March 14

Shozo Kamiya (Johns Hopkins University)

Is Spinoza's conatus doctrine teleological?

Abstract: While most scholars find it clear that Spinoza’s antipathy towards final causes sufficiently speaks against religious teleological principles (divine providence), a few recent commentators such as Don Garrett and Martin Lin suggest that his view developed through his conatus doctrine can nonetheless be characterized as teleological in some sense. I will examine the arguments in support of such teleological interpretations of conatus, and suggest several reasons to remain sceptical of their success.

Shozo Kamiya is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University with interests in the history of philosophy.

A recording of the session will be made available under “Downloads” for some time following the event.

(The “Downloads” page is password-protected, and the password is available to all members of the Spinoza and EMP Workshop email list.)