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SUMMARY:From Kepler's optics to Spinoza's politics: Descartes' turn to the
  passions - Ofer Gal (University of Sydney)
DTSTART:20190606T143000Z
DTEND:20190606T160000Z
UID:TALK117691@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Agnes Bolinska
DESCRIPTION:In 1604 Kepler published his _Optical Part of Astronomy_\, dra
 matically changing the role of optics and the fundamental concept of visio
 n. Instead of a window through which visual rays informed reason about its
  surrounding objects\, the eye became a screen on which light painted imag
 es of no inherent cognitive value. The naturalization of the senses requir
 ed a corresponding naturalization of the mind\, which Descartes attempted 
 to offer with a theory of the passions. Kepler's optics turned sensations 
 into purely causal effects\, but the passions\, indicators of benefit and 
 damage to the individual\, could provide them with meaning. This was a rev
 ersal of the traditional epistemological responsibilities of reason and th
 e passions\, and for Spinoza this demanded a reversal of their ethical and
  political roles. 'Desire is the very essence of man' he stated\, and conc
 luded: 'society can be established ... not by reason ... but by _threats_.
 '
LOCATION:Seminar Room 2\, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
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