The Body in Spinoza and Nietzsche

Razvan Ioan

The Body in Spinoza

and Nietzsche
Razvan Ioan
Leiden University
Leiden, The Netherlands

ISBN 978-3-030-20986-5    ISBN 978-3-030-20987-2 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20987-2

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 Acknowledgments

This book started as my doctoral dissertation at Leiden University, an

institution to which I am profoundly indebted for generously supporting
my research. I could not have hoped for a finer group of colleagues. A
significant part of my study of Spinoza has been conducted during a
research visit at the Université Paris 1, Panthéon-Sorbonne.
It is simply impossible to express all the many debts of gratitude I owe
to family, friends and colleagues. Special thanks go to Herman Siemens,
for his unwavering patience with earlier drafts, his inexhaustible energy
and incredible acuity in helping me improve them. He believed in this
project even when I did not. This book would not have been possible
without Chantal Jaquet and her invaluable guidance, exceptional insights,
and her gift for giving me the confidence to pursue my writing. I am
deeply grateful to Frans de Haas, Simon May, Piet Steenbakkers, and to
all those who read earlier versions and encouraged me to better my argu-
ments. I regret not being able to thank all individuals in the audiences at
various talks where I presented rough drafts of the arguments contained
in this book.
The anonymous referees for Palgrave Macmillan, Nietzsche-Studien,
and The European Journal of Philosophy have much improved the argu-
ments of this book. The errors it contains are solely my own. “The Body
in Spinoza and Nietzsche” incorporates material from previous publica-
tions. I am grateful to the editors and publishers of the following articles
v
vi Acknowledgments

for allowing me to use material first published elsewhere: “A Case of

“Consumption”: Nietzsche’s Diagnosis of Spinoza” in Nietzsche-Studien
46(1), Berlin and Boston: Walter de Gruyter, 2018, pp. 1-27, DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1515/nietzstu-2017-0104; “Spinoza and Nietzsche on
Freedom: Empowerment and Affirmation” in The European Journal of
Philosophy 25 (4), Wiley 2017, pp. 1864-1883, DOI: 10.1111/ejop.12283.
This project would not have gotten far without the unconditional love
and support of my parents, as well as the sage counsels and good humor
of Ruben Derksen, Chris Nelisse, Jamie Pearson and Dan Uzuneanu.
Andreea’s delicate touch and immense patience in keeping me on the
right track has been truly awe-inspiring.
 Contents

1 Introduction  1
References  5

2 Spinoza’s Turn to the Body  7

2.1 Spinoza’s Theory of Knowledge and Its Bodily Correlate   9
2.1.1 The Bodily Correlate of Inadequate Knowledge   9
2.1.2 The Corporeal Correlate of Adequate Knowledge  12
2.2 Spinoza’s Threefold Understanding of the Body  15
2.2.1 The Body as an Object of Science: The Physical
Interlude 16
2.2.2 The Body as a Multiplicity of Affects  21
2.2.3 The Eternal Essence of the Body  25
2.2.4 Conclusion  28
References 34

3 Nietzsche’s Philosophical Physiology 39

3.1 The Context and Nature of Nietzsche’s Turn to the Body  40
3.2 The Structure and Functions of Nietzsche’s Physiology  43
3.2.1 The Concept of “Body”  43
3.2.2 Philosophical Physiology and Its Limits  49
3.2.3 The Expressions of the Body  53
vii
viii Contents

3.2.4 Structure in Nietzsche’s Philosophical Physiology  55

3.2.5 The Functions of Nietzsche’s Physiology  66
3.3 Philosophical and Scientific Physiology  71
3.3.1 Causal Determinism  76
3.3.2 Atomism  77
3.3.3 Teleology and Progress  79
3.3.4 Conclusion  80
References 92

