Book contents
- The Cambridge Spinoza Lexicon
- The Cambridge Spinoza Lexicon
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Using this Lexicon
- Abbreviations
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- 139. Panpsychism
- 140. Pantheism Controversy
- 141. Parallelism
- 142. Parts and Wholes
- 143. Pérez, Antonio (1540–1611)
- 144. Perfection
- 145. Personal Identity
- 146. Physics
- 147. Piety
- 148. Political Treatise
- 149. Power
- 150. Prejudice
- 151. Pride and Humility
- 152. Principle of Sufficient Reason
- 153. Prophecy
- Q
- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
- W
- Bibliography
- Index of Cross-References
- References
149. - Power
from P
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 January 2025
By
Book contents
- The Cambridge Spinoza Lexicon
- The Cambridge Spinoza Lexicon
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Using this Lexicon
- Abbreviations
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- 139. Panpsychism
- 140. Pantheism Controversy
- 141. Parallelism
- 142. Parts and Wholes
- 143. Pérez, Antonio (1540–1611)
- 144. Perfection
- 145. Personal Identity
- 146. Physics
- 147. Piety
- 148. Political Treatise
- 149. Power
- 150. Prejudice
- 151. Pride and Humility
- 152. Principle of Sufficient Reason
- 153. Prophecy
- Q
- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
- W
- Bibliography
- Index of Cross-References
- References
Summary
From early in his philosophical career, Spinoza took a central part of his project to involve identifying the nature and scope of human power. For, he argues, “The better the mind understands its own powers, the more easily it can direct itself and propose rules to itself” (TIE[40]). Thus, the practical goals of living well, and of building a stable, well-functioning social order, are both intimately connected to the metaphysics of power. This entry provides an overview of Spinoza’s account of power, both in his metaphysics and in his politics.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Spinoza Lexicon , pp. 430 - 435Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024
References
Recommended Reading
Barbone, S. (1999). Power in the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus. In Bagley, P. J. (ed.), Piety, Peace, and the Freedom to Philosophize (pp. 91–110). Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Field, S. L. (2020). Potentia: Hobbes and Spinoza on Power and Popular Politics. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lærke, M. (2011). Spinoza’s cosmological argument in the Ethics. Journal of the History of Philosophy, 49(4), 439–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, M. (2004). Spinoza’s metaphysics of desire: The demonstration of IIIP6. Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie, 86(1), 21–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steinberg, J. (2018). Spinoza’s Political Psychology: The Taming of Fortune and Fear. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tucker, E. (2021). Power, freedom, and relational autonomy. In Armstrong, A. and Sangiacomo, A. (eds.), Spinoza and Relational Autonomy: Being With Others (pp. 149–63). Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar