Leges sive natura: Bacon, Spinoza, and a Forgotten Concept of Law

In Walter Ott & Lydia Patton (eds.), Laws of Nature. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 62-79 (2018)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

The way of laws is as much a defining feature of the modern period as the way of ideas; but the way of laws is hardly without its forks. Both before and after Descartes, there are philosophers using the concept to carve out a very different position from his, one that is entirely disconnected from God or God’s will. I argue that Francis Bacon and Baruch Spinoza treat laws as dispositions that derive from a thing’s nature. This reading upends the currently orthodox treatment of Spinoza’s laws as infinite modes, and calls for a re-conception of his metaphysics of causation.

Author's Profile

Walter Ott
University of Virginia

Analytics

Added to PP
2019-02-23

Downloads
373 (#41,255)

6 months
85 (#43,532)

Historical graph of downloads since first upload
This graph includes both downloads from PhilArchive and clicks on external links on PhilPapers.
How can I increase my downloads?