THE HUMAN SERVITUDE IN PART 4 OF BENEDICTUS DE SPINOZA'S ETHICS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7443/problemata.v17i3.80157Keywords:
Spinoza, Ethics, Servitude, Affects, FreedomAbstract
The article analyses the conception of servitude in Part 4 of Spinoza's Ethics. Unlike philosophical traditions that consider moral servitude as a corrupted state surmountable by asceticism or mere willpower, Spinoza defines it as a natural and irreducible state of the human being, marked by the impotence to moderate the affects. Because humans are part of nature and lack absolute ontological autonomy, they are inevitably affected by external causes, which results in submission to passions and to the confused ideas derived from the imagination. Despite this inherent condition, the text demonstrates that liberation is possible through rational knowledge. Reason allows for the formation of adequate ideas and the understanding of universal necessity, enabling the individual to transition from passivity to action. Spinozan freedom, therefore, is not an innate property, but a continuous achievement attained through the use of reason. This journey of overcoming passional conditioning culminates in beatitude, a state of supreme joy arising from the knowledge of the timeless bond that unites human beings to God, that is, to nature itself.
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