The moral fallibility of Spinoza’s exemplars: exploring the educational value of imperfect models of human behavior

Abstract

While Spinoza stipulates an ideal moral person in the propositions on the 'free man' in Ethics IV, this account does not seem to be intended to function as a pedagogical tool of political relevance. Hence, it does not seem to correspond to the purpose of moral exemplarism. If we look for that kind of practical guidance, Spinoza's political works seem more relevant. Interestingly, when we approach Spinoza's political theory with moral exemplarism in mind, we find that instead of constructing his exemplar on the idea of a supremely moral person, he emphasizes the concept of ingenium to chisel out an imperfect model of human behavior. We argue that the purpose of this is to avoid a utopian and inefficient political theory and to work out a moral practice that is capable of assisting people and communities in ethical self-transformation.

Spinoza on Ingenium and Exemplarity: Some Consequences for Educational Theory

“…In the absence of a developed moral judgment, students may need to become imaginatively engaged with narratives that can enlist their admiration without being perceived as being too far removed from the sociocultural and sociopolitical contexts in which the students operate. This conception of students approximates Spinoza's understanding of 'ordinary people' and so it would seem that Spinoza's conception of how fallible or imperfect exemplars can be used to appeal to the ingenium of groups of people can be productively applied to an educational context (see Dahlbeck and De Lucia Dahlbeck 2020).…”

“…When exploring the pedagogical promise of studying the configuration of different people's affective composition in a previous article (Dahlbeck and De Lucia Dahlbeck 2020), my co-author and I turned to the political theory of Spinoza as a valuable theoretical resource for addressing some perceived shortcoming of Zagzebski's exemplarist moral theory. Spinoza's use of the concept of ingenium is particularly enlightening as it clearly warns against the pedagogical and political dangers of disregarding a person's or a people's natural predisposition when seeking to influence and improve their behavior by way of exemplars.…”

“…Ideals and narratives that engage people's imagination are, on Spinoza's account, therefore the only ones that will move them towards becoming more ethical. (3) In order to appeal to the imagination of students, moral exemplars must be affectively relatable rather than supremely admirable persons (Dahlbeck and De Lucia Dahlbeck 2020). This means that sometimes less than supremely moral persons are more effective exemplars than supremely moral persons (as is the case with the figure of Moses in Spinoza's political texts).…”

Spinoza on the teaching of doctrines: Towards a positive account of indoctrination

“…This ideal amounts to a completely self-determined individual who is fully rational and therefore also fully active. The problem with using the model of the free man as a practical exemplar in education, however, is that it is in fact an unattainable ideal (see Dahlbeck and De Lucia Dahlbeck, 2020). A different and to my mind more productive way of approaching the model of the free man is in terms of a fiction that can be useful for illustrating what a supremely rational person would be like if such a person existed (Kisner, 2011: 176).…”

Berättelsens kraft

“…Problemet med Spinozas exempel om den fria människan är att den riskerar att bli för abstrakt för att fungera i ett praktiskt etiskt sammanhang. I sina senare politiska texter söker sig Spinoza därför snarare mot historiska exempel som han föreställer sig är mer anpassade efter människors affektiva sammansättning än efter en universell filosofisk idealbild (se Dahlbeck & De Lucia Dahlbeck, 2020). Enligt Andrea Sangiacomo (2019) speglar denna rörelse -från det rationella idealet till ett mer realistiskt perspektiv på människors kognitiva och psykologiska begränsningar -en mer övergripande utveckling hos Spinozas filosofi från en stark tilltro till människors förmåga att genom det rena förnuftet nå det goda livet på individuell väg till en fördjupad förståelse för hur sociala krafter och sammanhang utgör en nödvändig utgångspunkt för kollektiv såväl som individuell etisk transformation.…”