The Ethical Dimension in the Philosophy of Spinoza

Abstract

<p> There are very few studies devoted specifically to the ethical teaching of Spinoza's Ethics. Instead, commentaters have focussed their attention mainly on the metaphysical and epistemological doctrines found chiefly in Parts I and II. Nevertheless, ethics was Spinoza's primary concern and the metaphysical and epistemological doctrines were intended by him to support and culminate in a practical doctrine of the best way of life. Despite its title, however, the Ethics is silent about what Spinoza means by ethics; indeed, nowhere in this work does he define or explain what ethics is. With this in mind, my chief objective will be to determine what Spinoza himself means by ethics and the significance of this for an understanding of both his ethics and his philosophy as a whole.<p>