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Vico’s Ring
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be studied as a work that compels by its logic but impresses by
its composition and organization like a well thought out and co-
gently presented treatise on geometry.
Another “school of thought” in Spinoza commentary, not
necessarily unrelated to the above, is that
Ethics
, similar to other
Spinoza works, has a didactic, pedagogic aim
79
. As in the case of
the previously described reaction, this view, too, is based on con-
siderable evidence. The main reason, however, is the fact that
another Spinoza book,
Principles of Descartes’ Philosophy
, is written
in the axiomatic style and intended for an educational setting:
The close form of propositions and demonstrations served not the
purpose of establishing the truth of the conclusions but was intended
for the pupil whom he was instructing. In short, Spinoza put Des-
cartes’
Principles
in geometrical form because he believed that this was
the form best adapted to educational requirements
80
.
In view of the undeniable difficulties and challenges of argu-
ing a rigid axiomatic/deductive methodology in
Ethics
, the alter-
native view, that
Ethics
is merely as practical and pragmatic as
Descartes’ Philosophy
, is by no means unattractive or unfounded.
Both these ways of responding to
Ethics
have in common that
its axiomatic/geometric style is considered
extrinsic
to its content,
a «scaffolding […] external to the completed structure»
81
. Ac-
cording to these views,
Ethics
simply conforms to a prestigious
literary genre. This begs the question whether, alternatively, the
geometric order/method (and not just as well-organized materi-
al) possibly is
intrinsic
to the work. An indication of this being the
case, or at least being suggestive of it, can be found in Spinoza’s
own words: «I shall consider human actions and desires in exact-
ly the same manner, as though I were concerned with lines,
planes, and solids»
82
.
We need to reflect, therefore, however briefly, on what it is in
the geometric method that would have such a strong appeal to
this great thinker. As was already pointed out, it would be more