Ethics, Education, Epistemology

In contemporary Epistemology, Belief typically signifies Empirical Perception.  Likewise in that context, Spinoza's concept of Opinion can seem to signify Belief, so his concept of the relations between Opinion and the other types of Knowledge can seem to be an Epistemological topic, i. e. Justified True Belief.  But, "hearsay" as an example of Opinion indicates a different range of concerns, beginning with the relation between Language and Knowledge.  Now, one application of that relation that is germaine to his doctrine is Education based on Hearsay, which most systems of Education in most societies exemplify.  His doctrine thus proposes a method of Education that is a corrective to those systems--how to determine for oneself what is True vs. being told what is True.  In that respect Spinoza is a forerunner of someone not usually associated with him--Dewey, whose Philosophy of Education is based on the cultivation of Knowing-How, as opposed to Knowing-That.  In contrast, Kant's attempt to reconcile Rational methods with conventional Morality are antithetical to Spinoza's doctrine, according to which the former must overcome and replace the latter. But there is no antithesis between Epistemology and Education--the former is just a specialized version of the latter, that, like Philosophy of Language, has gotten increasingly insular in recent decades.  In contrast, Spinoza's doctrine combines Ethics, Education, and Epistemology--it shows how learning to think for oneself methodically is equivalent to overcoming adverse external influences, and, thus, to achieving Happiness.