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<p>This paper deals with the possibilities of using the ethical considerations of Baruch Spinoza in a psychotherapeutic context. I begin the interpretation by defining the basic features of Spinoza’s ethics and their connection with the whole of his philosophical system. The core of the study is the interpretation of Spinoza’s theory of affectivity and especially his concept of the transformation of passive affects into active, and what role philosophical knowledge plays in this transformation. The third part of the study then tries to show how selected points of Spinoza’s introduced ideas can be useful for psychotherapeutic work. As much as the connection between philosophical ethics and psychotherapy seems obvious to many non-experts, most professionals on both sides are vehemently opposed to it. I believe that Spinoza’s thinking is an example of how the boundaries of these disciplines can be meaningfully bridged.</p>
</abstract>

This paper deals with the possibilities of using the ethical considerations of Baruch Spinoza in a psychotherapeutic context. I begin the interpretation by defining the basic features of Spinoza’s ethics and their connection with the whole of his philosophical system. The core of the study is the interpretation of Spinoza’s theory of affectivity and especially his concept of the transformation of passive affects into active, and what role philosophical knowledge plays in this transformation. The third part of the study then tries to show how selected points of Spinoza’s introduced ideas can be useful for psychotherapeutic work. As much as the connection between philosophical ethics and psychotherapy seems obvious to many non-experts, most professionals on both sides are vehemently opposed to it. I believe that Spinoza’s thinking is an example of how the boundaries of these disciplines can be meaningfully bridged.

Interpretation of affects: Spinozist approach to the issue of human emotionality

Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem

Ethics & Bioethics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Interpretation of affects: Spinozist approach to the issue of human emotionality"}

This paper deals with the possibilities of using the ethical considerations of Baruch Spinoza in a psychotherapeutic context. I begin the interpretation by...

Interpretation of affects: Spinozist approach to the issue of human emotionality

Published Online: Jun 04, 2021

Page range: 23 - 36

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ebce-2021-0009

Keywords
Spinoza, affects, freedom, Andreas-Salomé, ethics of psychotherapy

© 2021 Hynek Tippelt, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Interpretation of affects: Spinozist approach to the issue of human emotionality

Published Online: Jun 04, 2021

Page range: 23 - 36

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ebce-2021-0009

KeywordsSpinoza, affects, freedom, Andreas-Salomé, ethics of psychotherapy

© 2021 Hynek Tippelt, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Spinoza, affects, freedom, Andreas-Salomé, ethics of psychotherapy