Baruch Spinoza

Bu makale kapsamında, XII. yüzyılda yaşamış önemli Yahudi din âlimlerinden Musa bin Meymûn (öl. 601/1204) ile XVII. yüzyılda yaşamış olan ve düşünceleri neticesinde ateist olduğu suçlamasıyla yirmi dört yaşındayken aforoz edilip bağlı bulunduğu Yahudi cemaatinden kovulan Spinoza’nın (öl. 1088/1677) vahiy ve nübüvvet anlayışları ele alınmıştır. Spinoza, Teolojik-Politik İnceleme adlı eserinde, teolojinin felsefeden ayrılması gerekliliğini göstermek amacındadır. Spinoza’nın bu arzusu onu, İbn Meymûn’la ve onun temsil ettiği gelenekle karşı karşıya getirmiştir. Neticede Spinoza’nın vahiy ve nübüvvet konusunda İbn Meymûn’dan etkilendiği ve onunla (...) bir hesaplaşmaya girdiği görülmektedir. Onun İbn Meymûn’dan hangi bakımdan etkilendiği ya da onunla nasıl bir hesaplaşmaya girdiği makalenin asıl konusunu teşkil etmektedir. Çalışmamız giriş, ana bölüm ve sonuç olarak üç bölümden oluşmaktadır. Giriş bölümünde öncelikle vahiy kavramının ne ifade ettiğine ve hem İslam düşünürlerinin hem de İbn Meymûn’un beslendiği ana kaynak olması nedeniyle Platon ile Aristoteles’in kehanet ve rüya hakkındaki görüşlerine kısaca değinilmiştir. Ayrıca Spinoza’nın İbn Meymûn’dan etkilenmesi veya onunla hesaplaşmasının, İbn Meymûn’un da mensubu olduğu İslam filozoflarının temsil ettiği gelenekle alakalı olmasından dolayı giriş bölümünde, bazı İslam filozoflarının görüşlerine de ana hatlarıyla değinme gereği duyulmuştur. Bunu yaparken Müslüman filozofların ilklerinden ve en önemlilerinden kabul edilen Kindî (öl. 252/866?), Fârâbî (öl. 339/950) ve İbn Sinâ’nın (öl. 428/1037) düşüncelerine özlü şekilde değinilmesi yeterli görülmüştür. Bu arada tarihsel açıdan İbn Meymûn’la Spinoza arasında bir yerde duran diğer bir Yahudi filozof Levi ben Gershom’un (öl. 745/1344) fikirleri de kısaca ele alınmıştır. Bu filozofların düşüncelerinden yola çıkılarak vahyin mütehayyile kuvvetiyle, ayrıca rüya ve kehanetle ilgisi gösterilmeye çalışılmıştır. Çalışmanın asıl bölümünde ise öncelikle İbn Meymûn’un vahiy ve nübüvvet anlayışı incelenmiş, akabinde bu, Spinoza’nın vahiy ve nübüvvet anlayışıyla mukayese edilmiştir. İbn Meymûn’un nübüvvet anlayışı incelenirken yer yer İslam filozoflarından etkilendiği kısımlara değinilmiştir. Bu mukayesede bilhassa İbn Meymûn’un Delâletu’l-Hâirîn adlı eseriyle Spinoza’nın Teolojik-Politik İnceleme adlı eseri ana kaynaklar olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Bu çalışma neticesinde hem iki düşünürün teolojik yaklaşımının daha iyi anlaşılması hem de Aydınlanmanın müjdecilerinden biri sayılan Spinoza’nın eleştirel dahi olsa İbn Meymûn’a kadar uzanan düşünce kodları gösterilmek istenmiştir. İbn Meymûn’a kadar uzanan bu kodların aynı zamanda İslam düşünce dünyasına uzandığı da vurgulanmak istenmiştir. Bu makalede, konunun kapsamı iki düşünürün peygamber, vahiy ve vahyin oluşmasında rol alan enfüsi ve afaki etmeler ile vahyin dili yönündeki düşünceleriyle sınırlandırılmıştır. İki düşünürün teolojiye ait mucize gibi diğer görüşlerindeki farklılıklar ya da benzerlikler makalenin kapsamı dışında tutulmuştur. (shrink)

Dans un monde de plus en plus marqué par le morcellement et l’individualisme, le concept d’inter-être propose une réorientation radicale : il affirme qu’aucun être n’existe en isolation mais en tant que partie d’un vaste réseau de vie. Popularisé par le moine bouddhiste vietnamien Thich Nhat Hanh, l’inter-être nous invite à concevoir l’existence comme fondamentalement interconnectée avec celle des autres.

