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Doing without Free Will: Spinoza and Contemporary Moral Problems
introduces Spinoza into the contemporary discussion on free will
and on moral problems surrounding this discussion. Traditional
Western moral philosophy, for the most part, has been built on the
assumption of free will as a special human capacity to freely
choose actions without being determined in that choice. This idea
draws increasing critique, fueled recently especially by the ever
new findings of neuroscience. But how can we develop a moral
philosophy without free will? Spinoza faced a similar challenge
when writing his Ethics during the rise of modern science and its
deterministic model of nature and, for this reason, has much to
offer the current discussion. Not only does he provide a foundation
for understanding moral responsibility without free will, he also
provides an explanation and solution to the classical problem of
akrasia precisely because he argues the will is not free. He worked
out an entirely new system of moral philosophy that can help
resolve the meta-ethical dilemma between absolutism and relativism,
showing how moral values evolve naturally within society. Despite
denying the traditional God-like power of "free will" Spinoza
developed a robust concept of freedom, one that is distinctly human
and viable today. His modernity comes to light when we look at his
answers to the much discussed questions whether it is possible or
even desirable to develop objective instead of reactive attitudes
toward our fellow human beings. His answers, perhaps surprisingly,
resemble positions held by some contemporary philosophers.
The essays offer a unified and comprehensive view of 17th century
mathematical and metaphysical disputes over status of
infinitesimals, particularly the question whether they were real or
mere fictions. Leibniz's development of the calculus and his
understanding of its metaphysical foundation are taken as both a
point of departure and a frame of reference for the 17th century
discussions of infinitesimals, that involved Hobbes, Wallis,
Newton, Bernoulli, Hermann, and Nieuwentijt. Although the calculus
was undoubtedly successful in mathematical practice, it remained
controversial because its procedures seemed to lack an adequate
metaphysical or methodological justification. The topic is also of
philosophical interest, because Leibniz freely employed the
language of infinitesimal quantities in the foundations of his
dynamics and theory of forces. Thus, philosophical disputes over
the Leibnizian science of bodies naturally involve questions about
the nature of infinitesimals. The volume also includes newly
discovered Leibnizian marginalia in the mathematical writings of
Hobbes.
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