D鈥檃bord paru sous le couvert de l鈥檃nonymat en 1670, le Trait茅 th茅ologico-politique fut rapidement attribu茅 脿 Spinoza et imm茅diatement quali铿伱� d鈥櫯搖vre impie par les autorit茅s politiques et religieuses de son temps. C鈥檈st que, bien qu鈥檌l se d茅fende de l鈥檃ccusation d鈥檃th茅isme port茅e 脿 son encontre, le philosophe ne m茅nage pas l鈥櫭塯lise, il remet en question de nombreux dogmes religieux et d茅nonce la th猫se d鈥檜n auteur unique et inspir茅 par Dieu 鈥� en la personne de Mo茂se 鈥� pour les cinq livres de l鈥橝ncien Testament constituant la Torah des Juifs. Bousculant les bien-pensants de son temps, il d茅fend avec ardeur la libert茅 de s鈥檈xprimer et l鈥檈xercice de la raison dans l鈥檃nalyse des fondements th茅ologiques et politiques de la soci茅t茅. Ainsi, ce trait茅 de philosophie pratique a-t-il jet茅 les bases de nos d茅mocraties modernes fond茅es sur la s茅paration des pouvoirs temporel et spirituel. Ses analyses, subversives et iconoclastes 脿 bien des 茅gards, ont contribu茅 脿 la lecture critique des Saintes 脡critures et ont inspir茅 de nombreux penseurs apr猫s lui. Aujour颅d鈥檋ui encore, la radicalit茅 de son propos et la r茅jouissante libert茅 de ton dont il use ne peuvent qu鈥檈nchanter le lecteur moderne et l鈥檌nciter 脿 retourner aux sources de ce texte philosophique et politique majeur de l鈥橭ccident. Nous le pr茅sentons ici, pour la premi猫re fois, dans une 茅dition confortable 脿 la lecture, accessible 脿 tous et b茅n茅铿乧iant des apports les plus r茅cents de la philologie, sur la base de la traduction de r茅f茅rence d鈥櫭塵ile Saisset.
Controversial pantheistic doctrine of Dutch philosopher and theologian Baruch Spinoza or Benedict advocated an intellectual love of God; people best know Ethics, his work of 1677.
People came considered this great rationalist of 17th century.
In his posthumous magnum opus, he opposed mind鈥揵ody dualism of Ren茅 Descartes and earned recognition of most important thinkers of west. This last indisputable Latin masterpiece, which Spinoza wrote, finally turns and entirely destroys the refined medieval conceptions.
After death of Baruch Spinoza, often Benedictus de Spinoza, people realized not fully his breadth and importance until many years. He laid the ground for the 18th-century Enlightenment and modern Biblical criticism, including conceptions of the self and arguably the universe. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel said of all contemporaries, "You are either a Spinozist or not a philosopher at all."
That's a critical analysis of biblical texts with all the respect, simplicity, and tolerance of a believer who uses his reason. My God, this text is modern and glaringly topical! Written in the 17th century, 130 years before the French Revolution, this work establishes sacred books as texts written by men for men of their time. The author wanted to scrap the arguments and temporal gimmicks and keep God's original message. Moreover, his analysis of Hebrew society allowed him to see the best way to reconcile religion and power and religion and social peace. Of course, the 17th-century style is not the easiest to read, but in our society where religion and law are opposed, a fascinating reflection will enrich those who wonder about this subject.
The Theological-Political Treatise provides an in-depth critique of the Old and New Testament along with how religion and the various system of governments have worked and function alongside each other.
I found Baruch Spinoza's (1632-1677) scrutiny of the Scriptures quite persuasive and brave for the time and setting in which they were written. Spinoza formulates bold arguments, such as, that it was a single historian Ezra who wrote the Torah and that faith is merely based on history and language derived from scriptures and revelations. Spinoza argues that the Prophets derived their claims from their vivid imagination, human's lowest level of cognitive development, and not reasoning, man's greatest cognitive gift. Spinoza contends that the human's power of reasoning is superior to any theological work: "The domain of reason, as we have said, is truth and wisdom, the domain of theology is piety and obedience". He equates God to nature as he sees the processes of nature and God as one, yet, "nobody knows by nature that he has any duty to obey God".
This was a captivating read. I enjoyed Spinoza's interpretation and examination of the Scripture language and his method of demonstrating how the various texts are contradicting and are opposed to reason or the laws of nature. Spinoza also elaborates on his support for a democratic secular state with each individual's right to freedom of expression. This edition comes with a well-written introduction (sometimes reading a great introduction to a non-fiction book feels like examining the topic of the book twice). All in all, I look forward to reading more from this Dutch (Jewish) philosopher.
