Being oneself and being self-conscious. Spinoza's concept of freedom

Abstract

The aim of this study is to clarify Spinoza's concept of freedom and outline the meaning of this concept in Spinoza's philosophical system as a whole. First, I outline the position of the topic of freedom within the framework of Spinoza's philosophical teachings and its reception. Then I gradually turn to how Spinoza's topic of freedom appears in the context of ontology, ethics and political philosophy. Spinoza's philosophy is ontological-ethics and political philosophy are the application of his ontology. That is why I will start with the interpretation of its basic metaphysical notions-substance, attributes, and modes. In an ethical context, it is possible to speak of Spinozism of freedom with regard to the concept of so-called power of mind over affects, which will be the next center of interpretation. I will conclude with a summary of Spinoza's political-philosophical views on freedom.