Might Spinoza be a Moral Fictionalist?

Abstract

This article introduces a new interpretation of Spinoza's metaethics: namely, that we can understand him as a fictionalist about morality. The article is conceived primarily as a “proof of concept.” That is, it does not seek to prove Spinoza is best understood as a fictionalist. Rather, it only seeks to prove that such a reading is possible and that it is a possibility worth taking seriously. It is left for later papers to develop the fictionalist reading further and defend its merits against rival interpretations.