SPINOZISTIC DIALOGUE - 1
Dedicated to Spinoza's Insights

ACT 1 – DEFINITIONS

Setting
Scene 1 - Perpetuation
Scene 2 - Emotion
Scene 3 - Faith
Endnotes

Introduction—Purpose - Browser Notes
Glossary and Index - Citation Abbreviations

ACT 1 – DEFINITIONS

Scene 1 – PERPETUATION

Setting:

The living room of a middle class Jewish engineer. He is in the fifth day Mark Twain
of the seven days of deep mourning the death of his father. He has been Aged Parents
reading the Bible. His wife and a Friend are seated nearby.

In keeping with Jewish custom:

The mourner is wearing a skull cap.
He has a five day growth of beard.
He is sitting on a low mourner's bench.
A seven-day memorial candle is burning on a lamp table.
Mirrors and pictures are covered with white sheets.
For a seven day period friends drop in to comfort the mourner.
Enter a house of mourning without knocking (doors are not locked.)
Do not say "hello", but let the mourner talk first.
On leaving, do not say "goodbye", but with others leaving at the
same time, recite "D:1.39d" to the mourner.

Cast of characters:

Mourner (M)
His Wife (W)
Friend (F) (Initials are contributors.)
Rabbi (R)

1.1	F:	It must be very tiring to have callers over a seven day period.
1.1a	W:	It is, but it is a wonderful custom and, I think, psycholog- ically sound.
1.1b	M:	I am tired but it has been a comfort to us.
1.1c	W:	I am exhausted from these past five hectic days. You know, (turning to M) I'm surprised at the traditional way you have been observing your father's mourning period.
1.1d	M:	It surprises me too. I have been thinking about it.
1.1e	F:	I would never have expected to see you in a skull cap, sitting on a mourner's bench, reading the Bible.
1.1f	M:	I don't know why it is, but I feel the need for these cus- toms, the callers, the Bible, – and yes, Religion. I am perplexed, I can't say I believe and yet, I act as if I do.
1.1g	W:	You probably feel that your father would want you to do what you're doing, and out of respect to his memory you do it.

Rabbi enters room:


1.2	M:	Rabbi.
1.2a	R:	Please accept my condolences and sympathy in your loss. I brought you Job to read.
1.2b	M:	Thanks Rabbi. Fitting that you should bring Job just now. My wife and I have just been talking about my turning to my remembered religious customs in my grief. It has me puzzled.
1.2c	R:	Has you puzzled? I don't know why it should, its a common enough occurrence.
1.2d	M:	I mean "why?".

1.3	R:	Oh! Why. Define religion and I think you'll have your answer.	G:Note 1
1.3a	M:	Define religion! Go to the dictionary and the Bible – isn't that enough?
1.3b	R:	Study Spinoza and find out it's not that simple.
1.3c	F:	Who is Spinoza?
1.3d	R:	He was a Spanish-Jewish philosopher who lived 1632 to 1677.

1.4	M:	How would you define "religion?"	G:Note 1
1.4a	R:	Do you remember when we studied geometry; we started with simple theorems based on taken-for- granted axioms, and then gradually arrived at more complex theorems and corollaries. In the same way, religion being a complex proposition, an understanding of it grows from a series of simpler propositions and de- finitions, all growing in turn from a fundamental axiom.	I:1.3 I:1.4
1.4b	W:	Sounds complicated.
1.4c	R:	Not if the ideas are clear and distinct, but it takes the disciplined thinking of Mathematics.
1.4d	F:	You used the word "theorem" and then used "proposi- tion" – are they interchangeable?	I:1.3
1.4e	R:	Yes. I think they are equivalent.

1.5	W:	Mathematics? Religion is G-D, love, joy, immortality; I don't see it as a formula.	I:1.3
1.5a	R:	You are right, not a formula, but a disciplined way of defining and building understanding. So, as I said, before defining "Religion", many other words need to be defined, if the discipline of the Euclidean format is to be followed.	D:1.4a

1.6	R:	(Pauses) Define "JOY, BOREDOM, SORROW." Spinoza defined them all with one definition. See if you can. 1.26a	I:1.1 I:Table 2 C:Table 1
1.6a	W:	Feelings like "elation, delight, pleased, bored, displeased, anguish, panic?"	G:°JOY
1.6b	R:	These are all synonyms or properties– define them.	I:1.1b
1.6c	M:	You said before that the definitions are based on an axiom. Shouldn't we find that first?	D:1.3
1.6d	R:	That's right. The axiom causes "these feelings", and is therefore the measuring yardstick.	I:1.4
1.6e	M:	(After trying ) Only gives us the axiom, I want to keep trying.