Re-read in 2021: I upgraded it to 5 stars, since on re-reading the TPT it dawned on me how original Spinoza's project was at the time. A careful, methodological study of the Bible texts in order to learn the truth about the past, with the aim of pleading for religious tolerance. And both these objects in a time when religious wars were tearing apart Europe and Britain and when going against religious doctrines and dogma meant excommunication at best and death at worst.
This makes me appreciate this work more than I did before. An inspiration to us, moderns, who so easily fall back into our (relatively) comfortable positions and choose to keep quiet. Spinoza was definitely one of the most courageous and original philosophers I know of, and in all senses of the word 'good', a good human being.
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This is an important book. Spinoza was the first thinker to submit the Old and New Testament to serious, systematic scrutiny. He did this, at first, anonymously, when the book was published in 1670 - later, it would become known that he was the writer of Tractatus Theologico-Politicus and he had to flee.
One of the main ideas of the Tractatus, is that philosophy and theology should be kept seperated. We should use philosophy to interpret scripture, because the aim of philosophy is to discover the truth (rationally) whereas the aim of theology is simple obedience.
So what are the results of Spinoza's systematic study of the Old and New Testaments? Miracles are logically impossible (in conjunction with Spinoza's own philosophy, that is), prophecy is just personal imagination and there is no 'end time'. One of the most important things Spinoza proves (convincingly, in my humble opinion), is the fact that the Bible is composed of texts written by many different authors, in many different times. An example: Spinoza views the Old Testament (specifically: the Torah) as a political constitution of the people of Israel. Therefore, it is not rational to apply these standards to 17th century Holland.
One of the end goals of Spinoza was to criticze the intolerant clergy of his time. This was the time when many groundbreaking books were put on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Inquisition and that many authors and publishers were actively persecuted and threatened. Spinoza hoped to prove with his bible studies that this intolerance cannot be justified on biblical grounds.
Besides his theological thoughts, Spinoza is also known for his political views. Like many social contract theorists (Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, among others), he looks for a solution to the problem of human interests. Monarchy tends to slide into tiranny, while aristocracy tends to slide into oligarchy. Spinoza is a staunch defender of democracy, albeit not in an Ancient Greece-like form, but in a representative form. One of his strongest arguments in favor of democracy is that the people and the government are near-identical. This leads to broad support for the state's power and therefore to peace.
For me, Spinoza deserves our respect, not for the fact that he fought against religious suppression and for democracy and peace (which are noble deeds, indeed), but for the fact that he sees rationalism as the solution to human strife. We should use our intellect to try to come closer to the truth, to guide our actions and to consider the best option for all parties involved. This idea - using reason to increase humanity, dignity and peace - is enough to make Spinoza one of the most enlightened thinkers, ever.
There is much else to tell about his theological and political views - the influences of contemporary Dutch society on his opinions, the events he witnessed, his personal story - but I think it suffices to note that this book is an important foundation for Englightenment thinking. Read this if you can!
"The affirmations and the negations of 'God' always involve necessity or truth; so that, for example, if God said to Adam that He did not wish him to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, it would have involved a contradiction that Adam should have been able to eat of it, and would, therefore, have been impossible that he should have so eaten, for the Divine command would have involved an eternal necessity and truth. But since Scripture nevertheless narrates that God did give this command to Adam, and yet that none the less Adam ate of the tree, we must perforce say that God revealed to Adam the evil which would surely follow if he should eat of the tree, but did not disclose that such evil would of necessity come to pass. Thus it was that Adam took the revelation to be not an eternal and necessary truth, but a law - that is, an ordinance followed by gain or loss, not depending necessarily on the nature of the act performed, but solely on the will and absolute power of some potentate, so that the revelation in question was solely in relation to Adam, and solely through his lack of knowledge a law, and God was, as it were, a lawgiver and potentate. From the same cause, namely, from lack of knowledge, the Decalogue in relation to the Hebrews was a law. We conclude, therefore, that God is described as a lawgiver or prince, and styled just, merciful, etc., merely in concession to popular understanding, and the imperfection of popular knowledge; that in reality God acts and directs all things simply by the necessity of His nature and perfection, and that His decrees and volitions are eternal truths, and always involve necessity."
The key words in the excerpt are: "solely through the lack of knowledge" - the whole anthropomorphic domain of law, 铆njunction, moral command, et cetera, is based on our ignorance; and the proposed ontological ethics are deprived of the deontological dimension. _______________________________
Also, "Smoking cigarettes may be hazardous to your health." But that is not prohibited obviously 鈥� (Nothing is, nothing can be) 鈥� you are just informed of a c谩usal link.
