CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2023
| Author | Yerlan, Abulkhair |
|---|---|
| Title | On the Eternity of Modal Essences in Spinoza's Ethics |
| Summary | This thesis offers an interpretation of Spinoza’s claim that the essences of modes are eternal. Based on Spinoza’s modal definition of eternity and his commitment to necessitarianism, I propose that what is meant by the eternal existence of modal essences is their necessary existence insofar as they express God’s eternal nature, i.e. insofar as they are contained in divine attributes. Thus, the eternity of modal essences and their corresponding modes does not constitute a difficulty for Spinoza’s metaphysics, since their existence qua eternal and qua existing with a limited duration are treated as two different aspects of one and the same existence. That being the case, I argue that Spinoza holds – without contradicting his other metaphysical commitments – that for the finite time that modes and their essences exist, they exist eternally. |
| Supervisor | Griffin, Michael Vance |
| Department | Philosophy MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2023/yerlan_abulkhair.pdf |
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