Spinoza on Human Freedom: Reason, Autonomy and the Good Life

by Matthew J. Kisner

Spinoza was one of the most influential figures of the Enlightenment, but his often obscure metaphysics makes it difficult to understand the ultimate message of his philosophy. Although he regarded freedom as the fundamental goal of his ethics and politics, his theory of freedom has not received sustained, comprehensive treatment. Spinoza holds that we attain freedom by governing ourselves according to practical principles, which express many of our deepest moral commitments. Matthew J. Kisner focuses on this theory and presents an alternative picture of the ethical project driving Spinoza's philosophical system. His study of the neglected practical philosophy provides an accessible and concrete picture of what it means to live as Spinoza's ethics envisioned.

Genres: Philosophy

274 pages, Hardcover

First published February 28, 2011

Reviews

[Otto Lehto · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book provides a decent overview of Spinoza's philosophy of liberation. But it contains some weak argumentation and little that goes deeper than the surface. In my view, it doesn't give sufficient weight to Spinoza's philosophy of universal determinism. Spinoza's radical denial of free will shouldn't be interpreted too much via Kantian lenses, as the author does, as a theory of rational autonomy and republican virtue. Too much focus is based on non-Spinozist theories of the good and the free, at the expense of some of Spinoza's more disturbingly original views. But the book contains some pithy summaries and, as such, can serve as a good overview of the questions at stake in scholarship. (I skipped some sections, so take this into account.)