Doxastische Selbstkontrolle und Wahrheitssensitivität: Descartes und Spinoza über die Voraussetzungen einer rationalistischen Ethik der Überzeugungen

This paper discusses Descartes’ and Spinoza’s epistemological approaches under the perspective of how they contribute to the project of an ethics of belief. I argue that the problem of doxastic voluntarism is only one of two issues to be addressed within an ethics of belief. Another equally important concern is the question of how we can make sure that the rational control over our judgments does not override the truth-sensitivity of our beliefs. It is against this background that I compare Descartes’ and Spinoza’s views on how we may have some rational control over our own belief