--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Spinoza formulated the profoundly…" description: "\"“Spinoza formulated the profoundly important principle that *all determination is negation*. To determine a thing is to cut it off from some sphere of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/w-t-stace-83082_hegel_spinoza-formulated-the-profoundly-import_2408392.jpg" --- # Spinoza formulated the profoundly important principle that… ![“Spinoza formulated the profoundly important principle that *all determination is negation*. To determine a thing is to cut it off from some sphere of being and so to limit it. To define is to set boundaries. To say that a thing is green limits it by cutting it from the sphere of pink, blue, or…” quote by W.T. Stace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/w-t-stace-83082_hegel_spinoza-formulated-the-profoundly-import_2408392.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/w-t-stace-83082_hegel_spinoza-formulated-the-profoundly-import_2408392.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/w-t-stace-83082_hegel_spinoza-formulated-the-profoundly-import_2408392.jpg) > ““Spinoza formulated the profoundly important principle that \*all determination is negation\*. To determine a thing is to cut it off from some sphere of being and so to limit it. To define is to set boundaries. To say that a thing is green limits it by cutting it from the sphere of pink, blue, or other-coloured things. To say that it is good cuts it off from the sphere of evil. This limitation is the same as negation. To \*affirm\* that a thing is within certain limits is to \*deny\* that it is outside those limits. To say that it is green is to say that it is not pink. Affirmation involves negation. Whatever is said of a thing denies something else of it. All determination is negation. This principle is fundamental for Hegel also, but with him it takes rather the converse form that \*all negation is determination\*. Formal logicians will remind us that we cannot simply convert Spinoza's proposition. But it is sufficient to point out in reply that not only does affirmation involve negation; negation likewise involves affirmation. To say that a thing belongs to one class is to affirm that it belongs to some other class,—though we may not know what that class is. Positive and negative are correlatives which mutually involve each other. To posit is to negate: this is Spinoza's principle. To negate is to posit: this is Hegel's. When, therefore, we meet Hegel talking about "the portentous power of the negative," we have to consider that for him negation is the very process of creation. For the \*positive\* nature of an object consists in its determinations. The nature of a stone is to be white, heavy, hard, etc. And since all determinations are negations, it follows that the positive nature of a thing consists in its negations. Negation, therefore, is of the very essence of positive being. And for the world to come into being what is above all necessary is the force of negation, "the portentous power of the negative." The genus only becomes the species by means of the differentia, and the differentia is precisely that which carves out a particular class from the general class by excluding, i.e., negating, the other species. And the species again only becomes the individual in the same way, by negating other individuals. These thoughts are no causal reflections of Hegel. They underlie his entire system. We must get to understand that these three ideas, determination, limitation, and negation, all involve each other." —from\_The Philosophy of Hegel\_”” [W.T. Stace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-t-stace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. All definitions limit a thing by excluding what it is not; affirmation and negation are mutually dependent. **In simple terms:** Defining something always involves saying what it isn’t. Key Takeaway Recognize that every label both includes and excludes. Themes philosophy logic ontology definition Mood analytical thoughtful critical Type philosophical theoretical When to use this quote - academic discourse - teaching - critical analysis - debate - writing Key Concepts negation affirmation determination dialectic Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance inclusive understanding with necessary distinctions? - Can we define without excluding? A Different Perspective The view may overlook that some definitions can be inclusive rather than exclusive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hegel/) [Logic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logic/) [Metaphysics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphysics/) [Negate Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negate-spinoza-6054817/) [Negation Principle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negation-principle-6054819/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Set Boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/set-boundaries/) [Spinoza Formulated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spinoza-formulated-6054818/) [Spinoza Principle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spinoza-principle-3903164/) [Spinoza Proposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spinoza-proposition-6054820/) ## Related quotes > [“Nevertheless, when it is your lot to have to endure something that is (or seems to you) worse than the ordinary lot of mankind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/nevertheless-when-it-is-your-lot-to-have-to-endure-something-that-is/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [I was really strict about my daughter sleeping in her own room, and now she's really independent and likes it that way. 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If you want success without the hustle and grind, plan for breaks and set boundaries for yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felecia-etienne/burnout-is-real-if-you-want-success-without-the-hustle-and-grind-plan/) [Felecia Etienne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felecia-etienne/) ## More by W.T. Stace > [“When the self is not engaged in apprehending objects it becomes aware of itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-t-stace/when-the-self-is-not-engaged-in-apprehending-objects-it-becomes-aware/) [W.T. Stace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-t-stace/) > [“In music, sometimes a man will feel that he comes to the edge of breaking out from prison bars of existence, breaking out from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-t-stace/in-music-sometimes-a-man-will-feel-that-he-comes-to-the-edge-of/) [W.T. Stace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-t-stace/) [Explore all 3 W.T. Stace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-t-stace/) ## More Hegel quotes > [“For Hegel , by contrast, liberal society is a reciprocal and equal agreement among citizens to mutually recognize each other”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-fukuyama/for-hegel-by-contrast-liberal-society-is-a-reciprocal-and-equal/) [Francis Fukuyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-fukuyama/) > [That Hegel's theory is derivative from Fichte's does not prevent it from being strikingly original and of independent value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/that-hegel-s-theory-is-derivative-from-fichte-s-does-not-prevent-it/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [People are mostly sane enough, of course, in the affairs of common life: the getting of food, shelter, and so on. 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Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-holland/once-the-world-of-ideas-has-been-transformed-reality-cannot-hold-out/) [Tom Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-holland/) [Browse all 142 Hegel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hegel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Spinoza formulated the profoundly important principle that *all determination is negation*. To determine a thing is to cut it off from some sphere of being and so to limit it. To define is to set boundaries. To say that a thing is green limits it by cutting it from the sphere of pink, blue, or other-coloured things. To say that it is good cuts it off from the sphere of evil. This limitation is the same as negation. To *affirm* that a thing is within certain limits is to *deny* that it is outside those limits. To say that it is green is to say that it is not pink. Affirmation involves negation. Whatever is said of a thing denies something else of it. All determination is negation. This principle is fundamental for Hegel also, but with him it takes rather the converse form that *all negation is determination*. Formal logicians will remind us that we cannot simply convert Spinoza's proposition. But it is sufficient to point out in reply that not only does affirmation involve negation; negation likewise involves affirmation. To say that a thing belongs to one class is to affirm that it belongs to some other class,—though we may not know what that class is. Positive and negative are correlatives which mutually involve each other. To posit is to negate: this is Spinoza's principle. To negate is to posit: this is Hegel's. When, therefore, we meet Hegel talking about \"the portentous power of the negative,\" we have to consider that for him negation is the very process of creation. For the *positive* nature of an object consists in its determinations. The nature of a stone is to be white, heavy, hard, etc. And since all determinations are negations, it follows that the positive nature of a thing consists in its negations. Negation, therefore, is of the very essence of positive being. And for the world to come into being what is above all necessary is the force of negation, \"the portentous power of the negative.\" The genus only becomes the species by means of the differentia, and the differentia is precisely that which carves out a particular class from the general class by excluding, i.e., negating, the other species. And the species again only becomes the individual in the same way, by negating other individuals. These thoughts are no causal reflections of Hegel. They underlie his entire system. We must get to understand that these three ideas, determination, limitation, and negation, all involve each other.\" —from_The Philosophy of Hegel_”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W.T. 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