Eugene Marshall
LeBUFFE, Michael. From Bondage to Freedom: Spinoza on Human
Excellence, Oxford University Press, New York, 2010, 253 pp.
Michael LeBuffe's From Bondage to
Freedom: Spinoza on Human Excellence is an excellent presentation
of Spinoza's moral theory. LeBuffe presents and analyzes not only the moral
theory itself but also its place in Spinoza's system. This book is a
significant contribution that ought to be read by anyone interested in the
ethics or moral psychology of early modern philosophy, in addition to Spinoza
scholars.
Consider Spinoza's Ethics.
How does one approach such a monumental work? One could say that readers should
begin at the beginning. This tactic mirrors many interpretations of his work,
in that readers often interpret its later parts in terms of the earlier
doctrines. To be sure, such a method can lead to profound results. For example,
Michael Della Rocca's recent book, Spinoza, interprets Spinoza's system
from the perspective of the principle of sufficient reason, which appears in
the second axiom of Part One and, more clearly, a few pages later in the 11th
proposition, allowing him a powerful and informative lens with which to view
Spinoza.
This is not the only avenue of entry
into Spinoza's system, however. Instead of beginning at the beginning, one may
skip ahead to the end and see whodunit. Indeed, several considerations justify
such an approach. For one, Spinoza's system is synthetic and geometric in form:
geometric in that it proceeds like a demonstration from Euclid's Elements,
employing deductive inference from axioms and definitions to propositions; and
synthetic in that it begins at the simplest concepts and builds up to something
more complex, ostensibly the aim of the demonstration. The Ethics culminates
with a discussion of the highest human good, suggesting that this doctrine may
be the aim of Spinoza's project, the earlier parts having been presented in
service to this end. What's more, Spinoza himself claims that his goal is, ultimately,
to lead us to "knowledge of the human mind and its highest
blessedness" (Preface, Part II). So, another way to read the Ethics is
to begin with its end in mind.
Michael LeBuffe takes such an
approach, presenting an interpretation of Spinoza's thought that puts these
considerations at the forefront. By focusing on Spinoza's moral theory, LeBuffe
provides the reader with two benefits: first, his focus affords us a valuable
lens through which to view Spinoza's system; second, his explanation demonstrates
the appeal of Spinoza's moral theory in its own right.
According to LeBuffe, Spinoza's
moral theory brings together several disparate strands of Spinoza's thought,
strands with which commentators have wrestled for some time. The first
strand
concerns Part III's conatus, the striving to persevere in our being that
constitutes our essence. Throughout Part III and into Part IV, Spinoza
describes this essence as a striving to persevere in our being, where that is
understood as whatever increases our power of acting. Spinoza builds a value
system onto this story, whereby that which increases our power and thus aids
our persevering is good and that which does not is bad. By the time we reach
Part V, however, Spinoza has switched his terminology, understanding good and
bad in terms of knowledge and ignorance, or activity and passivity of the mind.
LeBuffe states the issue as follows, saying, "What is the relationship
between these two ends of human action, perseverance in being and
knowledge?". The answer to this question lies at the heart of
LeBuffe's project here.