This volume brings established scholars together with new voices to engage with the complex system of philosophy proposed by Spinoza in his masterpiece. Topics including identity, thought, free will, metaphysics, and reason are all addressed, as individual chapters investigate the key themes of the Ethics and combine to offer readers a fresh and thought-provoking view of the work as a whole. Written in a clear and accessible style, the volume sets out cutting-edge research that reflects, challenges, and promotes the most (...) recent scholarly advances in the field of Spinoza studies, tackling old issues and bringing to light new subjects for debate. (shrink)

Until recently, Spinoza's standing in Anglophone studies of philosophy has been relatively low and has only seemed to confirm Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi's assessment of him as a dead dog. However, an exuberant outburst of excellent scholarship on Spinoza has of late come to dominate work on early modern philosophy. This resurgence is due in no small part to the recent revival of metaphysics in contemporary philosophy and to the increased appreciation of Spinoza's role as an unorthodox, pivotal figure - indeed, (...) perhaps the pivotal figure - in the development of Enlightenment thinking. Spinoza's penetrating articulation of his extreme rationalism makes him a demanding philosopher who offers deep and prescient challenges to all subsequent, inevitably less radical approaches to philosophy. While the twenty-six essays in this volume - by many of the world's leading Spinoza specialists - grapple directly with Spinoza's most important arguments, these essays also seek to identify and explain Spinoza's debts to previous philosophy, his influence on later philosophers, and his significance for contemporary philosophy and for us. (shrink)

Over the last few decades, Spinoza scholarship has developed in the United States, providing new perspectives on the work of this major philosopher. Spinoza in 21st-Century American and French Philosophy unites for the first time French and American scholars in conversation with each other and illustrates the fecundity of bringing together analytic and Continental scholarly traditions. Spinoza in 21st-Century American and French Philosophy gives readers a unique opportunity to discover the most consequential and sophisticated aspects of American and French Spinoza (...) research today. Featuring chapters by American scholars with French experts responding to these, the book is structured according to the themes of Spinoza's philosophy, including metaphysics, philosophy of mind, moral philosophy and political philosophy. The contributions consider the full range of his work, with chapters addressing the Ethics, his ideas on individuals and community, and the nature of embodiment, among other topics. (shrink)

Aphoristiker und andere Vertreter kleiner Formen des Denkens lieben Spinoza. Dies ist eine Merkwürdigkeit, denn gerade die Aphoristiker, die das Antisystematische propagieren, den blitzartigen, schlagenden Einfall vor der konsequenten Entwicklung eines Gedankens favorisieren, sollten doch eigentlich mit dem zusammenhängenden, systematischen und konsequenten Denken more geometrico Spinozas wenig bis gar nichts anzufangen wissen. Die vorliegende Studie untersucht die Spinozarezeption ausgewählter Aphoristiker und analysiert das hier zum Ausdruck kommende Verhältnis von Aphorismus bzw. kleiner Form und System. Die Art und Weise, wie sich (...) aphoristisch bzw. in kleinen Formen operierende Autoren mit Spinoza befassen, wirft ein signifikantes Licht auf ihre Aphoristik selbst. Wer über eine Theorie der kleinen Form nachdenkt, ist gut beraten, sich um das Spinoza-Bild der Aphoristiker zu bemühen. Untersuchte Autoren sind Rudolf Kassner, Lichtenberg, Friedrich Schlegel, Novalis, Hebbel, Nietzsche, Peter Altenberg, Ludwig Hohl, Canetti, Peter Handke und Joseph Maurer. (shrink)

