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Thesis ID: CBB001560516

Spinoza's Theory of Desire (2001)

Lin, Martin Thomas (Author)

University of Chicago
Garber, Daniel

Publication Date: 2001
Edition Details: Advisor: Garber, Daniel
Physical Details: 158 pp.
Language: English

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Academia.edu

Philosophy Cognitive psychology Human body Definition of human; human nature Metaphysics 17th century Spinoza, Baruch

For Spinoza, human desire manifests the striving (conatus) for self-preservation exhibited by all natural things. In the dissertation, I argue that Spinoza's theory of desire provides the basis for his theory of human nature, its place in the larger natural order, and its ethical possibilities. Human nature presented a particularly pressing problem for the seventeenth century on account of the ways in which modern science had reconceived the natural world. No longer were appeals to hylomorphism, substance pluralism, on final causes countenanced by progressive modern philosophers, and instead a post-Copernican and mechanical philosophy held sway. These developments were primarily worked out in the domains of astronomy, chemistry, and mechanics, but had not been adequately extended to answer the question of the place on the human being in the natural world. Spinoza's theory of desire provides an answer to this question. I begin by examining Spinoza's metaphysical arguments in support of the conatus doctrine in general, and present a new interpretation of these arguments according to which they are much stronger and more interesting than have been previously supposed. I then show how Spinoza uses this general metaphysical principle to account for human nature more specifically, focusing especially on the human body, cognitive psychology, and moral psychology.

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Description This dissertation examines “Spinoza's metaphysical arguments in support of the conatus doctrine in general … [and] how Spinoza uses [it] to account for human nature more specifically, focusing especially on the human body, cognitive psychology, and moral psychology.” Cited in Diss. Abstr. Int. A 62 (2002): 3423. UMI order no. 3029518.

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