Abstract

This chapter argues that a due consideration of the nature of true mathematical ideas and the use to which Spinoza puts them against skeptical disputation suggest that his philosophical methodology is more Cartesian than has often been appreciated. The discussion of this chapter allows me to introduce a number of the major concepts and themes that scaffold the discussion of ensuing chapters, in particular, the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic features of ideas, the key epistemic notions of adequacy and truth, the foundational role of God in Spinoza’s system, and the question of the reality of mathematical objects.