The first time I attempted to read this book, I could not get past the Bible citations and how meaningless they all seemed to me at the time. Now, after having read this book, I understand what Spinoza was really getting at and why he had to tell the story the way he did.
Spinoza does his best while keeping within the paradigm of his time period by using its belief-system as his background while overturning the old system and creating a new system. Just as what Marx did for political economy and Nietzsche did for philosophy, Spinoza does that for theology.
Spinoza in so many words will say it鈥檚 absurd to apply special pleading for the Bible if it means that we no longer can apply common sense or consider the context, contrast, and relations which are inherent within the text of the Bible itself. For example, when Joshua said the sun stood still, it was meant to indicate how his fellow citizens would have thought of the situation at the time. Spinoza takes this one big thought and uses it to create a whole new way of understanding theology and manages to write one of the most influential books ever.
Spinoza makes God all powerful and His creation of a universe necessary because for Spinoza all that happens must be and any God who does not necessarily follow the 鈥榣aws of nature鈥� would not be the most perfect being and Spinoza will make Nature itself the same as God Himself and each must follow necessarily from the divine ordinance inherent within each such that one most likely should not refer to Spinoza as a pantheist since there is no 鈥榯here there鈥� except for what is there (in the book Radical Enlightenment the author will also say that it is wrong to think of Spinoza as a pantheist). Spinoza can pretend to be a theist while almost all of his subsequent followers would view him as an atheist or as a panentheist (God is not only within the universe, He also transcends space and time and is outside of the universe, hence giving Him a 鈥楪od鈥檚 eye view鈥�).
According to Spinoza the Bible, both the New and the Old Testament, teaches the believer obedience and a path for salvation, and that obedience to Goodness with its contemplation of the Divine of the One is at the nexus of faith and that鈥檚 what faith means. All life and everything that exist has a conatus (Latin: struggle) and all existence must be in order to exist. Schopenhauer turns conatus into will and Nietzsche turns it into will to power and Heidegger turns it into care (he also makes it into will to power but goes back to care. The intro to this book written in 1883 mentions that Kant is almost the only major philosopher who was not overly influenced by Spinoza and doesn鈥檛 follow Spinoza鈥檚 One substance (reality) path and just to note Plotinus has a lot of foreshadowing to Spinoza and Spinoza seems to have nothing but respect for Maimonides.
Spinoza will say that when the Red Sea was parted for Moses it was most likely a strong wind storm that was already brewing elsewhere, or when the Bible says God harden Pharaoh鈥檚 heart it was not God that did it but everything that happened before that made Pharaoh鈥檚 heart harden such as the plagues, or the soon to be death of the first born male child and so on, and when the Bible says 鈥楪od harden Pharaoh鈥檚 heart鈥�, that was just a way of speaking. This is really a big point within Spinoza鈥檚 system and otherwise an atheist could point out how cruel and immoral God was if Spinoza鈥檚 way of seeing the Bible is not accepted. Because, if God harden Pharaoh鈥檚 heart it would mean he was responsible for immorally killing the first born of all the Egyptians. I prefer seeing the situation from Spinoza鈥檚 point-of-view, then from the point-of-view of an immoral psychotic killer God.
Most importantly, Spinoza will say that when Jesus talked about there being demons that he cast out and a house cannot stand against itself, Jesus was not saying that he believed demons were real he was just logically assuming the assumptions of the Pharisees to show them why they were wrong. I鈥檝e heard modern day atheist say that Jesus believed demons were real because of what the Bible said, but for Gawd鈥檚 sake can鈥檛 they at least quote Spinoza from this 350 year old book for a contra view point. This argument that Spinoza makes about Jesus and his belief in demons is at the crux of Spinoza鈥檚 method for overturning the world鈥檚 paradigm.
This book also included the not yet finish Political Tractatus by Spinoza. Politics, which are clearly not Spinoza鈥檚 strengths as illustrated by this books fragments. Within this uncompleted book, he did say one thing that shouted out for its absurdity, 鈥榠f we go by experience women should have no role in government or society at large鈥� while thinking experience should be his guide. Of course, if you excluded a segment of society by not allowing easy participation by them that segment of society would always be under-represented in abilities and achievement and not be as adept as the other segments that were given advantages. Experience and functional realities are not always the best way to understand what should be, that is, sometimes what is (based on experience) should not determine what should be.
