Moa De Lucia Dahlbeck - Spinoza, Ecology and International Law: Radical Naturalism in the Face of the Anthropocene

This book addresses the use of Benedict Spinozas philosophy in current attempts to elaborate an ecological basis for international environmental law. Because the question of environmental protection has not been satisfactory resolved, the legal debate concerning our responsibility for the environment has as evidenced in the recent UN report series Harmony with Nature come to invite calls for a new eco-centric, rather than anthropocentric, legal paradigm. In this respect, Spinoza appears as a key figure. He is one of the few philosophers in the history of western philosophy who cares, and writes extensively, about the roots of anthropocentrism; the core issue of contemporary normative debates in ecology. And in response to the rapidly developing ecological crisis, his work has become central to a re-thinking of the human relationship with nature. Addressing the contention that Spinozas ethics might provide a useful source for developing a new, eco-centred framework for environmental law, this book elaborates a more nuanced understanding of Spinozas philosophy. Spinoza cannot, it is argued here, simply be reduced to an eco-ethicist. That is: his metaphysics cannot be used as the basis of an essentially naturalised or extended human morality. At the same time, however, this book argues that the radicality of Spinozas naturalism nevertheless offers the possibility of developing a more adequate ecological basis for environmental law.

Moa De Lucia Dahlbeck is a postdoctoral researcher at the department of law at Gothenburg University and a member of the Spinoza Research Group (Grupo de Investigacin sobre Spinoza y el spinozismo) at the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts, Buenos Aires University.

Law, Justice and Ecology

Series editors

Anna Grear, Law School, Cardiff University, UK

For information about the series and details of previous and forthcomingtitles, see https://www.routledge.com/Law-Justice-and-Ecology/book-series/LAWJUSTECO

A GlassHouse Book

First published 2019

by Routledge

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2019 Moa De Lucia Dahlbeck

The right of Moa De Lucia Dahlbeck to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: De Lucia Dahlbeck, Moa, 1981- author.

Title: Spinoza, ecology and international law radical naturalism in the face of the anthropocene / Moa De Lucia Dahlbeck.

Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2019. | Series: Law, justice and ecology | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018025590 | ISBN 9781138038684 (hbk)

Subjects: LCSH: Environmental law, InternationalPhilosophy. | International lawPhilosophy. | Spinoza, Benedictus de, 1632-1677Influence.

Classification: LCC K3585 .D4 2019 | DDC 344.04/6dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018025590

ISBN: 978-1-138-03868-4 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-17726-7 (ebk)

For Sofia and Ona

First and foremost I would like to thank my brother Johan Dahlbeck for your comments and questions on the work. Our conversations have been absolutely essential for developing my understanding of Spinoza and for finding the arguments about Spinoza and normativity presented in this book. I would also like to thank Gregor Noll and Lena Wahlberg. Their support during my doctoral studies encouraged me to deepen my interest in the metaphysics of international environmental law and to extend my studies into the realm of philosophy. Finally, I thank the wonderful scholars of the Spinoza Study Group at Buenos Aires University (Grupo de investigacin sobre Spinoza y el spinozismo) who all have contributed to my understanding and love of Spinozas writings.