Henri Krop

Pooyan Tamimi Arab

Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise first appeared, anonymously, in 1670. After the publication of the Opera Posthuma (1677), few scholars took the trouble to take the work seriously. In his famous History of Philosophy, Hegel only devoted a few lines to the work, caustically describing it as a mere predecessor of contemporary Biblical criticism. In the early 20th century, Gebhardt deemed it a pamphlet written as an intervention in the political-ecclesiastical controversies of the Republican Era of Johan de Witt, which ended with violent death by the Hague mob. In the 21st century, Verbeek outlined its inconsistencies and named it 'badly organized and-let us admit it-without a clear and recognizable focus'. Notwithstanding this benign neglect, in the past five decades the TTP has finally emerged from the shadow of the Ethics. In the wake of the growing interest in the political philosophy of Spinoza in France and Italy and the study of the historical significance of Radical Enlightenment by Jonathan Israel, recent studies of the TTP have focused on the context of the Dutch Republic, but also explored the work's broader philosophical relevance. This commemorative Special Issue offers a style guide of the various recent approaches to the TTP, placing the work in its historical context, exploring its Medieval and Early Modern sources, assessing its philosophical (in)coherence, and, finally, its critical relevance in a globalized world, in Brazil, Iran, and in times of enduring authoritarianism and fake news.

Commemorating A Long-Forgotten Masterpiece

Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise (1670-2020)

Piet Steenbakkers

Wiep van Bunge

Jeroen M.M. van de Ven

Benedictus Spinoza (1632-77) was among the most important of the post-Cartesian philosophers of the second half of the seventeenth century and is still widely studied today. He made original contributions in every major area of philosophy and is best known for his Ethics, which is often held up as a supreme example of a self-contained metaphysical system intended to explain the universe. The Bloomsbury Companion to Spinoza is the first to offer an accessible, encyclopaedic account of Spinoza's life and ideas, his influences and commentators, and his lasting significance. Some of the best features include an annotated chronology of Spinoza's life, bibliographies of his major influences and critics, a substantive dictionary of key Spinozan concepts, summaries of Spinoza's principal writings and concludes with a chapter on Spinoza's place in modern academic scholarship. The volume is also updated with words on the recent major event in Spinoza scholarship with the discovery of the Vatican manuscript of Spinoza's Ethics. The Bloomsbury Companion to Spinoza is a valuable research tool for anyone interested in Spinoza and the era of great change in which he lived and wrote.

The Bloomsbury Companion to Spinoza

A essential one-volume resource to Spinoza's life and ideas, his influences and commentators and his lasting significance.

Henri Krop

About

Books

Join the club