Spinoza uses the world鈥檚 belief-system and turns them unto themselves in such a way that one can see the world for the very first time. This book is not only historically incredibly important; it is also relevant today and is worthwhile for today鈥檚 modern readers.
My old review from 2016 which I'm happy to report was wrong since I understand now how this book is one of the all time great books! (Thank you Radical Enlightenment for educating me). *** As tedious as watching re-runs of "Seinfield". I really enjoyed the author's "Ethics". This book was painful because he's constantly quoting 'scripture' both new and old testament. He painfully lays the biblical foundation that he uses in his "Ethics". Nicest thing I can say for this book is that it's no worse than most Liberal Theological books available today would be.
I enjoy Star Trek. I'm not going to argue the truth and the wisdom of the Prime Directive by selectively quoting from different episodes and claiming each story was written by different authors and all inspired by Gene Rodenberry (may his grace forever shine on the Federation of Planets and His prophet James T Kirk be forever in your heart). Anyway you cut it transporters, planets where everyone conveniently speaks English, Apollo lives, and other such things don't exist, and I really don't care to pretend they do. The bible has talking snakes, zebras getting their stripes, zombies roaming through out all of Jerusalem, rods turning into snakes and so on. Don't waste my time in arguing if Star Dates make sense or not (they don't), and what Jesus said or didn't say to who and he didn't say it to is just as irrelevant to me.
Like Nietzsche, who adored Spinoza and called him "the purest philosopher," and Hobbes, whom Spinoza had read and admired, there is a certain brutal honesty in Spinoza's philosophy that comes through vividly in the Theological-Political Treatise. This short work, produced in Amsterdam in the 17th-century at the height of Calvin's influence, was actually written after his more famous Ethics, though published before it. Spinoza here describes his views of the relationship between Scripture, the State, God, and Nature. In many ways, Spinoza is the first modern biblical scholar as he takes the Bible as his data points for reconstructing the actual history behind the text. He was excommunicated from the Jewish community in Amsterdam for his "heretical" views, e.g. miracles do not occur and Moses did not write the entire Torah, and he elaborates on these views in the TTP. Because Spinoza equates Nature with God and the divine law with the natural law, there are times when he seems to endorse power as the ultimate organizing force of life and society. At other times he says things like the most natural state of society is democracy, the only commandments to love God and love your neighbor, and true piety consists merely in justice and charity. He claims that Jesus is the "Voice of God" and yet God is depicted as being remote and impersonal. There is a duplicity here that I can't quite put my finger on--like he wants to preserve a sense of "goodness" while neutralizing everything under the will to power (exercised by nature and political sovereigns). My motto is: beware of the philosophers of COLD HARD TRUTH. As William James said, "What has concluded, that we should conclude about it?"
The Enlightenment book on tolerance. Argues that scripture is not just interpreted subjectively but was written subjectively, because God can communicate to men only elliptically, using symbolism and cultural tropes. Calls for intellectual freedom all over the place.
"[P]eople must be governed in such a way that they can live in harmony, even though they openly hold different and contradictory opinions. We cannot doubt that this is the best way of ruling, and has the least disadvantages, since it is the one most in harmony with human nature. In a democratic state (which is the one closest to the state of nature) all men agree, as we showed above, to act--but not judge or think--according to the common decision. That is, because people cannot all have the same opinions, they have agreed that the view which gains the most votes should acquire the forces of a decision" ("A Free State" 14).
Here Spinoza is making his argument for philosophical freedom, and simultaneously placing limits of freedom to break the laws of a state. Freedom to think, but not to act. This passage is interesting to me, in part, because I've just finished reading Walter Benn Micheal's /The Trouble with Diversity/, in which he ridicules (among other things) the idea of "diversity of thought." Should we let our business board meetings include people who think the business shouldn't exist? Should we let hard-core creationists teach high school biology? No, he says. Ideas aren't identity--ideas should battle each other to the death. In the ideal world, there wouldn't be Democrats or Republicans because we've just have Government. No politics, only policies.
Spinoza's tack is rather different. He suggests the kind of pluralism where people "openly hold different and contradictory opinions" despite the way that they agree to act. Spinoza doesn't seem to spend a lot of time talking about how these opinions might interface with people's compliance to act, except where he says earlier that pious dogmas don't have to be true, "not only such as are necessary for inculcating obedience; i.e. those that confirm the mind in love towards our neighbor" ("Faith and Philosophy" 8). This seems to imply--and I might be making a leap here--that as long as your opinions don't break down society into violent chaos, that you can think what you'd like. Like Michaels, Spinoza expects these ideas to have to battle it out, except not for philosophical dominance, but in political. The tyranny of the majority can force a decision, but only a decision of action, not a decision of opinion, which remains stubbornly individual.
