Spinoza and the Icosahedron

Spinoza Today: The Current State of Spinoza Scholarship

Vector bundles and the icosahedron

Describing the equation of a plane curve C as the determinant of a matrix of linear forms is a classical problem. A related issue is expressing C as the Pfaffian of a skewsymmetric matrix of forms. When the curve is defined by a harmonic homogeneous polynomial (a solution to Laplace’s equation), then the action of the Lie algebra of the orthogonal group SO(3,C) provides a natural such expressio...

Icosahedron designs

It is known from the work of Adams and Bryant that icosahedron designs of order v exist for v ≡ 1 (mod 60) as well as for v = 16. Here we prove that icosahedron designs exist if and only if v ≡ 1, 16, 21 or 36 (mod 60), with possible exceptions v = 21, 141, 156, 201, 261 and 276.

Stardrives and Spinoza

There are several senses in which one may speak of limits in relation to Physics. For the purposes of this essay, it is most useful to begin with the technological limitations of practical human activity. In this context, Physics both provides positive and negative information. Physical laws tell us how to achieve some goals, and informs us that others are forever out of reach. An excellent his...

Spinoza and Kant on Suicide

In this paper I’m going to argue that both, Spinoza and Kant, construct the argument “for the impossibility of self-destruction” and examine how the concept of suicide relates to the concept of humanity in both philosophers. I will argue that Kant’s and Spinoza’s argument for the impossibility of self-destruction follows from the “external cause” premise and not from “the same subject” premise....