Bodies, Masses, Power: Spinoza and His Contemporaries [Paperback]

Warren Montag (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1859847013 | ISBN-13: 978-1859847015 | Publication Date: November 1, 1999

This book seeks to show, against the grain of English language commentary, that Spinoza is neither a Cartesian nor a liberal but precisely the most thoroughgoing materialist in the history of philosophy. The work begins by examining Spinoza's notion of the materiality of writing, a notion developed through his examination of Scripture. It then postulates the three fundamental principles of Spinoza's philosophy: there can be no liberation of the mind without a liberation of the body, and no liberation of the individual without a collective liberation, and that the written form of these propositions itself possesses a corporeal existence, not as the realization or materialization of a pre-existing mental, spiritual intention, but as a body among other bodies. Ultimately, the book prompts us to consider Spinoza's philosophy anew, by replacing questions like 'Who has read it?' and 'Of those, how many of us have understood it?' with 'What material effects has it produced, not only on or in minds, but on bodies as well?' and 'To what extent has it moved bodies and what has it moved them to?'

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The materiality of Scripture, the objectivity of the regime of the mind, the naturality of the political body: such are the three themes that Warren Montag has chosen in order to open a direct path to Spinoza's thought. I admire the clarity and intelligence with which he has been able to extract from this thought that which, even today, can speak to a readership beyond historians of philosophy enclosed in the narrow limits if their speciality." - Pierre Macerey "In this beautiful book Montag suggests the possibility that Spinoza's political ontology is capable not only of giving form to democratic power, but of giving creativity to the body of the multitude." - Antonio Negri

About the Author

Warren Montag is an Associate Professor of English at Occidental College in Los Angeles. He is the author of The Unthinkable Swift from (Verso) and editor of the collection The New Spinoza.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Verso (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1859847013
• ISBN-13: 978-1859847015
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,187,167 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Radical implications in Spinoza's philosophy, April 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Bodies, Masses, Power: Spinoza and His Contemporaries (Paperback)

Montag not only handles complex philosophical issues clearly, he creates suspense that makes it hard to put this book down. The reader feels he is with the author uncovering subversive content in Spinoza's texts. While parallel treatment of Hobbes and Locke really helps to clarify Spinoza's views on the role of the masses in politics, it is also valuable for insight into the presuppositions of Locke's liberalism as well as Hobbe's conservatism. Happily not weighted down by lengthy footnotes or a cumbersome scholarly apparatus, this book is very accessible to general readers who have a penchant for philsophy or are interested in European intellectual history of the eighteenth century.