Spinoza's Ethics: II. P22: Ideas of Ideas

Spinoza explores the role of the mind as the idea of the body by a methodical analysis. Here he builds on the propositions established earlier which address the mind's capacity to perceive the modifications of the body. As I shared earlier, we often delineate feelings from thoughts. Spinoza does not. The mind's capacity to perceive modifications of the body we call feelings. Feelings are in God in that they are directly experienced when there is a modification of the body and these feelings are ideas. Further, ideas of these ideas are in God in the same way insofar as they constitute the essence of the mind. The distinction here is that a perception of a directly experienced feeling is in God while a perception about a directly experienced feeling is not in God.

Mens humana non tantum corporis affectiones sed etiam harum affectionum ideas percipit.

Translated as,

The human mind not only perceives modifications of the body but also ideas of these modifications.

DEMONSTRATIO: Affectionum idearum ideæ in Deo eodem modo sequuntur et ad Deum eodem modo referuntur ac ipsæ affectionum ideæ; quod eodem modo demonstratur ac propositio 20 hujus. At ideæ affectionum corporis in mente humana sunt (per propositionem 12 hujus) hoc est (per corollarium propositionis 11 hujus) in Deo quatenus humanæ mentis essentiam constituit; ergo harum idearum ideæ in Deo erunt quatenus humanæ mentis cognitionem sive ideam habet hoc est (per propositionem 21 hujus) in ipsa mente humana quæ propterea non tantum corporis affectiones sed earum etiam ideas percipit. Q.E.D.

Translated as,

The ideas of the ideas of modifications follow in God in the same way and refer to God in the same way as the ideas of modifications themselves; which is shown in the same way as IIP20. But ideas of the modifications of the body are in the human mind (by IIP12), that is (by IIP11C) in God insofar as it constitutes the essence of the human mind; therefore the ideas of these ideas are in God insofar as it has the understanding or idea of the human mind, that is (by IIP21) in the human mind itself which perceives in the meantime not only the modifications of the body but also the ideas of these [modifications]. QED