Two books or one book?
Your quote about "that everything happens according to natural laws, and to say that everything is ordained by the decree and ordinance of God, is the same thing" was also something that I was thinking about, because not just that nature and scripture are equal, but scripture is only an expression of nature.Even God is an expection of nature; "God acts and governs all things from teh necessity of his own nature" (On divine law). As you said, and Spinoza, "the prophetic gift was not peculiar to the Jews, but common to all peoples" ("On the vocation of the Hebrews), and "only the phenomena of nature we understand clearly and sitinctly that enhance our knowledge of God and reveal as clearly as possible the will and decree of God" ("On miracles 7), SO, then my question becomes this: is prophetic/natural law expressed or created?
I think this will lead into the political questions that Spinoza (foreshadowing) will address later: what is the purpose of society? Is it to just desire that to which nature points them ("On ceremonies and narratives")?
Classic work in philosophy, politics, and theology which laid the groundwork for modern biblical criticism. Obviously his speculations of the authorship of the Old Testament are now quite outdated, but his thoughts concerning interpretation and philosophy of religion are still quite relevant and interesting.
Spinoza takes a "third way" when it comes to interpreting the scriptures. One school (Augustine, Maimonides, Ibn-Rushd etc.) advocated making the scriptures subservient to reason if they do not agree with reason (interpret more allegorically) while the other (Luther, Al-Ghazali, etc.) advocated to make reason subservient to the scriptures (interpret more literally).
Spinoza wants to divorce philosophy and theology in claiming that they operate in their own, completely separate, realms; theology and revelation is meant to inspire obedience and piety in the people while philosophy is meant to inspire reason and truth. Currently I am in favor of some version of this argument, although I think Kant did a better job than Spinoza at banishing philosophy from theology and theology from philosophy.
This is a groundbreaking work. Spinoza reasoned that philosophy and theology must be divided from each other. Using philosophical reasoning, he interprets the Bible (both Old and New Testaments) as various writings of men, each from their own perspective, imaginings, and prejudices rather than Divine Revelation, anticipating Higher/Historical Criticism by a century.
Unfortunately, his writing style is dense and convoluted. He spent a great deal of time attempting to make his radical new ideas about scripture understandable and acceptable within the standard worldview of his times. While this was undoubtedly necessary, it can be off putting for a modern reader not burdened with a seventeenth century world view.
I listened to this work on audiobook, which was a mistake. Following Spinoza鈥檚 reasoning through his maze-like writing style often requires backtracking and rereading, which is not easily accomplished on audiobook. I hope to revisit this work in text format at another time.
"Men would never be superstitious, if they could govern all their circumstances by set rules, or if they were always favored by fortune..." Thus begins one of the greatest books in the history of philosophy. Spinoza is an esoteric writer; he doesn't shout everything he has to say, though an attentive reader has a chance, however slight, to discern at least part of it. The existence of this philosophical-political esotericism, first adequately described by Leo Strauss (in "Spinoza's Critique of Religion"), is now on the verge of becoming generally accepted. For a very good example of this new, but qualified, acceptance of Spinoza's esotericism from a left/postmodern perspective, check out the recent collection of essays, "The New Spinoza", edited by Montag & Stolze, especially the essay by Andre Tosel.
But the history of Spinoza reception is another story and another review. Many modern readers of Spinoza speak with vague unease about Spinoza's 'elitism', supposing it to be but another slight of the poor, weak and uneducated; we can perhaps begin to gauge the full length, breadth and depth of this philosophical 'elitism', and its true target, in a focused reading of the opening pages of the Preface to the Theologico-Political Treatise. "The human mind is readily swayed this way or that in times of doubt, especially when hope and fear are struggling for the mastery, though usually it is boastful, over-confident, and vain." Thus the problem with Man is not, strictly speaking, merely a lack of knowledge (and therefore the problem is not merely a lack of education) but also, and perhaps most importantly, a lack of self-control.
Immediately, Spinoza follows this sentence by saying, "[t]his as a general fact I suppose everyone knows, though few, I believe, know their own nature..." There is a disconnect not only between knowing and doing but also between 'knowing' in general and knowing oneself. In order to do good how important is it to know yourself? There are several ways to understand this. One possible way is to say that even those ('sainted' elites) that 'know' are, nevertheless, unable to control their emotional behavior. Perhaps it is even this emotiveness that is especially vulnerable to superstition...
