Course Overview: Spinoza's Ethics seems strangely misnamed. The first of five parts concerns itself with metaphysical questions, and the second with epistemological ones. Thus, it is a challenge for the reader to see how such a work, purportedly about practical philosophy, hangs together as a coherent whole. This will be our challenge in the course. The emphasis will be on student participation and involvement.

Reading Assignments and Texts: I will make reading assignments in class as we proceed with the text. (I want to make sure we can slow down or speed up as we need to.) You should read the assignments before coming to class, and you should read through the assignments at least a couple of times. Finally, be sure to bring the text to class. There is only one required text for this class:

• Baruch Spinoza Ethics, trans. Samuel Shirley (Hackett 1992)

A Note on the Ethics: This will likely be obvious to you already, or will be as soon as you look inside the text. Spinoza's Ethics is presented in a way that will likely be unfamiliar to you. Each part begins by setting out definitions and axioms that are supposed to be intuitively obvious. Then Spinoza proceeds by proving a number of propositions based on those definitions and axioms. Quite often this means that we will not be certain the full import of a definition or axiom until we see how Spinoza employs it in his propositions. Paying careful attention to Spinoza's proofs will help clarify his position on various issues, as well as raise further confusions with which we will be forced to struggle. This geometrical method is based on the method employed by Euclid in his Elements, but applied to various philosophical issues, rather than mathematical ones.

Evaluation:

(1) I expect each student to write one 10-12 page paper over the course of the semester. This should be a research paper, citing at least two outside sources. The topic of this paper is up the individual student (though, of course, it should be on some question arising from Spinoza's Ethics). The paper will be due at the end of the semester, but I will want to know your basic topic by April 1st (no foolin'). You may turn in a draft or talk to me about questions at any point during the semester.

(2) The final few weeks of the semester (I am hoping we can finish the Ethics by then), each student will give a presentation to the class on his or her paper. You need not have a final draft worked out. But I want you to present your topic, what your research has uncovered, and at least the basic thrust of your take on the issue. Time permitting, I want to allow for discussion at the end of each presentation so that we can – cooperatively – help each other out in working on our ideas.

(3) Finally, I expect lots of student participation. This is a seminar rather than a lecture class. Come prepared to ask questions, present ideas, reconstruct arguments, and raise criticisms. Outside of the final paper presentations, there will not be a formal requirement for students to present to the class, but feel free to do so.

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To see a copy of Spinoza's Excommunication, follow this link.
URL: http://web.mnstate.edu/mouch/spinoza/spinsyll.html