather

than trying to change behaviors or suppress emotions.  That is the way I began

in this work.  As the sorcerer Don Juan Matus said truly, the aim of the man of

knowledge is only "to see."  Krishnamurti called it "choiceless awareness."

Can I quietly observe the mind as if merely gazing at the surface of a passing river?

-DR