1.7	R:	OK. The axiom is that your instinct is to perpetuate yourself—to be. Conatus.	I:1.4 I:Table 1
1.7a	M:	I guess that's OK, but what about a hero who gets himself killed?	I:1.5b
1.7b	R:	PERPETUATION includes in addition to your finite life the extension of your memory and influence after your death. A hero is perpetu- ated by his glorification, or more profoundly, the preservation of his society.	G:Note 8 I:1.5, D:1.9a Rational TEI:[109]:40
1.7c	M:	I don't think he is conscious of such motives.	D:1.8c
1.7d	R:	Most actions are unconsciously motivated; they are done by instinct. If not, the species would not persist.	Conatus

1.8	F:	I still don't get the idea of PERPETUATION.	G:Note 2
1.8a	R:	Most people are perpetuated mainly through their children. Some try to achieve it through their work, inventions, poetry, writings; witness Spinoza being studied after 300 years; witness Mother Theresa.	I:1.5b Altruism D:1.32a Ambition
1.8b	M:	"Try to achieve!" I don't think Spinoza or Mother Theresa were thinking of PERPETUATION.
1.8c	R:	Perhaps not consciously, but unconsciously, instinc- tively. A salmon that goes upstream, spawns, and dies is acting instinctively to perpetuate its genes and incidentally, its species. Religious philosophers say we seek eternal life—immortality.	I:1.5a D:1.7b,d Conatus

1.9	W:	How about a suicide – doesn't that contradict the axiom? E4:XVIII(9):201 , E4:XX(3):203	D:1.32a
1.9a	R:	Yes it does, as I stated it; let me restate it. When rational, everyone is determined to perpetuate themselves. Let's defer "suicides" until after we have defined "RATIONAL" and "irrational."	I:1.4a
1.9b	SS	How does loving a piece of music or a flower, help to perpetuate yourself?
1.9c	R	You have hit on a subject I have long pondered. I think the answer to your question might be in the hypothesis of 'aesthetics' which is: Aesthetics is the peace-of-mind brought by symbolized beauty. Thus, a piece of music or a flower, symbolizes for us, order, harmony, rebirth, organic totality, etc.
		Get into the conversation on PERPETUATION by e-mail. j osephb@yesselman .com
		ACT 1 – DEFINITIONS Scene 2 – EMOTION
1.10	R:	Let's get back to defining "JOY, BOREDOM, SORROW."	D:1.6
1.10a	W:	It must have something to do with whether or not you succeed in perpetuating yourself.	I:1.6 TEI:[109]:40
1.10b	R:	That's it. When you judge that a change in your ability to perpetuate yourself has occurred, is it not EMOTION you feel? It can be positive (°JOY) or negative (°SORROW), depending on whether you judge an increase or decrease.	Judging D:1.17 G:Sin ° Conatus
1.10c	M:	I don't quite understand that.
1.10d	R:	Well the ability to perpetuate yourself will depend upon the degree of perfection (°P) of your attributes. If you judge your eyesight has improved, that's positive (JOY) because your chances of living longer are better. If you judge your eyesight has gotten worse, that's negative (SORROW) because your chances of living longer are worse.	Attribute - in its common meaning

1.11	M:	Again, not necessarily consciously, but instinctively.
1.11a	R:	Right. You are continually passing judgment on how changes in your °P of an attribute affects your ability to perpetuate yourself. At any one instant you will be making the judgment with respect to a point of reference of one particular attribute. Your reaction to that particular judgment is your EMOTIONAL state at that instant and is subject to change the very next instant.	Judging C:Fig.2 D:1.17 D:1.18 Determination E3:LI:163 E5:Endnote 18:3 E1:Bk.VII:609
1.11b	W:	Give an example.
1.11c	R:	You are hungry and are happy as you start to eat. As you keep eating you reach a point of satiation and then as you get stuffed you become unhappy. The attribute is your stomach – the point of reference, how full it is at the instant of judgment.	D:I:1.6