But men, "in prosperity, are so over-brimming with wisdom [...] that they take every offer of advice as a personal insult"! Still, we are not surprised to read that "...superstition's chief victims are those persons who greedily covet temporal advantages...". (Note that it is not chiefly ordinary people that 'greedily covet temporal advantages' nor is it said that they are 'in prosperity'.) And, a little later, we learn that these people "are wont with prayers and womanish tears to implore help from God...". Indeed, Spinoza, when giving an example of this despicable behavior under duress turns to no less an exemplar than Alexander the Great - and his superstitious seeking of advice from seers. Now, the use of Alexander in this regard is a vital clue in our attempt to understand Spinoza's esotericism (i.e., his 'political' philosophy). The question is this: If Spinoza is indeed an elitist, exactly what is the position that can look down on not only the common people but also the actual 'elite'; i.e., the religious and political leaders?
Well, of course, Spinoza is a philosopher; indeed he is one of the greatest. This understanding of philosophy, as the heights from which one looks down on everyone, is an old one. See, for instance, Averroes (in the so-called 'Decisive Treatise') for an overt example of the philosophical attempt to control a faction of the medieval elite (i.e., the theologians) with another faction of the medieval elite - the Islamic Jurists. Also, one should of course consider Machiavelli's Prince for a somewhat more circumspect (or covert) example of philosophy attempting to control the direction of politics and the political elite. Spinoza's decision to view politics and theology (or politicians and theologians) as dangers that need to be moderated philosophically is thus not unprecedented. Also, on this line of thought one should perhaps also take into account Nietzsche who, in the 'Genealogy of Morals', seems to go so far as to present history itself as a struggle between priestly and warrior noble castes...
In electing to use Alexander as an example of superstition Spinoza is indicating that philosophy is above both religion and politics. Indeed, Spinoza continues in a (ahem) 'Nietzschean' vein and says, "that prophets have most power among the people, and are most formidable to rulers, precisely at those times when the state is in most peril. I think this is sufficiently plain to all, and will therefore say no more on the subject." Well perhaps not entirely plain; this basically says, for those that have ears to hear: 'Statesman! Either satisfy the common people or forfeit your right to rule to the prophets and their theologians.' Thus the 'war' between priestly and warrior castes was quietly noted, by Spinoza, long before Nietzsche. As an aside I should perhaps note that one also finds oneself (perhaps) nervously asking, at this point, are people today 'satisfied'?
Kojeve, the architect of the most recent apotheosis of the political (i.e., the Universal Homogenous State), seems to confirm this interpretation (in his "Introduction to the Reading of Hegel") by saying that as "long as History continues, or as long as the perfect State is not realized [...] the opposition of these two points of view (the "philosophical" and the religious or theological) is inevitable." Of course Kojeve, following a Hegel that never existed, attempts to convince us that politics and philosophy are exactly the same and that theology was ever nothing. His mistake, from the viewpoint of philosophy, can perhaps be said to be that he took sides in the interminable war between elites. ...But that is another story. However, Kojeve is correct insofar as he is understood to be maintaining that there is an unbridgeable gulf between the political and the religious...
Back to Spinoza. Satisfying the common people seems to be easier said than done. In a terrifyingly memorable passage - that is both a diagnosis and a prophecy - Spinoza writes, "[f]or, as the mass of mankind remains always at about the same pitch of misery, it never assents long to any one remedy, but is always best pleased by a novelty which has not yet proved illusive." Thus, given the perpetual emotional dissatisfaction of the people, Spinoza seems to be indicating that no one ever rules for long. He also seems to be indicating that emotions (at least among the 'mass of mankind') are uncontrollable and that the people are, in the long run, unsatisfiable. (...So exactly what is Enlightenment - and exactly why is Spinoza supporting it? ...Hmmm.)
"Superstition, then, is engendered, preserved and fostered by fear", Spinoza had earlier said. But fear is an opportunity for philosophy, I mean for philosophical intervention. Machiavelli (in 'The Prince', chapter 6), after all, had already confirmed that the oppression, dissatisfaction and dispersal of the people was, above all, an opportunity for the creative One. Spinoza says that, "Prophets have most power among the people, and are most formidable to rulers, precisely at those times when the state is in most peril." The fundamental argument (and struggle), of course, between philosophers and the political-religious elites, seems to be over the exact identity of the creative One. For the religiously inclined the creative one is God and those who act in his name, for the politically 'pious' the creative one is the (hereditary, patriotic or revolutionary) 'Prince'. For Machiavelli, Spinoza, and Nietzsche one suspects that, 'behind the scenes and between the lines', the creative one (the bringer of New Modes and Orders, to quote Machiavelli) can only be the philosopher.