A brilliant schoolboy in 17th-century Amsterdam, Bento Spinoza-formally Baruch and later Benedict de Spinoza-quickly learns to keep his ideas to himself. When he is 23, those ideas prove so scandalous to his own Jewish community that he is cast out, cursed, and effectively erased from their communal life. The scandal shows no sign of waning as his ideas spread throughout Europe. At the center of the storm, he lives the simplest of lives, quietly devoted to his work as a lens (...) grinder and to his steadfast search for truth, striving to embody a philosophy of tolerance and benevolence. Spinoza does not live to see his ideas change the world. What caused such an uproar? Spinoza challenged age-old ideas about God, the Bible, and religion. His God was the sum total of nature, not a father-figure who created the world and takes care of humankind. His bible was a book like any other, not a holy text to be interpreted only by religious authorities. His religion was a commitment to basic moral behavior, not a collection of superstitions or rituals. For such ideas, Spinoza was reviled, but he emerged from his experience as one of history's most articulate voices for freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion. (shrink)

Au monde harmonieux des Anciens, la science moderne a substitué un univers régi par des forces matérielles indifférentes à nos sentiments et nos valeurs. Tandis que certains déplorent ce désenchantement du monde, Spinoza (1632-1677) a voulu montrer que la connaissance rationnelle de la nature pouvait néanmoins conduire au bonheur le plus parfait. Mais comment concilier l'affirmation de l'universalité du déterminisme avec l'idée de liberté humaine? En quoi aborder les sentiments comme des figures géométriques permet-il d'en devenir maître? Cet ouvrage propose (...) d'éclairer les paradoxes de la philosophie de Spinoza et de montrer comment, jusque dans l'abstraction de son mode d'exposition géométrique, elle enrichit notre compréhension de la vie humaine."--Page 4 of cover. (shrink)

Leo Strauss articulates the conflict between reason and revelation as he explores Spinoza's scientific, comparative, and textual treatment of the Bible. Strauss compares Spinoza's Theologico-political Treatise and the Epistles, showing their relation to critical controversy on religion from Epicurus and Lucretius through Uriel da Costa and Isaac Peyrere to Thomas Hobbes. Strauss's autobiographical Preface, traces his dilemmas as a young liberal intellectual in Germany during the Weimar Republic, as a scholar in exile, and as a leader of American philosophical thought. (...) "[For] those interested in Strauss the political philosopher, and also those who doubt whether we have achieved the 'final solution' in respect to either the character of political science or the problem of the relation of religion to the state." —Journal of Politics "A substantial contribution to the thinking of all those interested in the ageless problems of faith, revelation, and reason." —Kirkus Reviews Leo Strauss (1899-1973) was the Robert Maynard Hutchins Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of political science at the University of Chicago. His contributions to political science include The Political Philosophy of Hobbes, The City and the Man, What is Political Philosophy?, and Liberalism Ancient and Modern. (shrink)

1. Bd. Tractatus theologico-politicus. Theologisch-politischer Traktat, hrsg. von Günter Gawlick und Friedrich Niewöhner.--2. Bd. Tractatus de intellectus emendatione. Ethica. Abhandlung über die Berichtigung des Verstandes. Ethik.

Father of the Enlightenment and the last guardian of the medieval world, Spinoza made a brilliant attempt to reconcile the conflicting moral and intellectual demands of his epoch and to present a vision of man as simultaneously bound by necessity and eternally free. Ostracized by the Jewish community in Amsterddam to which he was born, Spinoza developed a political philosophy that set out to justify the secular state ruled by a liberal constitution, and a metaphysics that sought to reconcile human (...) freedom with a belief in scientific explanation. Here, Roger Scruton presents a clear and systematic analysis of Spinoza's thought and shows its relevance to today's intellectual preoccupations. (shrink)

Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) was one of the most important philosophers of all time; he was also arguably the most radical and controversial. This is the first complete biography of Spinoza in any language and is based on detailed archival research. More than simply recounting the story of Spinoza's life, the book takes the reader right into the heart of Jewish Amsterdam in the seventeenth century and, with Spinoza's exile from Judaism, right into the midst of the tumultuous political, social, intellectual (...) and religious world of the young Dutch Republic. Though the book will be an invaluable resource for philosophers, historians, and scholars of Jewish thought, it has been written for any member of the general reading public with a serious interest in philosophy, Jewish history, seventeenth-century European history, and the culture of the Dutch Golden Age. Spinoza: A Life has recently been awarded the Koret Jewish Book Award. (shrink)

This selection of some of the best writings on Spinoza's philosophy of law shows how Spinoza was able to deliver a revolutionary idea of natural law that breaks away from the traditions of natural law and of legal positivism. The collection includes several essays that have never been published in the English language before, and features an introduction which places Spinoza's writing in the context of modern jurisprudence, as well as an extensive bibliography.

