Étienne Souriau and the Overturning of Spinozism

Abstract

This article will present Baruch Spinoza as a possible turning point in the debate on modes of existence, which is central to the contemporary philosophical landscape. It will do so, on the one hand, by following Gilles Deleuze’s reading and presenting Spinozism as a radicalization of the univocity of being, established by Duns Scotus; on the other hand, by showing how Étienne Souriau, one of the leading exponents of the pluralism of modes of existence, presented his own system as a “correct Spinozism” and his modes of existence as corresponding to Spinoza’s attributes once freed from the parallelism that subjected them to the unity of substance. The consequences of this slight modification will prove to be decisive and will allow us to discover some crucial points in the debate on modes of existence.