4 Nietzsche’s Diagnosis of Spinoza 97

4.1 The Chronology of Nietzsche’s Diagnosis 100
4.1.1 The First Phase (up to 1883) 100
4.1.2 The Second Phase (1883–1884) 101
4.1.3 The Third Phase (from 1885 Onwards) 102
4.2 The Themes of Nietzsche’s Engagement with Spinoza 106
4.2.1 Reason and Knowledge 106
4.2.2 Affects 108
4.2.3 Self-preservation 109
4.2.4 Metaphysics 110
4.3 Evaluation of Nietzsche’s Criticisms 112
4.3.1 Reason and Knowledge 112
4.3.2 Affects 113
4.3.3 Conatus and Egoism 115
References120

5 Critique of Metaphysics and the Ontology of the Turn to

the Body123
5.1 Nietzsche’s Critique of Substance 123
5.2 Spinoza’s Response to Nietzsche’s Critique of Substance 129
5.3 The Motivations Behind Spinoza’s and Nietzsche’s Turns
to the Body 136
5.4 Similarities and Differences in Spinoza’s and Nietzsche’s
Understandings of the Body 141
5.4.1 Conclusion 150
References156
 Contents ix

6 Knowing (Ourselves) and Engaging Our Environment159

6.1 Conscious Thought 159
6.2 Engaging Our Environment 165
6.2.1 The Ethical Strategies of Empowerment in
Spinoza166
6.2.2 Nietzsche on Ethics 173
References188

7 Freedom as Empowerment and Affirmation191

7.1 Freedom and Necessity 194
7.1.1 Spinoza 194
7.1.2 Nietzsche 198
7.2 Common Ground and Divergence 202
7.2.1 Conclusion 208
References214

8 The Politics of the Turn to the Body217

8.1 Spinoza on Democracy and Agreement 218
8.2 Nietzsche on the Dangers of Democracy 225
8.2.1 Conclusion 234
References239

9 Conclusion241

Index245
 Abbreviations

Primary sources from Nietzsche and Spinoza are cited in the main text by
abbreviation according to the standard conventions listed below. In some
cases, I abbreviate longer titles of works when they appear in the main text.

Nietzsche
Nietzsche’s works are cited by section number. In cases when sections are
not numbered but named, an additional reference to the abbreviated title
has been used. References to Zarathustra include the book number and
chapter title (often abbreviated). Prefaces of works are referenced by a
“Preface” after the abbreviated title. References to the Nachlass follow the
notation in Kritische Studienausgabe (KSA). Any omissions are indicated
in square brackets […] in order to distinguish them from Nietzsche’s own
ellipses. Any intervention in citations is indicated by square brackets: [].
Emphases in Nietzsche’s writings are rendered as underlined, and as ital-
ics in the translations.
All citations are accompanied by references to the relevant passage in
the KSA, by volume (and page), e.g.:
JGB 230 5.169 = Jenseits von Gut und Böse, aphorism 230, KSA
volume 5, page 169.

xi
xii Abbreviations

Z II Erlösung 4.178 = Also sprach Zarathustra, Book II, “Von der

Erlösung”, KSA volume 4, page 178;
9[86] 12.380 = note 9[86] in KSA volume 12, page 380.