1.12	M:	You said something about measuring the intensity of the EMOTION. How?
1.12a	R:	Let me first restate the definition this way—EMOTION is a change in °P. Now I add—It's intensity is proportional to the change. As analogy: VELOCITY is a change in DISTANCE per unit time, its intensity is proportional to the change.	I:1.6 I:Table 2
1.12b	W:	In the example, the more hungry you are, the more enjoyment; the more you get sick to your stomach, the more sorrow—loathing.	D:1.11c
1.12c	R:	EMOTION is a spectrum; "from the greatest JOY through BOREDOM to the deepest SORROW" its array of colors (positive and negative intensities).	I:1.6a C:(a)

1.13	R:	Again now, how would you define "JOY?"	D:I:1.3c
1.13a	F:	JOY is a good feeling when something good happens to you.
1.13b	W:	No, In the light of the way Spinoza defined EMOTION, that is not a definition. You would have to say what "good" is. JOY is having a child, a nice home, getting a raise, or a shoe shine.
1.13c	R:	(looking toward W) Your definition is better, but they are only special cases of a general case. What is common to them all?
1.13d	R:	(Pause) JOY is judging that you are undergoing an in- crease in °P. Its intensity is proportional to the increase. Note that the judgment may be wrong—due to lack of knowledge or irrationality. A drug-addict judges that his fix brings him joy. "JOY" is EMOTION with positive changes. Spinoza put it this way "Pleasure is the transition of a man from a less to a greater perfection."	Intro. TEI:[17:4] AA creed HirPs 1:1 Happy
1.13e	W:	What do you mean when you call Spinoza's definition the general case of the special cases I mentioned?	I:1.3c
1.13f	R:	Well having a new child, a nice home, getting a raise, or a shoe shine, all increase °P, but there are many others. Spinoza's definition includes them all.	G:°JOY

1.14	M:	"Degree of perfection (°P)" is not clear to me.	I:1.4b
1.14a	R:	I should say the °P of an attribute. It is these "degrees of perfection" of the attributes which further (or other- wise) your chances of perpetuating yourself.
1.14b	M:	Give an example.
1.14c	R:	An improvement of eyesight is an increase in the °P of the attribute of sight. This improvement increases the probability of continued existence. The greater the im- provement, the more intense the "JOY" for the prob- ability is greater.
1.14d	F:	I see now how the axiom is the foundation stone.
1.14e	R:	Yes. Variation in intensities of JOY are caused by more or less improvement of the same attribute as in the eyesight example or by comparison of im- provements of different attributes. Getting a shoe- shine would cause a minor JOY; a successful heart operation a major JOY—elation.	C:Fig.1(a)

1.15	R:	Next is "SORROW."
1.15a	M:	It must be the reverse of JOY. EMOTION with a negative change – a decrease in PERPETUATION.
1.15b	R:	Right. SORROW. Losing a child, a father, being fired, a shoe muddied, all cause SORROW in its varying degrees.	D:1.13b D:1.13f

1.16	M:	How does the loss of my father decrease my chances of PERPETUATION? First my grief is mitigated by his no longer suffering terrible pain; second, I have a rich inheritance.
1.16a	R:	Good question. Unless there be confusion, your mind can only be occupied by one idea (judgment) at any one instant.	D:1.17

1.17	R:	So at any one instant, you make a judgment with respect to a given reference point. When you judged "mitigated", at that instant it was a JOY because your reference point was pain. When you made the inheritance judgment that was a JOY, and the more you needed the money, the more the JOY. C:Fig.1(a)	D:1.10d D:1.16 D:1.11c D:1.24d I:1.3c D:1.11a E5:Endnote 18:3
1.17a	M:	Is this what you mean by the constantly changing EMOTIONS?
1.17b	R:	Yes. I also said in its varying degrees. With respect to an elderly father it is in relatively small degree. Which is a greater tragedy, the loss by accident of a healthy, promising child or an elderly, sickly parent racked with pain?
1.17c	M:	Of course the child is the greater tragedy.
1.17d	R:	But there is the grief that stems from a "LOVE" lost. Let me defer that until after Spinoza's definition of "LOVE."	D:1.33
1.17e	W:	I think it is based on "JOY".

