Spinoza and the possibilities for radical climate ethics

Abstract

In this commentary, I endeavor to respond to what I identify as the core question of Ruddick’s paper: How does the theoretical dethroning of humanity force us to reinvent ethics? I expand on Spinoza’s profound contribution to the radical rethinking of the subject at the level of ontology. Although Ruddick invokes Spinoza, first and foremost, as a potential resource for ethics in light of climate disruption, I conclude that those resources offer only a glimmer of how to live differently. The work of reimagination at the level of metaphysics is flourishing, but we have yet to develop its implications for ethics and politics.