Instructions

Due, as an attachment, via the “Assignments” tool on Canvas, by 11:55pm on Tuesday, February 27.

Please choose one of the eight deﬁnitions or one of the seven axioms at the beginning of the Ethics. Point out some way in which the axiom or deﬁnition is odd or surprising — i.e., a way in which someone might argue that the deﬁnition or axiom in question should be corrected — and explain brieﬂy why Spinoza would not be able to prove one of his key conclusions (either Prop. 11 or Prop. 14) unless this deﬁnition or axiom were put the way it is. (Note that the axiom or deﬁnition need not appear directly in the proof of the proposition in question; it might be in the proof of one of the earlier propositions. If so you need to explain both how Spinoza’s version is necessary for the proof of the earlier proposition, and how that earlier proposition is necessary for the proof of Prop. 11 or 14.) Finally, suggest brieﬂy how Spinoza might defend his version of the axiom or deﬁnition.

Needless to say, this should be your own original work. You probably should not need to use external sources for this assignment, but, if you do, you must cite them. If you have any questions about what plagiarism is or how to avoid it, you can ask me, or consult the resources listed on the Library website.[1]https://guides.library.ucsc.edu/c.php?g=1349850&p=9960819. For possible consequences of plagiarism, see the Academic Misconduct Policy.[2]https://ue.ucsc.edu/academic_misconduct.

AI policy: I encourage the use of AI assistance with proper caution (i.e., keeping in mind that current AI is often wrong). You may use AI assistance basically in any way that would not constitute cheating if you used a human for the same thing. Similarly, you should cite the AI in cases where you would cite a human. If in doubt, feel free to ask me for clariﬁcation.

Note that, as with the ﬁrst assignment, this is not a full scale paper — you need not, and should not, write an introduction and conclusion, summarize other parts of the Ethics, etc.

You can ﬁnd answers to some commonly asked questions about my assignments and grading in my FAQ.

This document, and all other instructor-generated material in this course, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.