1.18	R:	Let me restate the definition for "SORROW" in the language used for "JOY." SORROW is judging that you are undergoing a decrease in °P. Its intensity is proportional to the decrease. Quoting Spinoza "Pain is the transition of a man from a greater to a less perfection."	D:1.11a E3:Def.III
1.18a	M:	I see now what you meant when you said these definitions are set up like a Euclidean geometry, one definition being based on the last.

1.19	R:	Now I give the definition, you give the word. What is no change in °P?
1.19a	M:	It must be something at the instant in which JOY changes to SORROW or vice versa. Like a ball thrown upward when it changes from up to down. Or better yet, when no change occurs at all.
1.19b	R:	That's it. What's the word?
1.19c	F:	"BOREDOM", "ennui"?
1.19d	R:	Right. BOREDOM is no change in °P. You seldom think about your eyesight. Why? Because unless it has changed, its boring— nothing new.

1.20	W:	How can you be bored about your eyesight?
1.20a	R:	Your question implies the thought "how wonderful it is to be able to see" – no matter how constant the °P; you are right, that is JOY. But at that instant you are judging with respect to blindness, almost zero °P, and then any greater degree is a JOY.

1.21	M:	"BOREDOM", implies a length of time. The way you defined it and the example I gave with the flight of a ball, implies an instant of time.	D:1.19a
1.21a	R:	"Boredom" in everyday language, implies lasting in time. It is more accurate, after the first instant, to call it "SORROW."	D:1.36e
1.21b	W:	Why?
1.21c	R:	Since we are in the constant process of dying. "No change" is only apparent. The deterioration soon becomes subconsciously felt; this then is "SORROW".	I:1.6b D:1.37a JOY
1.21d	SS:	An unused muscle, atrophies.

1.22	R:	You now see that "EMOTION" is a spectrum ranging from the greatest JOY through BOREDOM to the deepest SORROW and vice versa: all based on the fundamental axiom—to be.	I:1.6a C:Fig.1(a)
1.22a	M:	That's beautiful; and that is Spinoza?
1.22b	R:	As I understand it; but you would have to dig pretty much in his writings to dig it out.	G:Note 8

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ACT 1 – DEFINITIONS

Scene 3 – FAITH

1.23	R:	Define "LOVE, INDIFFERENCE, HATE."	I:1.7 C:Table 1
1.23a	W:	They must have something to do with whether or not you succeed in perpetuating yourself.	Conatus D:1.2
1.23b	R:	That's it. When you believe that an external object will cause a change in your ability to to perpetuate yourself, that's FAITH; be it positive (°LOVE) or negative (°HATE).	I:Table 1 I:Table 3 °
1.23c	M:	I don't quite understand that.
1.23d	R:	ACCELERATION of your car, is caused by an external object, more gas. Deceleration, less gas. Increasing your °P, also requires an external object to cause such increase. When you engage a doctor, it is an act of FAITH that he will help, not harm.	I:Table 3, I:1.12a C:(b)

1.24	M:	Again, not necessarily consciously, but instinctively.
1.24a	R:	Right. You are continually passing judgment on how external objects affect your ability to perpetuate yourself. At any one instant you judge with respect to one point of reference. Your reaction to that particular judgment is your FAITH at that instant and is subject to change the very next instant.	E5:Endnote 18:3 D:1.17 D:1.11a 3P38
1.24b	W:	Give an example.
1.24c	R:	When very hungry, you LOVE the food as you start to eat. As you keep eating you reach a point of satiation, and become INDIFFERENT to the food. And then, as you get over-stuffed you become to HATE (loath) the food.	C:Fig.1(b)
1.24d	F:	What do you mean by "point of reference?"	D:1.24a D:1.17
1.24e	R:	In the example with the food, the point of reference is the fullness of the stomach. The more empty, the more you LOVE the food; the more stuffed, the more you HATE the food.	D:2.20

1.25	M:	You said something about measuring the intensity of the FAITH. How?
1.25a	R:	Let me first restate the definition this way— FAITH is belief that an external object will cause a change in °P. Now I add – It's intensity is proportional to the change hoped for or feared. As analogy: ACCELERATION is a change in VELOCITY per unit time; its intensity is proportional to the change.	I:Table 3 D:1.30a

