Algumas considerações sobre a memória, a formação das palavras e as regras do método hermenêutico de Espinosa

Some considerations about memory, the formation of the words and the rules of Spinoza’s hermeneutical method

Abstract

The aim of this article is to discuss memory and word formation in Spinoza’s thought and to show that the genetic definition, enunciated in the Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect, guides both the composition of the Compendium of Hebrew Grammar and the hermeneutical method proposed in the Theological-Political Treatise. In other words, it is intended to show that the Compendium of Hebrew Grammar and the method of interpreting Scripture follow the geometric and immanent model that characterize Spinoza’s thought; and, for that, the functions performed by sounds, imaginations and praxis as a proximate cause of language will be highlighted. Finally, the reasons why the knowledge of the first kind is subdivided into knowledge that occurs through imagination/memory and knowledge that occurs through language will be highlighted, as well as some possible approximations between Spinoza and contemporary discussions of linguistics.

Keywords: Spinoza, Language, Memory, Hermeneutics, Method.