Representation and the Mind-Body Problem in Spinoza

This first extensive study of Spinoza''s philosophy of mind concentrates on two problems crucial to the philosopher''s thoughts on the matter: the requirements for having a thought about a particular object, and the problem of the mind''s relation to the body. Della Rocca contends that Spinoza''s positions are systematically connected with each other and with a principle at the heart of his metaphysical system: his denial of causal or explanatory relations between the mental and the physical. In this way, Della Rocca''s exploration of these two problems provides a new and illuminating perspective on Spinoza''s philosophy as a system.