List of Abbreviations
AC The Anti-christ/Antichrist(ian): A curse on Christianity.
(Der Antichrist. Fluch auf das Christenthum).
BA On the Future of Our Educational Institutions. (Ueber
die Zukunft unserer Bildungsanstalten).
EH Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What One Is. (Ecce
homo. Wie man wird, was man ist).
EH Clever Why I am so Clever. (Warum ich so klug bin).
EH M see M.
EH Wise Why I am so Wise. (Warum ich so weise bin).
FW The Gay Science. (Die fröhliche Wissenschaft “la gaya
scienza”).
GD Twilight of the Idols, or How to Philosophize with a
Hammer. (Götzen-Dämmerung oder Wie man mit
dem Hammer philosophirt).
GD Errors The Four Great Errors. (Die vier grossen Irrthümer).
GD Expeditions Expeditions of an Untimely One. (Streifzüge eines
Unzeitgemässen).
GD Fable How the ‘True World’ Finally Became a Fable. (Wie die
‘wahre Welt’ endlich zur Fabel wurde).
GD Improvers The ‘Improvers’ of Humankind. (Die ‘Verbesserer’ der
Menscheit)
GD Morality Morality as Anti-Nature. (Moral als Widernatur).
GD Reason ‘Reason’ in Philosophy. (Die ‘Vernunft’ in der
Philosophie)
GD Socrates The Problem of Socrates. (Das Problem des Sokrates).
GM On the Genealogy of Morals/Morality. A Polemic. (Zur
Genealogie der Moral. Eine Streitschrift).
GT The Birth of Tragedy. (Die Geburt der Tragödie).
JGB Beyond Good and Evil. Prelude to a Philosophy of the
Future. (Jenseits von Gut und Böse. Vorspiel einer
Philosophie der Zukunft).
M Daybreak. Thoughts on the Prejudices of Morality.
(Morgenröthe. Gedanken über die moralischen
Vorurtheile).
 Abbreviations xiii

MA Human, All-too Human. A Book for free Spirits.

Volume I. (Menschliches, Allzumenschliches. Ein Buch
für freie Geister. Erster Band).
VM (MA II) Part One: Assorted Opinions and Maxims.
(Erste Abtheilung: Vermischte Meinungen und
Sprüche).
WA The Case of Wagner: A Musician’s Problem. (Der Fall
Wagner. Ein Musikanten-Problem).
WL On Truth and Lies in an Extramoral Sense. (Ueber
Wahrheit und Lüge im aussermoralischen Sinne).
WS (MA II) Part Two: The Wanderer and His Shadow.
(Zweite Abtheilung: Der Wanderer und sein Schatten).
Z Thus spoke Zarathustra. A Book for All and None.
(Also sprach Zarathustra. Ein Buch für Alle und
Keinen).
Z I Despisers On the Despisers of the Body. (Von den Verächtern des
Leibes).
Z I Hinterworldly On the Hinterworldly. (Von der Hinterweltern).
Z I Idol On the New Idol. (Vom neuen Götzen).
Z I On Child and
Marriage On Child and Marriage. (Von Kind und Ehe).
Z I Preface Zarathustra’s Prologue. (Zarathustra’s Vorrede).

References to Nietzsche’s letters include the volume and letter number

in KGB (Nietzsche Briefwechsel. Kritische Gesamtausgabe).

Reference Editions of Nietzsche’s Works

KGB Nietzsche, Briefwechsel. Kritische Gesamtausgabe. 1975ff. Edited by
Giogio Colli and Mazzino Montinari, continued by Norbert Miller
and Annemarie Pieper. Berlin and New York: de Gruyter.
KSA Sämtliche Werke. Kritische Studienausgabe, 15 volumes. 1980. Edited
by Giorgio Colli and Mazzino Montinari. Berlin and New York: de
Gruyter, 1967–77; Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag.
xiv Abbreviations

Spinoza
References to the Ethics are by the standard format of part and proposi-
tion: page numbers are provided only when necessary for ease in finding
a passage in the text. The following abbreviations are used in citations:
A Axiom
D Definition
L Lemma
app appendix
c corollary
dem demonstration
p Proposition
pref Preface
s scholium
e.g. IIp40s2 is Part 2, proposition 40, scholium 2.

List of Abbreviations
E Ethics. (Ethica).
KV Short Treatise on God, Man and His Well-being. (Korte
Verhandeling van God, de Mensch, en des zelfs Welstand).
TP Political Treatise. (Tractatus Politicus).
TTP Theological-Political Treatise. (Tractatus Theologico-Politicus).

References to the TTP and the TP are given by chapter and paragraph.
I use the Standard edition of Spinoza’s Works in Latin:
Spinoza Opera, I–IV. 1925. Edited by Carl Gebhardt. Heidelberg:
Carl Winter.