Martin Butler's Negative Philosophy

Martin Butler's Negative Philosophy

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Martin Butler's Negative Philosophy
Martin Butler's Negative Philosophy
Spinoza Was Right

Spinoza Was Right

Our survival drive determines our behavior—or, as Spinoza would say, is the very essence of us.

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Martin Butler
Jan 23, 2025
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Martin Butler's Negative Philosophy
Martin Butler's Negative Philosophy
Spinoza Was Right
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Photo by Олег Мороз on Unsplash

I dislike saying good things about Spinoza; he was such a goody-two-shoes. However, one of his central and unbelievably powerful ideas concerned how we deal with our existence. He asserted that we can view our emotions in a very formal context, which he likened to studying geometry. The basic idea is very simple: the greater our survival fitness, the happier we will be, and the more diminished our survival fitness, the more we suffer. Happiness or unhappiness depends on how well we are doing.

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