Abstract

When contemporary naturalistically-minded philosophers think about human freedom, they are apt to get lost in more and more intricate analyses of the phrase "could have done otherwise." In this we see a severe narrowing of the issue and perhaps an inability to know what more might be involved in the issue of human freedom when man is viewed in a naturalistic light. The purpose of the dissertation is to mine the insights of Spinoza in the attempt to recapture a richer and more promising notion of freedom within the context of a natural-scientific account of man-in-the-world. ;After presenting a preliminary interpretive account of Spinoza's metaphysics, with an emphasis upon its naturalistic character, I proceed to develop four distinct aspects of his conception of freedom. Each aspect is seen in light of its roots in important prior traditions--Socratic, Aristotelian, Stoic and Neo-Platonic--and each is seen as an essential contribution to the overall doctrine of liberation. The four are interrelated in that each is attainable through rational understanding. For Spinoza, rational understanding means an understanding of things which knows them as manifestations of the ways in which Nature eternally and everywhere acts. Spinoza's conception of freedom and his program for liberation are brought together with his naturalism at this point in a way which does full justice to both. ;In the final section of the dissertation I argue that all important aspects of Spinoza's rich conception of human freedom are available to us in the context of a more contemporary, austerely natural-scientific understanding of man. Drawing upon recent work in philosophy of science and philosophy of mind, I try to reconstruct those of Spinoza's principles which are essential to the doctrine of liberation in a way which affirms their relevance and applicability in the present context. I conclude that Spinoza's position can serve as a valuable source in all our ongoing efforts to think constructively about the human significance of a natural-scientific account of man