On Spinoza's Conception Of Freedom

Although scholars both at home and abroad have made comparatively remarkable researches on Spinoza's conception of freedom,there's few comprehensive comments on it since most scholars analyze it from only one perspective or only a limited few perspectives.This dissertation tries to pull together all the previous researches on Spinoza's conception of freedom so as to make a comparatively comprehensive analysis of it from an all-round perspective.What is profound in Spinoza's conception of freedom is that it is a logical system which starts from his own metaphysical system and in which entity,epistemology,ethics and democracy are united together via epistemology.The above four parts are consistent and coherent so that they form an organic,unified and sophisticated philosophical system in which ontology is the foundation,epistemology is the method,ethics is the final goal and political philosophy is the social aspiration.Therefore,this dissertation elaborates Spinoza's conception of freedom from five aspects.Firstly,the ontological basis of Spinoza's conception of freedom;secondly,how can we acquire freedom via epistemology based on the first aspect;thirdly,presenting the final goal of the discussion of freedom;fourthly,the application of freedom in practical political society;finally,the influence of Spinoza's conception of freedom on the philosophy of later ages,especially the conception of freedom of Kant and Hegel.Chapter One: Freedom and Entity intends to show the ontological basis of Spinoza's conception of freedom.Since Spinoza's conception of freedom is based on metaphysics,we should first make clear what freedom is based on the ontology of his metaphysics.Therefore,chapter one elaborates his definition of freedom from the perspective of metaphysics.According to Spinoza,there are two types of freedom: absolute freedom and relative freedom.The former is presented by the supreme entity by means of self causation,while the latter is presented by our finite human beings by means of divisive causation.Thus,Spinoza's statements of freedom are directed by his own metaphysical system.Entity is the base,so it(God or gods)has absolute freedom;finite things including human beings are determined by means of participation in the perfection of entity through the two attributes of thought and physical extension.Then things regulated by thought acquire the freedom of entity through such participation.According to the inevitability of causation,such freedom is different from that of entity whose causes and effects are undivided because the causes and effects of such freedom are correlated outside of it.Spinoza thinks such is the freedom presented by rational beings(i.e.human beings),which is also the central point of this dissertation.Chapter Two: Freedom and Epistemology means to state the epistemological basis of Spinoza's conception of freedom.Spinoza proves the existence of human beings' relative freedom based on his understanding of entity,then comes the question of how to realize such kind of freedom.He thinks that freedom is not presented purely through one's behavior like what Kant thinks,but is presented under the guidance of correct perception.So,chapter two mainly discusses the realization of freedom and the bondage caused by incorrect perception.In this aspect,Spinoza's conception concurs with that of ancient philosophers.He thinks the realization of human beings' freedom can't do without the guidance of epistemic activities,that is,the realization of freedom becomes an issue only when human beings begin their epistemic activities.Spinoza divides the presentation modes of knowledge into three types: intuitive knowledge,conceptual knowledge and imaginary knowledge.The first type corresponds to the absolute freedom of entity,while the second and the third type correspond to the finite freedom of human beings.Apparently,freedom can be effectively realized when human beings are guided by conceptual knowledge,while human beings are in bondage if they are controlled by passion and desire and are enclosed in the field of imaginary knowledge.It's obvious that Spinoza is a rationalist in the issue of freedom's realization.Besides,practical reason and cognitive reason become a coherent unity.Chapter Three: Freedom and Ethics discusses freedom from the perspective of ethics.When human beings acquire freedom,there comes the ultimate concern based on freedom,which is ethics.Therefore,chapter three investigates how to achieve the final goal of eternal freedom presupposing freedom,and this final goal is the supreme good(summum bonum).From the perspective of ontology,summum bonum is what Spinoza called supreme entity.However,from the perspective of finite beings — human,summum bonum is the supreme happiness.Then how to achieve such supreme happiness based on freedom.The answer is depending on human beings' virtue.Spinoza presents two personalities of virtue: will power and benevolence which are essential to human beings.His aim is to reveal how to increase one's freedom while preserving his virtue so that one can achieve the supreme happiness,that is summum bonum.Summum bonum is the satisfaction of one's positive desire,the rational endeavor,and the goal of freedom.One can achieve freedom through his understanding of nature and through regarding himself as a part of nature,and the pleasure he gets by this way is happiness.Real virtue is the realization of the above state,and in this state,knowledge,freedom and happiness are merged.Therefore,Spinoza uses the framework of Aristotle's ethics as his model to realize the ethic ideals of modern liberalism.Chapter Four: Freedom and Politics discusses freedom from the perspective of politics.Just as what Aristotle said,the realization of summum bonum or human's happiness needs human's virtual behavior,but human's political activities are also indispensable.Therefore,chapter four focuses on political freedom or how to assure one's freedom through the construction of political community,and focuses on the final realization of human beings' happiness.Political freedom is the practice of theoretical freedom in the real world,and it's also a very important part of the freedom we talk about.Spinoza thinks political freedom has two aspects: one is natural rights — freedom of thought and freedom of speech are the anchor point of political freedom;the other is the modes of government's freedom — monarchy and democracy,etc.are institutionalized guarantee of the realization of political freedom.Of course,Spinoza's political freedom is different from that of Hobbes and Locke.Both Hobbes and Locke deprives their construction of political freedom of metaphysics,while Spinoza still preserves the tension between modern liberalism and metaphysics.This tension separates Spinoza's political freedom from that of utilitarianism,which exerts direct influence on the discussion of freedom of later German classical philosophy.Chapter Five: The Influence of Spinoza's Conception of Freedom shows the influence of Spinoza's conception of freedom on Kant,Hegel and modern political philosophy.For Spinoza,freedom is mainly about the human beings' freedom,but he defines freedom generally under metaphysics.Kant completely stays away from metaphysics and separates theoretical reason from practical reason.As a result,freedom is a basic fact of human as rational beings,and freedom is realized through human beings' practice,not through the guidance of knowledge like what Spinoza said.Hegel unifies Kant's two kinds of reason so that he goes back to what Spinoza has said.However,Hegel understands freedom through a perfect way of realization,which is the improvement of Spinoza's conception of freedom.All the above understanding of freedom affords lessons to both Marx and present political philosophy.