It is a well-known that all individuals, including the human mind, are complex in the Spinoza‘s philosophy. However, the conatus, which is the actual essence of an individual, tends to be considered in terms of simple thing. I consider that the conatu ...
It is a well-known that all individuals, including the human mind, are complex in the Spinoza‘s philosophy. However, the conatus, which is the actual essence of an individual, tends to be considered in terms of simple thing. I consider that the conatus is something complex exactly the same as each individual itself, and that the positivity of the conatus can be lead to self-destruction of the given individual. In support of this claim, I privide three arguments. First, the contradiction (confrontation) which has been regarded as only in the external relation between individuals is also within the individual, and it plays furthermore a decisive role in the formation of individuality. This kind of inner negativity does not violate the principle of conatus as self-affirmation, because, secondly, there is a conatus in each of the affections of the given individual, apart from the conatus of the whole, and the latter's self-affirmation can determine the entire state of the whole. Suicide is explained through the relative independence of the affections of a given individual. Third, this independence is also a condition for strengthening the capacity of an individual, through the various associations among individuals. To demonstrate this, in the first year of study, I advocated Spinoza's conatus doctrine, focusing on the problem of suicide among the various counter arguments raised against Spinoza. I found that the activity, passivity, affirmation and negativity of conatus were not inconsistent with each other. More specifically, (1) I compared Spinoza's doctrine with that of other contemporary philosophers. (2) I reviewed the controversies raised around Spinoza's conatus principle. (3) I reorganized Spinoza's conatus principle in terms of complex individual, focusing on his affect theory. The second year study developed and deepened the result of the first year study in both directions. On the other hand, in the first year study, I focused on revealing the complexity of conatus, and only incidentally I showed that suicide is compatible with conatus. In the second year study, on the contrary, the focus was put on explaining suicide itself in a manner consistent with the Spinoza's philosophical system. On the other hand, in the study of the first year, I focused on showing the complexity of the conatus as a model of human beings. In the study of the second year, I focused on examining how the unity of this complexity was established by modeling the state-individual(political body). The key concept that can simultaneously explain the unity of an individual and its self-destruction is also 'contrariety'. I found that 'contrariety' paradoxically constitutes the axis of individual unity, and that internal destruction occurs in the following cases. First, self-destruction occurs if there is an overall imbalance due to the excessive conatus of a part that is contrary to the whole, and when the resources of other parts to opposite the excessive conatus are lacked. Second, self-destruction also occurs, if the conatus of the rest parts are excessively invested into the suppression of the excessive contrary part.