AustLit

Editor's note: This digital portfolio was completed by April Li for PHIL2013 and published by Cirrus as an example of superlative student work.

Return to Best of Cirrus Special Collection: PHIL2013

BARUCH SPINOZA (1632-1677)

Perhaps the most compelling feature of Spinoza's philosophy is its holism, whereby his metaphysics encases and underlies his beliefs across different branches of philosophy. I argue that the combination of Spinoza's metaphysics and epistemology will ultimately justify his ethics. In his magnum opus, Ethics, Spinoza gives geometric proofs starting from his metaphysics and ending with ethical conclusions. For this reason, I find Ethics the fitting text to give a synoptic outline of Spinoza's philosophy and the progression of ideas in the Ethics will be mirrored in my portfolio. The significance of this progression will be discussed, and throughout, I will evaluate the cogency of the metaphysical underpinnings and resulting implications.

Note: Adhering to the generally used method, I will cite from the Ethics using shorthand, e.g., 2p40 would refer to the 40th proposition of Part 2.