1.26	R:	FAITH is a spectrum; its array of colors (positive and negative intensities) is from the greatest LOVE, through INDIFFERENCE, to the deepest HATE.	I:Table 3 C:Fig.1(b)
1.26a	W:	We don't use "faith" like that in everyday usage. Your definition includes "lack of faith."	G:°FAITH
1.26b	R:	Right - this is a semantic difficulty. When I define FAITH it is as a technical definition, say like letting x=y in algebra; it thus includes positive and negative aspects. The everyday use of "faith" usually includes only the positive aspects. Incidentally, that goes for all the other words defined.	G:Note 2 G:°LOVE

1.27	R:	Again now, define LOVE?
1.27a	F:	LOVE is a good feeling toward someone doing good for you.	G:Note 1
1.27b	W:	No. In the light of the way Spinoza defined JOY, that is not a definition. You would have to say what "good" is. LOVE is what you feel for a child, a nice home, or for your boss who gave you a raise, or for the shoeshine boy who shined your shoes.	D:1.13d
1.27c	R:	(looking toward W) Your definition is better, but they state only special cases of a general case. What is common to them all?	G:°LOVE
1.27d	R:	(Pause) LOVE is belief that an external object will cause an increase in °P. The intensity is proportional to the increase hoped for. LOVE is FAITH with positive changes. Spinoza put it this way "Love is pleasure accompanied by the idea {awareness} of an external cause."	D:1.30 E3:Def.IV HirLev 19:18

1.28		Why must there be awareness?
1.28a	R:	If someone gave you a 100 dollar bill, you would LOVE that person; if you found a 100 dollar bill, there would be no one to LOVE, except maybe the 100 dollar bill itself.
1.28b	W:	Why do you say "hoped for?" I have the love of my husband, I don't have to hope for it.	D:1.27d
1.28c	R:	You don't! Taking a loved one "for granted" is why so many marriages are in trouble. Taking someone for granted is being bored with that person at that instant.	I:1.13A Altruism

1.29	W:	What do you mean when you call Spinoza's definition the general case of the special cases I mentioned?	attempt
1.29a	R:	Well when you said loving a child, a nice home, a boss, or a shoeshine boy, all are positive aspects of FAITH, but there are many others. Spinoza's definition includes them all, and also all the negative aspects.	D:1.27b C:Fig.1(b)

1.30	W:	Your use of the term °P is still not clear to me when you use it with respect to FAITH. I think I understood with respect to EMOTION. 1.9b.	D:1.25a G:Note 2 C:Fig.1(a)
1.30a	R:	When I explained it with respect to EMOTION, I said "An improvement of your eyesight would represent an increase in the °P of your attribute of sight. This improvement increases the probability of your perpetuation. The greater the improvement, the more intense the JOY for the probability is further increased." Now add "It is an external object, the doctor, who caused the improvement, and the more improvement, the more the LOVE for the doctor."	D:1.14 C:Fig.1(b)

1.31	R:	The next word is HATE.
1.31a	M:	It must be the reverse of LOVE. FAITH with a negative change; a decrease in your chances of achieving immortality.	G:°LOVE
1.31b	R:	Right. HATE is belief that an external object will cause a decrease in °P. The intensity is proportional to the decrease feared.
1.31c	R:	A drunken driver hurting your child, someone burning down your home, your boss firing you, someone stepping on your toe, are all SORROWS in its varying degrees. The thing common to them is, as you say, that PERPETUATION is decreased. The external objects that caused the above SORROWS are all objects of HATE in its varying degrees.	D:1.29

1.32	W:	Rabbi, these definitions imply that there is no such thing as altruism!	D:1.8a D:1.34
1.32a	R:	I think that is right. Take even a "Mother Theresa", she certainly is achieving more "immortality" than most, not that she is consciously seeking to do so. Her piety is a demonstration of organic interdepend- ence at work. A corpuscle (if healthy) in a body is not altruistic— but practices enlightened self-interest. It takes what it needs and does its job; and in so doing ensures its own existence. The rub is "if healthy". This touches on the what was asked before about the "suicide." Again let's discuss this after "RATIONAL" and "irrational" are defined.	Charity Pity Mercy Righteousness

