Spinoza: Theological-Political Treatise (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy) [Paperback]

Jonathan Israel (Editor), Michael Silverthorne (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521530970 | ISBN-13: 978-0521530972 | Publication Date: May 28, 2007 | Edition: 1

Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise (1670) is one of the most important philosophical works of the early modern period. In it Spinoza discusses at length the historical circumstances of the composition and transmission of the Bible, demonstrating the fallibility of both its authors and its interpreters. He argues that free enquiry is not only consistent with the security and prosperity of a state but actually essential to them, and that such freedom flourishes best in a democratic and republican state in which individuals are left free while religious organizations are subordinated to the secular power. His Treatise has profoundly influenced the subsequent history of political thought, Enlightenment 'clandestine' or radical philosophy, Bible hermeneutics, and textual criticism more generally. It is presented here in a new translation of great clarity and accuracy by Michael Silverthorne and Jonathan Israel, with a substantial historical and philosophical introduction by Jonathan Israel.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise (1670) is one of the most important philosophical works of the early modern period. It is presented here in a new translation of great clarity and accuracy by Michael Silverthorne and Jonathan Israel, with a substantial historical and philosophical introduction by Jonathan Israel.

About the Author

Jonathan Israel is Professor of Modern European History at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. He is author of Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity 1650-1750 (2001).

Michael Silverthorne is Honorary University Fellow, Department of Classics, University of Exeter. He is co-editor with Lisa Jardine of Francis Bacon: The New Organon (2000).

Product Details

• Paperback: 330 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (May 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521530970
• ISBN-13: 978-0521530972
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Radical Hermeneutics, September 24, 2009

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Mr. Steiner (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Spinoza: Theological-Political Treatise (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy) (Paperback)

Spinoza's TTP remains a crucial pre-enlightenment work of political/theological philosophy. Contrary to his foil, Moses Maimonedes, Spinoza attempts to provide a new and unprejudiced reading of the Old and New Testaments, so as to situate the work within the framework of naturalistic philosophy and to strip it of its spiritual biases. Spinoza concludes (much to the chagrin of his contemporaries) that miracles and prophecy are internally incoherent according to the rationalists' conception of God, and that much of the prior interpretations of the bible have failed to provide sufficient hermeneutical accounts of the historicity of biblical creation. The TTP is also a great work of political theory-and an immensely important the Hobbsian Social Contract. Philosophy is still attempting to catch up with the overwhelming radicalism of Spinozism, and this text is an invaluable precursor to the Ethics.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars brilliant, edgy, playful, December 20, 2009

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Monoxylon (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Spinoza: Theological-Political Treatise (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy) (Paperback)

Spinoza wrote his Theological-Political Treatise after his Ethics as a kind of explanation, as a defense against attacks against him of heresy, as a demonstration of the philosophical principles in action which he had previously laid out in the highly theoretical Ethics, and - so it has been many times claimed - as to make his views readable to a much wider audience. The result is a highly readable, extended meditation on the history of biblical interpretation. He makes a persuasive case for the total lack of consistency among religious authorities who have laid down the law before, raising questions about their claims to having access to a true or pure understanding. In fact, his expose impresses upon the reader that every attempt at interpretation of the bible will inevitably be political. That is, no matter how well intentioned and how well informed, all attempts at interpreting the bible cannot help but be shaped by the cultural, historical, and political context of the interpretor. Of course, from the very outset of this work, Spinoza makes a concerted effort to show that all claims of prophetic authority are unfounded.

I found it particularly engaging and interesting to watch Spinoza make these incredible daring (for the time) arguments while at the same time always being careful to insist that he is a deeply religious person and that this work is -- and all his works are -- neither scandalous nor subversive. There are times when it seems like he is engaged in defensive maneuvers to save his life, and other times when his equivocal positioning seems a virtuoso act of rhetorical fencing.

This particular edition comes with Cambridge's usual high quality scholarly reference material throughout.