The Method on Superphysics

The Purpose of this book

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The 2 General means for preserving clarity in the search for truth, which will be the subject of this book.

In the previous books, we have seen that man is extremely prone to error; that the illusions of his senses [1], the visions of his imagination [2], and the abstractions of his mind [3] deceive him at every moment; that the inclinations of his will [4] and the passions of his heart [5] almost always conceal the truth from him, and allow it to appear only when it is tinged with those false colors that flatter concupiscence.

What kind of attention is required to preserve certainty in our knowledge

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How modifications of the soul make it attentive, yet divide its capacity for perception**

From the very beginning of this work, we have shown that the understanding only perceives, and that there is no difference within the understanding itself between simple perceptions, judgments, and reasonings — except that judgments and reasonings are far more complex perceptions than simple ones. For simple perceptions present only things themselves to the mind; judgments present the relations between things; and reasonings — if they are simple — present relations between those relations. If they are more complex, they present relations of relations, or compound relations holding between the relations of things, and so on indefinitely. As relations multiply, the reasonings that represent them to the mind become more intricate. Even so, judgments, simple reasonings, and compound reasonings remain nothing but pure perceptions on the part of the understanding — for the understanding, as we have already stated at the start of Book One, does nothing but perceive.

How to Use the passions and the senses to sustain the mind’s attention

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The passions that are useful for stirring us to seek truth are those that give us the strength and courage to overcome the effort we find required to focus our thoughts. Some are good, others bad or dangerous. Good passions include the desire to discover truth, to gain enough insight to guide ourselves rightly, and to be of service to others. Bad or dangerous ones include the desire to win reputation, to advance one’s standing, or to rise above others — and other even more disordered impulses, which need not be discussed here.

The use of organization to maintain the mind's attention, and on the usefulness of geometry

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One must exercise great circumspection in the choice and use of the aids one can draw from the senses and passions to render oneself attentive to truth, because our passions and senses affect us too vividly and fill the mind’s capacity to such an extent that it often sees only its own sensations when it thinks it is discovering things in themselves. But it is not the same with the aids one can draw from the imagination: they make the mind attentive without uselessly occupying its capacity, and thus they wonderfully help to perceive objects clearly and distinctly, so that it is almost always advantageous to use them. But let us make this clear with a few examples.

The Rules

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Means of increasing the extent and capacity of the mind. That arithmetic and algebra are absolutely necessary for this.

One must not first imagine that one can ever truly increase the capacity and extent of one’s mind. The soul of man is, so to speak, a determinate quantity or a portion of thought which has limits it cannot surpass; the soul cannot become greater or more extensive than it is; it does not swell or expand as one believes liquids and metals do; in short, it seems to me that it never perceives more at one time than at another.