1.33	R:	(Looking at M) You asked before "How does the loss of my father decrease my chances of PERPETUATION? First, my grief is mitigated by his no longer suffering terrible pain; second, I have a rich inheritance." Among other things, I answered "But there is the grief that stems from a LOVE lost".	D:1.16ff
1.33a	R:	The grief for your father; or for me, the recent loss of my beloved wife, stems from memories. We remember the good they did us, and the grief comes from realizing, unconsciously, that they are no longer here to provide such good.
1.33b	W:	Rabbi, that's terrible!	Altuism
1.33c	R:	Only if its selfishness. If we did not reciprocate with enough good for them, they would withhold their good from us. It is enlightened self-interest, I am talking of. LOVE is no one-way street—you've got to give, to get; and you've got to get, to give. It is not pejorative; it is the nature of organisms. If it is otherwise it is illness.	I:2.7d
1.33d	W:	Well, put that way, maybe.

1.34	F:	About altruism, how about when you feel pity when you see a cripple?	D:1.32
1.34a	R:	Pity? Compassion, LOVE, are better. Pity smacks of altruism rather than duty. The Hebrew word, for pity, has as its root "the womb." Genesis 43:30. Based on this etymology, it is what a mother feels for the issue of her womb. This is what we should feel for each other; LOVE, certainly varying in degree, but not in kind. It is not altruism, but the realization of the organic interdependence of parts necessary for PERPETUATION.	D:1.35a HirPent: Gn 43:14 Cash Value

1.35	F:	How about when you give a coin to a beggar, isn't that charity?	Mark Twain
1.35a	R:	Charity? Justice is better. Charity smacks of altruism rather than duty. The Hebrew word for charity, has as its root "to be right, straight, true, just. Based on this etymology, it is what one lung does when the other lung collapses. It does double duty for its very own survival. That is the way we should treat the poor, the disenfranchised, It is not altruism, but the realization of the organic interdependence of parts necessary for PERPETUATION.	D:1.32 D:1.34a HirPs 19:10 Biological

1.36	R:	What is no change in FAITH?
1.36a	M:	The instant in which LOVE changes to HATE or vice versa.
1.36b	R:	What's the word?
1.36c	F:	INDIFFERENCE?
1.36d	R:	Right. INDIFFERENCE is belief that an external object will cause no change in °P. You seldom think about your eye doctor. Why? Because unless your eyesight has changed for the worse you don't need him.	I:Table 3 I:1.7b
1.36e	W:	How can you ever be INDIFFERENT to an eye doctor?
1.36f	R:	Your point of reference implies "when you need him"; you are right, then it is LOVE.	D:1.17 D:1.24d C:Fig.1(b)

1.37	M:	When we use the word indifference, it implies a length of time. The way you defined it, implies an instant of time.
1.37a	R:	INDIFFERENCE in everyday language, implies lasting in time. It is more accurate, after the first instant, to call it SORROW and HATE if aware of the cause (waiting for someone) or just SORROW if not aware of the cause.	D:1.21e G:Note 2

1.38	R:	You now see that FAITH is a spectrum ranging from the greatest LOVE, through INDIFFERENCE, to the deepest HATE and vice versa: all based on the fundamental axiom—to be.	I:Table 3 C:Fig.1(b) Conatus
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1.39	R:	Its getting late and I'm talked out. I better get going.
1.39a	M:	Rabbi, please come back tomorrow or when you can, I want to know the definition of Religion.	D:1.3
1.39b	R:	Glad too.
1.39c	W:	Goodnight, Rabbi. Thanks.
1.39d	R& F:	May G-D comfort you together with all the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

ENDNOTES:

                                                                                                  { Psalm 1:1—Orthodox versions read:
                                                            "Happy, (or Blessed), is the man ..." }
D:Endnote 1.13d— From HirPs 1:1 - "Forward strides that man ... "

{ The root of awsh-ray' is aw-shar'; Strong:0833—to be straight, level,
right, happy; fig. to go forward, be honest, prosper, be blessed, go,
guide, lead, relieve. }

