Abstract

While many writers have emphasized the vital importance of Hobbes and the natural law tradition in the formation of Spinoza's political thought, most have neglected or underestimated the significance of Machiavelli and the republican tradition of civic virtue. I claim that it is worth reexamining Machiavelli's influence on Spinoza for two reasons. First, and perhaps most surprisingly, it sheds light on the structure and content of Spinoza's thought, not only in his political writings, but in the Ethics itself. Second, it helps us place Spinoza's work more accurately in the history of early modern ethics and political thought. ;In this dissertation, then, I examine the ways in which Spinoza elaborated upon and modified not only Machiavelli's idea of republicanism but also the related ideas of virtue and fortune . I show how Spinoza makes sense of these ideas in terms of his own rationalist metaphysics and epistemology and then uses them to structure his ethical theory. I argue that, in Spinoza as in Machiavelli, the individual must struggle against fortune in order to become fully virtuous, and that struggle requires participation in the state. I discuss Spinoza's political theory in light of his reading of Machiavelli, and I defend his views against Hobbesian and contemporary criticisms of republican theory. In addition, I argue that not only political leaders but also political theorists must account for the effect of fortune in their work. I illustrate this point with an extended analysis of Spinoza's use of the example of the ancient Hebrews in his Theological-Political Treatise. In conclusion, I sketch Spinoza's place within the history of debates over the nature and influence of fortune in human affairs