Observations placeholder
Spinoza, Baruch - Ethics - Attributes
Identifier
014190
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
An example:
Attributes and functions are equivalent - for every attribute there must be a function to express it.
Each living creature [class] has its own package of software with a set of functions that belong to the little creature as a whole. And these functions can be shared between species and between sub-species. So for example, a dog will get a set of functions common to all dogs and then as the species and breeds become more specific we start to see extra functions/attributes particular to that breed.
We share quite a lot of functions with dogs and other mammals – that’s why there is a classification called ‘mammal’.
If we were a bit better at spotting function as opposed to physical trait, we might be able to find many more common functions.
A description of the experience
Baruch Spinoza – Ethics
So it is far from absurd to attribute many attributes to one substance. Indeed nothing in Nature is clearer than that each being must be conceived under some attribute and the more being it has the more it has attributes.