Awsh-ray'. On one hand the phonetic relationship of the root aw-shar' to:

aw-shar', Strong:6238—to accumulate, to grow.
aw-sar', Strong:0631—to yoke, fasten, put in bonds, tie.
aw-zar', Strong:0247—to belt, bind, gird.
aw-zar', Strong:5826—to surround, i.e. protect or aid.
aw-tsar', Strong:6113—to inclose, maintain, rule, assemble.
ah-tzar', Strong:0686—to store-up, treasure.

would indicate a gathering, an accumulation of power and material goods

On the other hand, there is the meaning of, "ash-shoor',  Strong:0838—

"a step," ah-shar', Strong:0833—to step forward, to "progress"    (Prov.
                                                  { Ges:90 }
4:14; 23:19),  as for example, ah-shay-rah', Strong:0839, a tree blossom-

ing forth under the protection of a deity. This would indicate as the true

meaning for aw-shar' not the possession of faculties and material goods
     { If the attained is °P, then the progress is the increase in °P. }
already attained, but, instead, the progress toward the eventual attain-

ment of such material and spiritual wealth. It is "striding forward." Even

the relative pronoun aw-sher', Strong:0834, which is used to introduce

the predicate to a subject or an object, expresses a step forward in

thought, "the vesting of an idea with an additional predicate, its enrich-

ment with a new characteristic. Thus awsh-ray' denotes all possible

progress, progress in every respect. "Striding forward," advancement

in all that which is desirable, is the basic motive and the goal of all the

thoughts and acts of men.

{Happy—Strong:1525—ghee-law' joy, rejoicing.

Ghee-law' is simple tumultuous joy. Awsh-ray' is that happiness that
is Peace of Mind.

                                                { Lev 19:18: ".... but thou shalt love thy neighbour
                                                                                as thyself: I am the LORD." }
D:Endnote 1.27d—From HirPent: Lev 19:18 - "....but thou shalt love thy neighbour's
                                                                          well-being as t'were thine own: I am G-D."

{ Heavily edited to reflect Spinozistic insights. Compare with Jewish Orthodox original.}

"... but thou shalt love thy neighbour's well-being..." is the summarising           Golden Rule
                                                     { self-interest }
final maxim for the whole of our social behaviour, in feelings, word and
                                                                        { Analogy—you and your parts }
deed. The most noble fundamental feeling towards G-D and Man is
Strong:0158       giving—Strong:3051       { i.e., I give so that I may get }
Love.   It is yaw-hab' with the individualising prefix 'a', and means               'I-thee'

equally giving oneself up for others and bringing others most intimately

near to oneself {in organic interdependence}. Now here it does not say:
                                           { the prefix indicates 'belong to' }
{ "thy neighbour", but says "thy neighbor's well-being."} "Thy neighbour"
                                                      { ^ Strong:7453 }
would entail the loving of the person of our neighbour as we love

ourselves which is practically impossible to carry out, and the demand
                                 { as a commandment, duty }
is for such love to be given ^ to all our fellow-men. But what it does say
                                                  { It is thy own—both are organically parts of G-D. }
here is:—"thy neighbour's well-being as t'were thine own". It is not the

person himself,   but everything that pertains to his person, all the

conditions of his life, the weal and the woe which make up his position               slums

in the world. To this, his weal and his woe, we are to give our love as

if it were our own, we are to rejoice in his good fortune, and grieve over

his misfortune as if it were our own. We are to assist at everything

that furthers his well-being and happiness as if we were working for

ourselves, and must keep trouble away from him as assiduously as if it

threatened ourselves. This is something which does lie within our

possibilities, and is something which is required of us even towards

somebody whose personality may be actually highly antipathetic to us.
                                         {need}
For the demand of this love is something which lies quite outside the

sphere of the personality of our neighbour, is not based on any of his
                 { analogy }
qualities. "I am G-D", is given as the motive for this demand. It is some-

thing that is expected from us towards all our fellow-men in the Name
                                                              { Strong:7463—intertwined-friend }
of G-D, Who has given all men the mutual calling of ray-im'.  Everyone
                                                                        Strong:4829
is to find and recognize in everybody else his mir'eh, 'the pasturage of

