FUCK THEORY
Experiments in visceral philosophy.
Three Notions of Conceptual Value, Pt. II - Nietzsche Contra Baruch
Though its implications are incredibly profound, the basic principle of Spinoza’s Ethics - to which Nietzsche owes more than he generally admits - is relatively straight-forward: the good is that which is active, or which increases the individual entity’s capacity for action (its degree of power); the bad is that which is passive, or decreases the individual entity’s capacity for action.
The quote above from the 1st proof of Part III explains fairly clearly how this ethical principle can serve to evaluate ideas: the more adequate the idea, the more active the mind. The definition of adequacy comes from the 1st definition of Part III: “I call that cause adequate whose effect can be clearly and distinctly perceived through it. But I call it partial, or inadequate, if its effects cannot be understood through it alone.” Adequate ideas, in other words, are those ideas which are their own sufficient cause.
