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Title: Theological-Political Treatise: Gebhardt Edition by Benedictus De Spinoza, Samuel Shirley, Seymour Feldman, Baruch Spinoza ISBN: 0-87220-607-6 Publisher: Hackett Publishing Company Pub. Date: 01 November, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.12 (8 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Excellently Argued, But Outragiously Sophistical
Comment: I write thise review after having written a major end of term paper on this treatise, so I may be a little close to the issue and to my own personal observations and biases to offer a good review. That being said, Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise is a superbly reasonable and logical work essentially devoted to the necessity of freedom of speech and expression in a well ordered state. That's the short version, and if that were all that there was this work would would be neither controversial nor brilliant.
That, however, is only a part of the picture. What makes this treatise so tantalizingly obnoxious is the steps by which Spinoza achieves his aims; and be forwarned, this is a work springing from a very definite aim and not from a spirit of open inquiry. Spinoza knows where he wants to go, and is not above twisting arguments to his own ends. That being said, he performs these feats beautifully. As the title suggests, this work deals with both theolgical and political aspects and their correct placement in society. Spinoza begins with what can be considered some of the earliest modern biblical exegesis, in that he views the Bible not fundamentally as a divinely inspired handbook, but as a work that should be read in a specific historical context, its teachings aimed to deal with specific problems relating to distinct peoples and not to be taken as philosophical explanations. Because of this fact, and a complex train of arumentation which I shall not attempt to recreate here, Spinoza determines that theology and philosophy must be seperated, the former dealing with obediance and the latter with truth. From here he goes on to speak of the relationship of man to society (basically he reiterates Hobbes' argument) and the necessity of the toleration of conflicting ideas and beliefs.
There are many aspects of this work that are right on target, not the least of which are Spinoza's appeals for freedom of speech (perhaps fueled by the problems he himself was facing as a result of his ideas) and his basic model of biblicasl exegesis. The devil, however, is in the details and how he reaches these conclusions. It is obvious from his work that he is contemptuous of the majority of men who lack intelligence and can merely find solace in religion. He begins his work with a number of bold presupositions (not the least of which being his wiew of the Bible as a book obviously bereft of authority concerning clues to the true nature of God) and stacks his argument in such a tight manner, constantly sub-refferencing itself, that the average reader will have a hard time following it without the aid of diagramming it. That being said, his arguemnt is brilliant, if only in his ability to accept one easy premise which he then goes on to show necessarilly leads to a more uncomfortable one.
This is a work that needs to be read with much care. The first time I read it, I found myself enthralled with it, but upon more careful reading I became much less impressed. Is is without a doubt a classic of philosophy (or at least a very good political pamphlet) and is well worth the read, but do yourself a favor and read Spinoza's Ethics as well. Not to spoil anything, but much of what he shows here he directly refutes in his ethics. This seems likely to be intentional, and provides a warning to all those readers who wish to take the idea of this book too seriously. This work was meant to convince people of a politically expediant idea, not to show to show them the truth.
Rating: 4
Summary: People afraid to try somethin' new?
Comment: Those of us in the United States are generally encouraged while young to acquire a solid grounding in the principles upon which the government of the Republic is based: but this permits of a couple different variations, and the story which has it that *the Federalist* contains the sublimest genius may leave some historical relevancies out: including this book, which was widely read for many years by the politically heterodox. And it's a good thing, too, because this volume contains both the most visionary and the most principled works of early-modern political philosophy.
As careful readers of the *Ethics* will expect, the *Tractatus Theologicus-Politicus* is one of the earliest efforts in the genre now known as *Ideologiekritik*: Spinoza was preceded only by Nicholas of Cusa in his efforts to untangle what was "of moment" in revealed religion, specifically the political valences of Scriptural history -- a hugely important topic in every European and American nation, and one never handled so unstintingly and carefully as here. Following upon this, a seminal text with respect to every celebrated "philosophical hermeneutics", we are veritably treated to the unfinished *Political Treatise*: almost an advertisement for a form of government both more liberal and popular than that advocated by Jay, Madison, and Hamilton, but none the more "miserly" for it.
This font of every serious leftist political analysis deserves to be celebrated "like it should" -- an incredible intellectual coup, and such shame as the Enlightenment had. Those hewing to Russell's line as regards the man ought to "take rote", those looking for "the other America" ought to fall into several kinds of gaps with its help: if you can believe it, this is a standard of another kind of tolerance.
Rating: 5
Summary: A monastic coherence of a humble genius
Comment: The life of Benedict Spinoza is unique in itself and is the coherent background to everything he wrote, which contradisdicted his family origin. First of all, his name was not originally Benedict but Baruch, which is Hebrew for Benedict("the blessed one").
Second, he was the son of a well-to-do Spanish or Portuguese family who had to imigrate to the then United States of the Netherlands to escape the persecution of the Catholic Holy Inquisition, which was at its heyday in Spain and Portugal. It was in the famous tradition of Holland's liberal thinking that he grew up and began his philosophical studies, which were latter to be the foudation for great philosophers like Hegel. Third, as soon as he could, he abrogated the Jewish religion and his Jewish origins and was then anathemized ever since by the Jewish community and by his own family, to the point of being barred to share his fathers' inheritance. He appealed to court, won the case, and voluntarily did not take possession of the money. Fourth, in the tradition of a few great philosophers (Rousseau among them), he disdained all the luxuries and prestige his intellect could bring him and prefered to work as a shoemaker , devoting much of his time to his philosophical thinking, particularly targeted to some tenets of the Jewish and Catholic religions. Sure, there is many more to tell from this unique philosopher, but the reader can be sure that this is the very appeal of the book and is mirrored all the time in his reflexions. His lack of a superior knowledge of Latin, the language in which the text was originally written in the very tradition of the time, allows the reader an easy understanding of the content Spinoza tries to convey, whithout in any way jeopardizing the strenght of the philosopher's arguments.
In the book, which was never his intention to be published in his lifetime, he addresses many religious and philosophical questions and one is appaled by the apparent easiness with which the philosophers runs down a lot of religious dogmas, both Jewish and Catholic, whithout any possiblity of being considered heretic. Take, for instance, the logic with which he approaches miracles, and the reader will be astounded by the clearness of his arguments, originally developed in Latin (one of the more than 8 languages he was able to read or read/write). Also of importance is the characterization of the differences between apostles and prophets, and many more. His vision of the best way politics should be conducted - he favored his concept of democracy - is less strong but none the less interesting.
This is a seminal book for everyone interested in the foundations of the modern philosophical thinking where Spinoza occupies a very important place.
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Title: The Ethics ; Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect ; Selected Letters by Benedictus De Spinoza ISBN: 0872201309 Publisher: Hackett Publishing Company Pub. Date: 01 November, 1991 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: Benedict De Spinoza: On the Improvement of the Understanding the Ethics Correspondence by Benedictus De Spinoza ISBN: 048620250X Publisher: Dover Publications Pub. Date: 01 June, 1955 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Ethics Including the Improvement of the Understanding (Great Books in Philosophy) by Benedict De Spinoza, R.H.M. Elwes ISBN: 0879755288 Publisher: Prometheus Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 1989 List Price(USD): $11.00 |
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Title: Jerusalem or on Religious Power and Judaism by Moses Mendelssohn ISBN: 0874512646 Publisher: Univ Pr of New England Pub. Date: 15 November, 1983 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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Title: On Jewish Learning (Modern Jewish Philosophy and Religion: Translations and Critical Studies) by Franz Rosenzweig, Nahum Norbert Glatzer ISBN: 0299182347 Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press Pub. Date: 26 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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