AustLit

Eventually, our original metaphysical question was answered in the Ethics, as well as many bonus questions on the nature of causality, human beings, psychology, and an ethical life. How well-founded are these answers? I have assessed objections to the propositions demonstrating Deus sive Natura and found them to be at least partially valid, therefore attenuating the strength of the argument for substance monism. In turn, Spinoza's epistemology, affect theory, and ethics, cannot be validated without accepting his metaphysics. However, if taken for granted, I found that they satisfactorily follow from Deus sive Natura and endow his philosophical system with holism and an elegant internal coherence.