Discussion On Spinoza's Theory Of Necessity

the first chapter introduces the theory of necessity that the previous philosophers have put forward, while Spinoza's theory of necessity is different from theirs. Aristotle's necessity refers to the external necessity, and affirms that people have free will at the same time.Democritus' s necessity has mechanistic color that the necessity is the movement of the atom. and necessity of stoicism is the universal sense; the necessity of the Middle Ages is god, a personal god. The second section introduces the reason why Spinoza adhere to the necessity, on the one hand, is dues to his pursuit of infiniteness,on the other hand, because the natural science is developing rapidly at that time, the coordination between causation and metaphysics is needed, retain metaphysics, and causal relationship is used to explain everything, thus introducing the causation to philosophy. The third section puts forward the Spinoza's criticism on the theological teleology and free will, the first part of the second chapter elucidates the view that deity is nature, and the relationship between entity and modes, modes includes the contingency of mode and the causation of mode while the contingency transits to the causation and the conflict between the infinite deity and the limited human. The second part distinguishes the different objects and ideas in the mind and the idea of God, the concept of God's object is concrete things, which examines the nature of things,while the object of the concept of the mind is the reaction to some being which is physical circumstances. By rational knowledge, the concept of God comes into the concept of the soul, and the concept of God understands of the nature of things,which is the intuitive knowledge. They restrain passive emotion through reason to achieve human freedom.The third part elaborates that to what extent the causality equals to the necessity. The third chapter analyzes the relationship between freedom and necessity,and between contingency and necessity. Freedom turns to an intrinsic necessity, and contingency isthe state the existence of things as a status of parity. The position of contingency in Spinoza's philosophy is not that important. The fourth chapter introduces the influence of Spinoza's theory of necessity on Kant, Hegel and others, the significance of Spinoza's theory of necessity and the author's reflection.