Date of Award
Spring 2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Philosophy
First Advisor
Della Rocca, Michael
Abstract
This dissertation aims to understand key aspects of Spinoza’s early metaphysics and the reasons for and the significance of its evolution. Focusing on Spinoza’s first and final works on metaphysics, the Short Treatise and the Ethics, it demonstrates the individual significance and deep interconnectedness of three shifts in particular, namely Spinoza’s re-thinking of humility, the power and finite things and its relationship to divine power, and the nature of causation in general. Uncovering the layers of the evolution of Spinoza’s thought, it shows that Spinoza’s re-thinking of humility is a consequence of his re-thinking of power, and that his re-thinking of power is a consequence of his re-thinking of the nature of causation in general. Attention to these shifts advances our thinking about several prominent topics, including acosmism, the problem of secondary causation, and Spinoza’s indebtedness to scholastic thought. Their interconnectedness also demonstrates that even though Spinoza’s metaphysics develops quite dramatically over the course of his philosophical career, rather than being an erratic overhaul of prior views, this development is both meticulous and deeply methodical.
Recommended Citation
Klingspor, Josefine, "On the Evolution of Spinoza's Metaphysics: Humility, the Origins of Power, and the Nature of Causation" (2024). Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations. 1464.
https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/gsas_dissertations/1464
