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Do I exist under the aspect of eternity?

The work of art is the object seen sub specie aeternitatis; and the good life is the world seen sub specie aeternitatis.

Wittgenstein on the unity of ethics and aesthetics (where I got the phrase from):

The phrase "sub specie aeternitatis" has been coined by Spinoza, but the idea can be traced back to Plato.

This point of view is

abstracted from all considerations of time and place and situated in their relationship to God and its attributes

I doubt that includes anything about ourselves, rather than God or the world, but your guess is as good as mine.

what reasons (for the sake of this system, which philosophers) are there to think I do?

1 Answer

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Final answer:

Plato and Spinoza have explored the concept of existing under the aspect of eternity.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question of whether we exist under the aspect of eternity has been explored by philosophers such as Plato and Spinoza. Plato believed that the changing world we see is a mere shadow of a higher, truer reality that is eternal and unchanging. This otherworldly reality is the ultimate reality, and the seat of all truth, beauty, justice, and wisdom.

Spinoza, on the other hand, coined the phrase 'sub specie aeternitatis,' which means seeing things from the perspective of eternity. While their focus was primarily on God and the world, not on ourselves, these philosophers provide a framework for considering the concept of existence under the aspect of eternity.

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