Spinoza continues, quoting Curtius (the historian of Alexander): "The mob has no ruler more potent than superstition," and Spinoza immediately adds, "and is easily led, on the plea of religion, at one moment to adore its kings as gods, and anon to execrate and abjure them as humanity's common bane." Thus 'superstition' would seem potentially to be either a weapon of the religious or the political... This is a warning; but to exactly whom seems to be a bit unclear. I should mention that it is not impossible to read Machiavelli, with his high praise of ancient pagan religion, to be indicating much the same: that is, the necessary permanence of superstition. ...But, exactly what can and can't be done with superstition?
The way out of this (seemingly) unpredictable and uncontrollable mess? One possible solution, according to Spinoza, is given by the 'Turk'. They have instituted a system that invests "religion, whether true or false, with such pomp and ceremony, that it may rise superior to every shock..." Of course, as Spinoza indicates, this absolutism leaves no room for either individual freedom or a thoughtful philosophy. But then Spinoza adds, "yet in a free state no more mischievous expedient could be planned or attempted." So, after discussing (and discounting) the possibility of theocracy (the Turks) Spinoza advocates the system allegedly reigning in Amsterdam: freedom and commerce. (Whew!)
Now, in case some have been asleep for the past 300 years, I will point out that the rise of democracy was not always accomplished peaceably, nor, after its rise, has it been able to always maintain the peace. The test of being able to maintain the peace that Spinoza flings in the face of the Religion of his times can today, with equal appropriateness, be flung in the face of politics. I of course mean all politics. ...But that too is another book and another review.
Spinoza can be said to here begin a process that leads to us. I hope I have begun the process of showing that the target of Spinoza's contempt was not the common people, but the ignorance and weakness of all their tormenters. I also want to note, given both the nature of these elites and also the perpetual suffering of the people, that all solutions are transient. And that the early-modern philosophical turn to the politicos, made in the teeth of ceaseless religious war, was only a maneuver. Over the past century philosophy found itself again in an era of civil wars, revolutions and world wars; - one wonders where philosophy will now turn in its never-ending struggle to moderate elites...
Who will write the next Theologico-Political Treatise that will do to political Ideology what Spinoza here does to religious Revelation? Where is the next 'novelty'?
A scion of Jewish refugees from the Iberian Peninsula living in the Dutch Golden Age, brought to print one of the most controversial texts of the early modern period. A Theologico-Political Treatise and A Political Treatise by Benedict de Spinoza are one of the most controversial texts of its time and an unfinished鈥攂y the author鈥檚 death鈥攖ext that would have expounded upon the author鈥檚 political thoughts.
In his Theologico-Political, Spinoza argues what the best roles of state and religion concluding that a bit of democracy, freedom of speech and religion within a state that remains supreme in governance of the populace without the meddling of religious leaders. To bring about his conclusions, Spinoza critiqued the Bible, organized religion, and the meddling of philosophy and Scriptural interpretation. Yet Spinoza spent so much time in his criticism that his quick turn to his conclusions almost seemed like an add on even though this reader loved his conclusion. The unfinished Political Treatise dealt with how a monarchal or aristocratic form of government鈥攈is was just beginning his discussion of democracy at his death鈥攃ould function without devolving into tyranny and not violating the liberty of its citizens. How Spinoza鈥檚 ideal governmental forms of monarchy and aristocracy were constituted were intriguing, but the treatise unfinished status leaves a reader a lot of questions without how Spinoza would incorporate his previous ideas in Theologico-Political. Of the two treatises presented, the completed Theologico-Political is of better value yet is appears to harbor Spinoza鈥檚 resentment in falling out with the Jewish community of Amsterdam, however his ending argument for the secularization of state governance along with the freedom of speech and religion are highly valuable.
This book is important for those interested in political thought and the role of religion鈥攊f any鈥攊n government. While Benedict de Spinoza鈥檚 own personal issues due come through the text the Theologico-Political Treatise is important in the evolution of thought in freedom of religion.
Me he le铆do solo los 3-4 煤ltimos cap铆tulos para un trabajo sobre la parte pol铆tica de Spinoza. Bastante chulo, aunque es un autor al que no leer铆a por gusto ni estando loco
A fearless defense of rational religion that foresees, and indeed seems to be written for, our age of rational atheism and irrational faith. While I disagree with some of its central points - the idea that only reason can establish the truth, and that philosophy and theology have completely separate domains, with the reduction of theology to pure devotion and piety, of course being central - I'd still recommend this to anyone struggling with either how their religion can handle the onslaught of rational skepticism, or a scientific-materialist struggling with the question of how they can reconnect with their local extra-material traditions in the modern world. Unfortunately, the extensive rationalist biblical exegesis to which this book is primarily dedicated makes this not the most engaging read for a non-Christian, though I am still assuming that there is a whole academic field purely dedicated to applying Spinoza's hermeneutics of scriptural interpretation in other domains.
