Abstract

This chapter addresses Nietzsche’s critique of substance ontology when applied to Spinoza’s concept of ‘substance’. The main result of this section is that Spinoza’s understanding of ‘substance’ allows for the existence of genuine multiplicity, the endogenous power of modes, and includes a relational account of power, but that it does not fully escape Nietzsche’s critique because the production of individual essences that are in agreement can only be explained if the activity of substance is governed by reason. A key difference is that Nietzsche places his philosophical discourse in the context of a historical and developmental account of individuals and societies that does not have a parallel in Spinoza.