Introduction

This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book attempts to answer that question by way of reconstructing a recent argument within instances of both legal and philosophical scholarship which implies the use of the philosophy of Benedict Spinoza (1632–1677) as a means to combat the practical consequences of the problem of nature. It gives an overview of the Reports and their arguments for turning to a radically different metaphysics in the face of an imminent environmental crisis. The book provides an outline of Spinoza's metaphysical and ethical structure so that the foundation of the implications of the Reports' arguments can be established. It devotes to the aspects of Spinoza's political philosophy that are concerned with the conceptualization of the notion of law. The book discusses how Spinoza frames the concept of the state and focuses specifically on the notions of sovereignty and governance.