The Spinoza Lens: A Philosophical Framework for Evaluating AI and Human Agency

Spinoza AI Ethics Analysis System (SEAS) v1 introduces a philosophically grounded framework for evaluating AI-generated responses in terms of their impact on user agency. Drawing on Baruch Spinoza’s distinction between active and passive affects in Ethica (1677), SEAS operationalizes nine linguistically observable criteria to assess whether large language model (LLM) responses structurally increase or diminish the user’s capacity for autonomous thought and action. This version (v1) presents the theoretical foundations, the evaluation criteria, the browser-based analysis tool architecture, and exploratory empirical findings based on 36 AI responses across three platforms (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini). Results are descriptive and hypothesis-generating. SEAS v1 is released as an extensible methodological framework. The criteria, query corpus, scoring model, and analysis backend are designed for revision and validation through interdisciplinary collaboration. Future development includes inter-rater reliability testing, expanded datasets, cross-model comparison, and behavioral validation studies. This publication serves as a framework release and an invitation for expert critique and methodological refinement.