Nietzsche and Spinoza: Thinking Freedom

Abstract

Nietzsche’s concept of freedom is premised upon a conception of the relationship between freedom and necessity; here I examine that concept of freedom against the background of the philosophy of Spinoza. Both offer powerful accounts of how freedom and necessity might be reconciled; this essay sets out the difference between them by breaking the problem down into those of selfhood, time, reason and culture. It is concluded that for Nietzsche freedom is always premised upon a relationship of the self to itself, whereas for Spinoza it devolves on a relationship between self and others.