If there ever was a philosopher capable of endearing himself to the devoted and skeptical alike, it was Spinoza. Through his courageous example, we can learn to love God/Nature/Truth, and love to use our reason.
The philosopher's work on the Bible is a groundbreaking exposition of the historical conditions that underlie religious texts. It explains the Bible in strikingly modern, critical terms, and in line with Spinoza's other work, it provides an interpretation of God in rational, naturalistic, pantheistic terms. These two aspects - Biblical criticism and original theological insight - ultimately lead to humanistic and liberal conclusions about Spinoza's ideal state, under which liberty of conscience and freedom of speech are to be firmly protected, so that the true religion of rational piety can be exercised without obstruction and persecution.
Those who are familiar with Spinoza will know that he takes God and religion very seriously. But they will also know that he opposes all forms of superstition, and sees no place for boring miracles, clever tricks and divine subterfuges. Unfortunately he sees the "popular imagination" as being prone to interpret everything according to their hazy notions of divinity. The masses are more impressed by magic tricks and wild claims than by the rational beauty of God's creation, and Spinoza saw the Bible as being tailored to their uncultured and unscientific tastes and worldviews. He laments the superstitions and weaknesses of the preliterate people for whom the Bible was written, but the same goes even for his contemporaries. The Theological-Political Treatise could best be understood as an attempt to illuminate the educated reader.
"... that every man should think what he likes and say what he thinks." - ch. XX
At its best, the book clearly exposes the all-too-human origins of prophecies and divine texts. He sees the Bible as a collection of inspired texts, encapsulating the history and theology of the Jewish nation, selected from a large selection of texts, some of which have not survived, bound together at a much later date by Jewish scholars, originally written by prophets and (even more likely) courtly historians. The language of the book(s) ranges from prosaic to poetic, reflecting the different styles and aims of their authors, and it is exceedingly difficult to tell which of its stories are supposed to be true and which are only metaphorical and allegorical (or downright false due to the poor scientific understanding of the time).
Spinoza argues that Moses was a lawgiver because he (re)founded the nation of Israel, and that is why he spoke of religion in terms of law, punishment, reward, nation-state, etc. Some of the other prophets, on the other hand, were people of "vivid imagination", who saw dreams and visions of God, and conveyed their theological insight in a way that was more metaphorical and poetic. Thus God was different things to different people, and Spinoza was acutely aware of the contradictions and tensions in the Bible.
Some of the most detailed and advanced arguments in the book deal with self-contradictory chronologies and other internal discrepancies, where Spinoza shows, step by step, that a literal reading of the Bible is doomed to fail. This is why critical Biblical scholarship owes a huge deal to Spinoza's groundbreaking work.
That said, the detail-oriented approach of the book can become heavy, at times. The philosophical insights of the book are copious, but they are hidden beneath a barrage of facts, explanations, textual exegesis and tangential asides. In addition, some of the Biblical scholarship has naturally been superseded long ago by more modern interpretations. Spinoza's far-fetched theories about the authorship of the books of Moses are hardly supported by most scholars today. But let me be clear: it is not like Spinoza sounds tame even by today's secular standards. Some of his arguments would probably shock even the most intrepid scholar.
So, although the book occupies a strange place, since it is neither as succinct or philosophically focused as the Ethics, nor as up-to-date and rigorous as contemporary scholarship on the Bible, it sheds crucial light on many important aspects of Spinoza's philosophy, and it offers a magnificent example of the power of reason, capable of loving God, applied to the very important and very contentious topic of popular religion.
By looking at Christianity critically, it allows us to discover what is perennially valuable in its message, and what is merely the accidental result - both understandable and lamentable - of its historical context.
Recommended! It contains a lot of references to the old testament that I found a bit hard to follow, but apart from that it's written in plain language and is easy to understand. Probably a good introduction to Spinoza's ideas
If you wanna read an extraordinary research on religion, prophets, miracle, scriptures based on philosophical arguments this book is the right choice. It is also an analysis of the bible by a science called philology. Spinoza argues that the bible we see today is not the actual revelation of god rather it is just telling stories of the prophets after hundreds of years of their death. And finally it talks about the style of ruling of Jews from the days of Moses and the factors that made their empire not c0llpase for more than a thousand years.