IN THE WAKE OF THE LAST PARAGRAPH OF POLITICAL TREATISE

Abstract

The paper deals with the issue of Spinoza’s Political treatise referring especially to his understanding of political rights of citizens. This includes clarification of the meaning of the term citizen, in relation to the categories of people he considers non-citizens or derived citizens. The authoress focuses on feminist positioning of this problem in Spinoza’s philosophy, and attempts to develop a feminist interpretation through intersection of concepts such as gender, class and race. This implies a different epistemological and methodological approach to this issue and its extension to the groups of people that Spinoza denies citizenship status – therefore the feminist analysis includes the analysis of status of women, slaves and servants who work as slaves for a living. It will be explained that Spinoza’s views are the result of his concept of natural law as a power or force, as well as his apprehension of political substance regarding the factual situation and experience. Throughout the analysis of the historical situation in Netherlands at that time, which was among other things marked by the slave trade from Africa, the authoress tries to clarify the last paragraph of the Political treatise.