ABSTRACT
The thesis of metaphysical desire also lies at the heart of Spinoza’s psychological theory. The theory of metaphysical desire is the foundation of a psychological and ethical theory in Spinoza, which leads all the way up to his theory of beatitude as the state of perfect satisfaction: the ultimate achievement of the being we pursue. But a theory of mimetic desire is also present in Spinoza’s philosophy and plays an indispensable role. It is the bridge between Spinoza’s personal ethics of beatitude and his social and political philosophy. It is hardly surprising that mimetic desire should be a by-product of metaphysical desire. One natural way of thinking is in terms of images or at least symbols – representations of real or imagined external objects. Spinoza admittedly does not refer to metaphysical desire in explaining his theory of the imitation of the affects.
