The Structure of Spinoza's World

The Structure of Spinoza's World intervenes in the very lively debate regarding how Spinoza can think that we live in a world populated by one being: God. In recent years, Anglo-American interpretations of Spinoza's philosophy have rediscovered the importance of relations as crucial features of his metaphysics. Elements such as causation, conception, inherence have become widespread in the field, and have provided vital contributions to the field of contemporary metaphysics as well, including Spinoza's bold and revolutionary metaphysics among the options available for philosophers interrogating the most fundamental levels of reality. Emanuele Costa provides a conscious attempt to examine and compare the different levels of relational metaphysics present in Spinoza's philosophy and advances the proposal of reading Spinoza's metaphysics through a relational/structural lens. He suggests Spinoza can be understood as asserting a radical thesis: individuals--and the very fabric of the world--are the effect, rather than the cause, of the intertwined pathways that constitute them. This holds crucial consequences for the metaphysical role of individuals, but it also impacts consistently on what allegedly was Spinoza's most prominent philosophical preoccupation: the ethical way of life that can allow human beings to overcome the bondage of passions and achieve their liberation. The reference framework of this book also provides an occasion to partially mend the divide between Analytic and Continental readings of Spinoza, as Costa draws from resources belonging to both camps in seeking to explain Spinoza's metaphysical dilemmas.

1 - The Bare Bones of the World: Causation, Limitation, Inherence, Conception
2 - The Winding Paths of Substance: Expression, Involvement, and Aspectual Distinction
3 - Unfolding Time: Eternity, Duration, and the Essences of Things
4 - To Build a World: individuals, Composition, and the Universe as a Whole
5 - The Human Point of View: Action, Passion, Striving, Affects

Emanuele Costa received his Ph.D. from the University of London, Birkbeck College. After holding visiting positions at Johns Hopkins University and Vanderbilt University, he is now Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt. His research focuses on topics of metaphysics and epistemology in the Early Modern period, and he has published numerous articles and book chapters on Spinoza, Leibniz, Elizabeth of Bohemia, and Anne Conway.