Reason

Reason is the second kind of knowledge — understanding things through common notions and adequate ideas of their properties.

In depth

Spinoza distinguishes three kinds of knowledge. The first (imagination) is sensory and hearsay — unreliable. The second (reason) grasps things through universal principles and common notions. When you understand that all bodies obey laws of motion, or that all affects follow from conatus, you are using reason. Reason always produces adequate ideas and therefore always increases power.

Why it matters

Reason is the primary tool for liberation. Through reason, we move from confused experience to clear understanding. Every adequate idea formed through reason weakens the hold of passive affects and strengthens active ones.

Source references

• Ethics II.P40 Schol. 2

Connected concepts

Appears in paths