ETHICS | SEL002 | BARUCH SPINOZA

|| PART I | CONCERNING GOD ||

|| P1 || Substance is by nature prior to its affections .

|| PROOF || This is evident from D3 and D5 .

|| P2 || Two substances having different attributes have nothing in common .

|| PROOF || This too is evident from D3 ; for each substance must be in itself and be conceived through itself ; that is , the conception of the one does not involve the conception of the other .

|| P3 || When things have nothing in common , one cannot be the cause of the other .

|| PROOF || If things have nothing in common , then ( A5 ) they cannot be understood through one another , and so ( A4 ) one cannot be the cause of the other .

|| P4 || Two or more distinct things are distinguished from one another either by the difference of the attributes of the substances or by the difference of the affections of the substances .

|| PROOF || All things that are , are either in themselves or in something else ( A1 ) ; that is ( D3 D5 ) , nothing exists external to the intellect except substances and their affections .

Therefore , there can be nothing external to the intellect through which several things can be distinguished from one another except substances or ( which is the same thing ) ( D4 ) the attributes and the affections of substances .

|| P5 || In the universe there cannot be two or more substances of the same nature or attribute .

|| PROOF || If there were several such distinct substances , they would have to be distinguished from one another either by a difference of attributes or by a difference of affections ( P4 ) .

If they are distinguished only by a difference of attributes , then it will be granted that there cannot be more than one substance of the same attribute .

But if they are distinguished by a difference of affections , then , since substance is by nature prior to its affections ( P1 ) , disregarding therefore its affections and considering substance in itself , that is ( D3 A6 ) , considering it truly , it cannot be conceived as distinguishable from another substance .

That is ( P4 ) , there cannot be several such substances but only one .

|| P6 || One substance cannot be produced by another substance .

|| PROOF || In the universe there cannot be two substances of the same attribute ( P5 ) , that is , ( P2 ) , two substances having something in common .

And so ( P3 ) one cannot be the cause of the other ; that is , one cannot be produced by the other .

|| COR || Hence it follows that substance cannot be produced by anything else .

For in the universe there exists nothing but substances and their affections , as is evident from A1 D3 and D5 .

But , by P6 , it cannot be produced by another substance .

Therefore , substance cannot be produced by anything else whatsoever .

|| PROOF || This can be proved even more readily by the absurdity of the contradictory .

For if substance could be produced by something else , the knowledge of substance would have to depend on the knowledge of its cause ( A4 ) , and so ( D3 ) it would not be substance .

|| P7 || Existence belongs to the nature of substance .

|| PROOF || Substance cannot be produced by anything else ( P6C ) and is therefore self-caused ; that is ( D1 ) , its essence necessarily involves existence ; that is , existence belongs to its nature .

SOURCE | SATYAVEDISM.ORG