Abstract
In the Fourth Meditation and the Principles of Philosophy, Descartes uses the term privation to refer to the form of error, which derives from the misuse of the free will. But a free will is exactly what Spinoza, in Letter 2 and propositions 48 and 49 of Ethics II, seeks to eliminate. Why, then, does Ethics II use the term privation to define the form of error? What is the purpose of Spin…