his life', the furthering of his own well-being, the conditions for his own

happiness in life. Nobody may look on the progress of another as a

hindrance to his own progress, or look on the downfall of another as

the means for his own rising, and nobody may rejoice in his own

progress if it is at the expense of his neighbour's retardment. "Love thy

neighbour's well-being as t'were thine own", the spiritually and morally
                                             { self-interest }
perfect man only loves his own well-being as serving the same purpose
                      { Analogy }
as that of his neighbour. His own self-love, too, is only a consciousness
                                                       { part—Important }
of duty. He sees in himself only a creation of G-D, entrusted to himself

to attain that bodily, mental and moral perfection for which G-D has
{ immanently }
   ^ designed him and placed him in his earthly existence, and for which
                                                   { Scriptures }
He had given him directions in His Torah. In exactly the same way, and

from   the   same   consciousness   of duty he directs his love to the

well-being of his neighbour, loves him as being equally a creation
                                                                                      { organic parts }
of G-D. He proclaims his love of G-D, by his love to His creatures.

          { Many blacks hate whites, many whites hate blacks; many
          Jews hate Germans, many Germans hate Jews. You are
          not   commanded   to love each other ( it being extremely
          difficult ) but you are commanded to be concerned for each
          other's well-being. The love may come later. }

{ judgments }
D:Endnote 1.35a— From HirPs 19:10 - "..... the ordinances of the Lord are
truth, and they are universally just."

                            { ordinances, Ps.19:9-10 }
The role of the mish-paw-tim', Strong:4941, in communal co-existence
                                                     { moral laws, Ex.18:20 }
is the same as the function of the chukim, Strong:2706, in the life of the

individual person.   The chukim serve as guides in the individual life of

each man. They point out to him the Divinely-set norms within which

all his aspirations,   even his physical desires, may be fulfilled and
                                                      { virtue }
still remain within the bounds of purity. Any act transgressing these
                                                                                   { defiled, unclean }
G-D-given statutes will degrade man to the level of taw-may' (Strong:
                                                                       {          activeness        }
2931)  at which  the human being loses his morally pure freedom and
                                             {        passiveness       }               { ordinances }
succumbs to the yoke of his unbridled passions.   The mish-pawtim'

are the laws which provide this same guidance for society as a whole.
pure, clean—Strong:2889
Taw-hore', moral purity, is the principle that should rule individual life.
     Strong:6666 from 6663                             Strong:4941
Tsed-aw-kaw', justice, which is realized by mish-pawt', is the cardinal
   { ^ incorrectly translated as 'charity' or 'altruism' }            { Strong:4941—ordinances }
tenet that should govern society. We are told that the mish-paw-tay' of
Strong:3068    Short:0571
G-D are eh'meth, 'truth.'  They emanate from the objective truth inher-

ent in all things and persons, and serve as the expression of that truth.
Strong:6666 from 6663    { Suggestion—An example of Hirsch's etymological analysis. }
Tsed-aw-kaw', 'justice,' after all, is nothing else but the reciprocal claim
    { ^ righteousness }                                                               Strong:6663
inherent in the truth of persons and things. The word tsaw-dak' itself is
                                                Strong:8367                     calm
phonetically related to shaw-thak',   'to be silent' and to shaw-dach,
                                        to be quiet, at ease
which is the Chaldean for  'to satisfy' (see HirGen 15:6). Through the

realization of tsaw-dak' all things will obtain their rightful due in accord-

ance with the truth of their nature and their behavior. Tsaw-dak 'remains
{ calm, objective }
silent'; it has nothing to say concerning its portion; it may raise no

claims or objection regarding its just deserts. Therefore the realization
       Strong:6663              judgment—Strong:8199                                             Strong:8239
of tsaw-dak'  is in shaw-fat', which is phonetically related to shaw-fath'
                                                                     to ordain           { justice, Strong:4941 }
'to put something in its place,' 'to arrange.' Mish-pawt' is the arrange-

ment or order of persons and things in accordance with the standard
     Strong:6664
of tse'-dek.   It is through Mish-pawt' that everything and everyone
                    {   organic   }                       { Analogy }
attains  that place and position which is rightfully due to it or to him.
                    {  ^ This is the Cash Value of this Endnote. ^ }

End

Since November 6, 1997

Act 1 hits.

SPINOZISTIC DIALOGUE - 1
ACT 1 – DEFINITIONS
Revised: March 9, 2005

Act 2 - Hypotheses

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