The purpose of Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise is the critique of superstition and the attempt to interpret the Scripture, and not to be superstitious. Hence, it is necessary to define "prophecy" and "superstition." These are formed by the same way of cognition which is called "imagination." Although this way of cognition is the only source of falsity, and so prophets did not perceive God's decrees adequately, Spinoza said that prophecy or revelation is a certain kind of cognition. This certainty of prophecy based on (1) vividness of imagination, (2) a sign, (3) the rightness and goodness of the prophet. Prophets obtain positive proof that prophecy was revealed by God, especially when a sign shows up. In addition, it is clear that God is veridical. Consequently, the certainty of prophecy is confirmed for prophets. On the other hand, if people know nothing about the natural cause of a certain event, they are terrified and this fear leads them to be superstitious. As a result, they have a mistaken opinion that this event is supernatural. For this reason, it is effective to refrain from judging events that we cannot understand, in order to keep away from superstition.
View full abstract