Spinozas Ethik bietet ein metaphysisches Modell der Wirklichkeit, das die Stellung des Menschen in den relationalen Verhältnissen der umgebenden Welt erklärbar macht. Wir haben es hier aber nicht mit einer anthropologischen Theorie des Menschen zu tun, sondern mit einer ontologischen Theorie immanenter Individuation. Spinoza unterzieht seine ontologischen Grundbegriffe einer immanenten Begründung und bestimmt ein Affektionsgeschehen, durch das auch menschliche Individuen konstituiert werden. Affektionen sind dabei als heteronome Machtwirkungen zu verstehen, die die Aktivität und die Passivität menschlicher Individuen bestimmen. Die Erkenntnis (...) dieser kausalen Bedingungen macht es den Menschen möglich, sich selbst zur Ursache ihrer Affekte zu machen. So wird deutlich, dass sich Spinozas Ethik nicht um eine deteministische Bestimmung des Menschen dreht, sondern darum, die Erkenntnis zur Grundlage einer individuellen Freiheit zu machen, die in der vorliegenden Arbeit als Affektfähighkeit ausgewiesen wird."--Page 4 of cover. (shrink)

In this paper I aim to undermine Stoic and Neo-Stoic readings of Benedict de Spinoza by examining the latter’s strong agreements with Epicurus (a notable opponent of the Stoics) on the nature and ethical role of pleasure in living a happy life. Ultimately, I show that Spinoza and Epicurus are committed to three central claims which the Stoics reject: (1) pleasure holds a necessary connection to healthy natural being, (2) pleasure manifests healthy being through positive changes in state and states (...) of healthy being per se, and (3) pleasure is by nature good. The Stoics reject these three claims due to their views on pleasant sensations as preferred moral indifferents and passionate pleasures as diseases of the soul, views which Spinoza (due to the abovementioned commitments) is strongly opposed to, thereby placing him (at least on the subject of pleasure) outside the realm of merely following or improving on Stoic doctrines. From this comparative analysis we also gain deeper insight into both Spinoza’s engagement with ancient Greek philosophy and the value of Epicureanism and Spinozism in helping us achieve and maintain happiness in the present day, particularly with respect to the benefits and harms of bodily and mental pleasures. (shrink)

In this epistolary exploration, scholars delve into Spinozas profound observations, offering urgent insights for our contemporary crossroads. Illuminates Spinoza s relevance, emphasizing the need to prioritize love, generosity, and solidarity as the bedrock of an ethical responsibility. These letters, a beacon of wisdom nowadays, implore us to recognize our shared dependence and embrace a new ethical framework. Amidst societal disintegration, Spinoza s teachings serve as a guiding light, ushering us toward a profound transformation, where compassion and understanding shape a future (...) beyond our current precipice. (shrink)

La critique de l’hypothèse théologique du libre-arbitre n’a pas seulement un côté négatif, mais aussi un côté positif. La réfutation du créationnisme et du volontarisme ne se résume pas à une négation de la liberté, au nom d’un mécanisme déterministe ou d’une doctrine soi-disant « subversive » telle que celle du « matérialisme athée » que Leo Strauss attribuait à Spinoza. La réfutation du libre-arbitre et de toute la servitude cachée par cette illusion ne se complète que par la démonstration (...) positive de ce qui était visé inadéquatement par l’illusion, c’est-à-dire par la puissance de la raison humaine de connaitre adéquatement le bon et le mauvais dans les passions humaines et, ensuite, par sa puissance de délibérer sagement sur les affections du conatus sous la perspective de l’éternité, ce qui constitue la nouvelle conception de la liberté chez Spinoza. (shrink)