#Spinoza-2011-dissertatie Spinoza on Individuals and Individuation

Vandaag stuitte ik op

 

Matthew David Wion, Spinoza on Individuals and Individuation: Metaphysics, Morals, and Politics. PhD Dissertation, Marquette University [Paper 145], 2011. [Cf. & PDF]

Abstract: This dissertation examines Spinoza's position regarding the relationship of the individual to the community and to other individuals in the context of a particular reading of Spinoza's metaphysics as holistic. By the term "holistic metaphysics," I refer to a view of reality as a unified whole rather than as a collection of entirely separate parts. The latter I call a "reductionistic metaphysics." If a reductionistic metaphysics tends to see individuals as essentially separate and only secondarily relational, a holistic metaphysics pictures individuals as primarily relational and only by means of their relations capable of any meaningful "separateness" from other individuals. The reading advanced here concludes that Spinoza holds that individuals cannot ultimately be separated from the larger environment and network of relationships of which they are always a part. This dissertation concludes with brief set of reflections on the potential implications of this "relational" understanding of individuals in the realms of morals and politics. How Spinoza might view the issue of "universal health care" in the context of his holistic metaphysics is singled out for specific consideration.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS                                                                                                         i

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS                                                                                                       v

INTRODUCTION                                                                                                                      1

CHAPTER I. OUTLINE OF SPINOZA’S METAPHYSICS                                                         4

The Central Metaphysical Concepts                                                                                   4

Spinoza's Theory of Distinctions                                                                                       16

Spinoza’s Metaphysical Holism                                                                                         36

II. SPINOZA'S INDIVIDUALS AND PROBLEMS WITH HIS ACCOUNT                              46

Cartesian Physics                                                                                                                 47

Spinoza on Minds and Bodies                                                                                           51

Spinoza’s Physics                                                                                                                 56

Organism and Teleonomy                                                                                                 64

III. INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY                                                                                  72

Matheron’s Contribution                                                                                                  73

Spinoza's Theory of the State                                                                                           82

The State as an Individual                                                                                                 91

The State as a Metaphorical Individual                                                                          95

Rice’s Contribution                                                                                                          101

IV. EGOISM IN THE CONTEXT OF RELATION AND AUTONOMY                                105

Curley's Case for Spinoza as Egoist                                                                                109

Bennett on Spinoza’s Egoism                                                                                          117

Feminist Readings of Spinoza’s Individuals                                                                  120

Armstrong’s Contribution                                                                                               125

Spinoza on Friendship and Love                                                                                     132

Rice on Spinoza’s Radical Individualism                                                                        137

V. SOME CLOSING NOTES ON THE POLITICAL AND MORAL IMPLICATIONS OF
SPINOZA'S THEORY Of INDIVIDUALS                                                                              142

Spinoza and Health Care Coverage                                                                                153

BIBLIOGRAPHY                                                                                                                   161