Journal of the History of Philosophy

6o~ JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY 25:4 OCT 1987 O. Ren6 Descartes. Discourse on Method, Optics, Geometry, and Meteorology. Translated by Paul J. Olscamp. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1965. S. Ren6 Descartes. Philosophical Writings. Translated by Norman Kemp Smith. New York: Random House, 1958. W. Ren6 Descartes. Discourse on Method. Translated by Arthur Wollaston. Hammondsworth : Penguin, 196o. RICHARD A. WATSON Washington University C. de Deugd, editor. Spinoza's Political and Theological Thought. International Symposium under the Auspices of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Commemorating the 35oth Anniversary of the Birth of Spinoza. Amsterdam , ~4-27 November 1982. Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Co., 1984. Pp. 248. DFL 75. This volume presents the lectures given by an international group of Spinoza specialists during a symposium, organized at Amsterdam in November 1982, in commemoration of Spinoza's birthday 35~ years ago. The twenty-four papers concentrate on Spinoza's political and theological ideas. In the opening article H. G. Hubbeling sketches the development of modern research in Spinoza's philosophy in the western European countries and the U.S.A. since 1945, while in a short separate survey Y. Kaplan devotes attention to recent developments in Spinoza scholarship in Israel. Both authors show how during the last two decades there has come about a re-evaluation of Spinoza's philosophy and they point out that alongside a renewal in the systematic field there is also a renewed interest in the historical approach to Spinozism . The present papers may be seen as one of the fruits of this change in the philosophical climate. Most contributions are devoted to a discussion of different aspects of Spinoza's political philosophy. Problems in connection with the understanding of his philosophical and political thought are noted rather than solved. It goes without saying that the positions of Spinoza and Hobbes are confronted frequently. The methodological aspects of such a comparative study is dealt with by P.-F. Moreau, in a lucid article, entitled "Biographie intellectuelle et r~gles d'interpr6tation.' He calls attention to the presuppositions of researchers in their explanation of Spinozism, warning for the pitfalls of a "history of influences" and pointing to misunderstandings that may arise from neglecting the level of intervention on which one philosophical system , for example that of Hobbes, is taken up into another one, that of Spinoza. W. N. A. Klever ("Power: conditional and unconditional") contends that there is a conspicuous difference between Hobbes and Spinoza in their interpretation of society, arguing that the latter developed a very revolutionary philosophy of power, while E. E. Harris ("Spinoza's treatment of natural law") also claims that the differences between both philosophers are more significant than the likenesses, asserting that Spi- BOOK REVIEWS 603 noza's ideas in several respects are in quite close agreement to those of Thomas Aquinas. In a discussion of Spinoza's fundamental insight into the necessity of ambitious strife for social existence, K. Hammacher ("Ambition and social engagement in Hobbes' and Spinoza's political thought") points out that his remarks, as well as those of Hobbes, on ambitious striving for glory and reputation in society are still valid nowadays. H.-C. Lucas also offers a comparison of both philosophers by concentrating on the idea of peace in Spinoza's philosophy. M. J. Petry deals with "Hobbes and the early Dutch Spinozists," claiming that the central ideas of Spinoza's political theory are drawn from Hobbes through the medium of the Leiden merchants John and Peter van den Hove (de la Court). Other contributions--within the scope of this review only the titles can be mentioned--also cover interesting issues: "The ontological basis of Spinoza's theory of politics" (W. Bartuschat); "R~alisme et utopie: limites des libert& politiques et perspective de liberation dans la philosophie politique de Spinoza" (E. Giancotti Boscherini); "Libert~ individuelle et paix civile d'apr& le TraitO Th~ologico-Politique de Spinoza" (F. Haddad-Chamakh); "Sozialismus und Spinozismus " (H. Seidel); "Theology as the work and instrument of Fortune" (F. Mignini); "Piety and philosophical freedom in Spinoza" (L. C. Rice); "Communal orders in Spinoza" (W. Sacksteder); "Ya-t-il du volontarisme dans la pens~e politique de Spinoza ?" (J. de Visscher). Besides Hobbes other philosophers...