Spinoza on overcoming the affects

Philosophy

Abstract

The main objective of the ethical doctrine of Spinoza is to find the way that leads to the man’s moral freedom (libertas). Such freedom Spinoza associates with the rational knowledge that enables us to overcome the state of the human being, which is indicated by them as slavery (servitus) of affects. That affects not allow a person to achieve a clear and precise understanding of things and the nature of human existence. Spinoza defines the affect as the suffering of the soul and as the vague idea. Person subject of affect cannot control himself and knocks under to his fate. As a means to overcome the affects he offers the following: true knowledge of the passions, displacement of one affect by the another, the separation of affect from the presentation of the external cause and — the original idea of Spinoza’s Ethics — transformation of the true knowledge into the strongest affect.