ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the literal expressions pointing towards Spinoza within the Reports. It suggests that one of the Reports' theoretical references is worthy of special attention in so far as their conceptual dependence on Spinoza's metaphysics is concerned. The chapter concludes with the Reports' references to and affirmation of Arne Naess' justification of the so-called deep ecology movement establishes a direct link between the Reports' call for a new paradigm of thought and Spinoza's metaphysics. It argues that the Reports represent and bring together a wide variety of views in order to encircle an ethical position which can be understood in light of the eco-ethical reading of Spinoza's philosophy that was presented in the Introduction. The chapter highlights the core concepts in the Reports' description of holism and sketch out how these concepts together constitute a metaphysical outline of the world that resembles Spinoza's metaphysics in such a significant way that it is difficult to ignore.
