Open AccessFinite in Infinity
Author(s) -
Hannah Laurens
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
stance
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1943-1899
pISSN - 1943-1880
DOI - 10.33043/s.5.1.97-109
Subject(s) - infinity , metaphysics , appeal , epistemology , context (archaeology) , connection (principal bundle) , philosophy , degrees of freedom (physics and chemistry) , mathematics , law , physics , political science , geometry , history , mathematical analysis , archaeology , quantum mechanics
One of the main themes in Spinoza’s Ethics is the issue of human freedom: What does it consist in and how may it be attained? Spinoza’s ethical views crucially depend on his metaphysical theory, and this close connection provides the answer to several central questions concerning Spinoza’s conception of human freedom. Firstly, how can we accommodate human freedom within Spinoza’s necessitarianism—in the context of which Spinoza rejects the notion of a free will? Secondly, how can humans, as merely finite beings, genuinely attain freedom? Can Spinoza defend his claim that we may even attain blessedness? I will argue that these questions are answered by appeal to a twofold in human nature. According to Spinoza, we are finite in infinity.