Spinoza on Religion & Politics: The Theological-Political Treatise (Part 2)
Details
Baruch Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise (1670), originally published anonymously, is one of the most important and controversial philosophical works of the early modern period. Aiming to "liberate the individual from bondage to superstition and ecclesiastical authority", the work has been characterized as one of the most significant events in European intellectual history, laying the groundwork for ideas about liberalism, secularism, and democracy. 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 philosophy, Bible hermeneutics, and textual criticism more generally. The work attracted harsh criticism and vigorous attempts by religious leaders and conservative authorities to suppress his work entirely, with one critic describing it as being "Forged in hell by the apostate Jew working together with the devil".
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This is Day 2 of a two day conference presented by the University of Toronto's Centre for Ethics on the contemporary relevance of Spinoza's Theological-Politico Treatise (or Tractatus Theologico-Politicus) published in 1670. The conference is free to attend and open to the public.
The Conference Schedule
- 9:45 AM – Julie Klein (Villanova University) – OBEDIENCE
- 11:00 AM – Daniel Garber (Princeton University) – THEOCRACY
- 1:30 PM – Yitzhak Melamed (Johns Hopkins University) – POWER & RIGHT
- 2:45 PM – Mélanie Zappulla (UW-Madison) – THE PEOPLE
- 4:00 PM – Michael Rosenthal (University of Toronto) – THE JEWS
- 10:00 AM – Jac Jacob Zellmer (UW-Madison) – FLATTERY
- 11:15 AM – Justin Steinberg (Cornell University) – SEDITIOUS SPEECH
- 1:45 PM – Willi Goetschel (University of Toronto) – FREEDOM OF THOUGHT
- 3:00 PM – Jason Yonover (Yale University) – GENEALOGY
About the Centre for Ethics (http://ethics.utoronto.ca):
The Centre for Ethics is an interdisciplinary centre aimed at advancing research and teaching in the field of ethics, broadly defined. The Centre seeks to bring together the theoretical and practical knowledge of diverse scholars, students, public servants and social leaders in order to increase understanding of the ethical dimensions of individual, social, and political life.
In pursuit of its interdisciplinary mission, the Centre fosters lines of inquiry such as (1) foundations of ethics, which encompasses the history of ethics and core concepts in the philosophical study of ethics; (2) ethics in action, which relates theory to practice in key domains of social life, including bioethics, business ethics, and ethics in the public sphere; and (3) ethics in translation, which draws upon the rich multiculturalism of the City of Toronto and addresses the ethics of multicultural societies, ethical discourse across religious and cultural boundaries, and the ethics of international society.
The Ethics of A.I. Lab at the Centre For Ethics recently appeared on a list of 10 organizations leading the way in ethical A.I.: https://ocean.sagepub.com/blog/10-organizations-leading-the-way-in-ethical-ai