Spinoza and the Freedom of Philosophizing

Mogens Lærke

Provides the first book-length study of a central issue in Spinoza's political theory: the freedom of philosophizing
Proposes original interpretations of key notions in Spinoza's political and theological thought
Offers an interpretation of Spinoza which is both systematic and deeply rooted in the original context

Spinoza and the Freedom of Philosophizing

Mogens Lærke

Description

Spinoza and the Freedom of Philosophizing is a study of freedom of speech, good government, civic responsibility, public education, and the foundations of religion and society, as seen through the eyes of seventeenth-century Dutch philosopher Spinoza. During the Golden Age of the Dutch Republic, a new kind of public sphere emerged. Courtly structures of political advice made room for new, republican forms of public consultation between the sovereign powers and the general citizenry. Missing, however, were guidelines for how and when to address questions of public concern and how to form unprejudiced citizens in possession of their own free judgment, capable of speaking up for themselves in public deliberations with the common interest in view. The book argues that Spinoza's conception of the freedom of philosophizing, and the systematic political theory he developed to defend it in his 1670 Theological-Political Treatise, were conceived to provide just such guidelines. It shows how Spinoza understood the freedom of philosophizing as a collective style of reasoning and argument based on mutual teaching and advising, a model for the public sphere in a free republic. It studies the conditions under which such a public sphere of free philosophizing could flourish, how it would require popular reform of public education and democratic reorganization of the relations between political counsel and sovereign command. It also shows how Spinoza designed theological and political doctrines of universal faith and social contract in order to promote true religion and a sense of civic duty, and asserted the state's right over sacred matters as a means to ensure mutual toleration in a multi-religious society.

Spinoza and the Freedom of Philosophizing

Mogens Lærke

A Note on Texts, Translations, and Abbreviations
1:Introduction
2:Circles and Spheres of Free Philosophizing
3:Philosophizing
4:The Apostolic Styles
5:Authority
6:Prejudice, Deception, Flattery
7:Counsel, Collegiality, and Democracy
8:Education
9:Foundations I: Universal Faith
10:Foundations II: The Contract
11:The Right Concerning Sacred Matters
12:Conclusion: The Dutch Public Sphere
Bibliography
Index

Spinoza and the Freedom of Philosophizing

Mogens Lærke

Author Information

Mogens Lærke, Senior Researcher, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France

Mogens Lærke is Senior Researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), a fellow at the Maison Française d'Oxford (MFO), and member of the research institute IHRIM at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon. A specialist in early modern philosophy, notably Leibniz and Spinoza, he has published widely on early modern metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of religion, and political philosophy. He is the managing editor of the BSHP New Texts in the History of Philosophy series from Oxford University Press.

Spinoza and the Freedom of Philosophizing

Mogens Lærke

From Our Blog

Was Spinoza a populist? [Long read]

Recent studies of Spinoza's political theory in a contemporary perspective often place it in one of two categories, depicting him either as a defender of individual free speech and liberal democracy or as a champion of radical democracy and collective popular power. For some, he is something like a liberal supporter of the equal individual rights of all citizens to express whatever is on their mind, an early defender of 'free speech.'

Posted on April 29, 2021

Read the blog post