Overview

In the latter half of the seventeenth century, Spinoza effected a reversal in the relationship between philosophy, politics, and religion, thereby laying the foundation for modern democracy. This shift, and his plea for philosophical critique, did not pass unchallenged. The idea that there is no equality without freedom, and no freedom without equality, was maligned by those who insisted it would lead to rebellion and anarchy. Still, Spinoza was no solitary figure, but formed part of a larger European movement. Inspired by several anonymous clandestine treatises, the republican writings of his contemporary De la Court, the democratic ideas of his former teacher Van den Enden, and the subversive criticism of his friend Koerbagh, Spinoza continued the trajectory established by Machiavelli. The resistance which his work encountered played a role in the radicalization of his ideas, the return to Machiavelli's revolutionary principles, and the recognition of the multitude's crucial role.

Full Product Details

Author:   Sonja Lavaert ,  Albert Gootjes
Publisher:   Edinburgh University Press
Imprint:   Edinburgh University Press
ISBN:  

9781399530514

ISBN 10:   1399530518
Pages:   352
Publication Date:   30 April 2026
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Table of Contents

Abbreviations Notes on Translation and Acknowledgments Preface I. Machiavelli’s Example 1. A (re)construction 2. Istorie fiorentine 3. Parole – Il duca Valentino – I popoli della Valdichiana 4. Il Principe 5. Discorsi II. Fictions, Laws, and Religions 1. Theophrastus redivivus 2. Artefact 3. Religion as political art 4. Institutions 5. Equal freedom III. Lieutenants 1. De jure ecclesiasticorum 2. No equality without freedom, no freedom without equality IV. A Political Balance (Between Passions and Reason, State Interest and the Multitude) 1. Johan/Pieter de la Court 2. Naeuwkeurige consideratien van staet 3. Consideratien van Staat 4. Politike Discoursen V. The Example of the Indians 1. Franciscus van den Enden 2. Kort verhael van Nieuw-Nederlants Gelegentheit 3. Plokhoy’s Kort en klaer ontwerp 4. From the Vrije Politijke Stellingen to Finis est in Holandia 5. ""do not dare to speak with their mouth, [but] use their fists"" VI. Translation and Truth: A Dialogue 1. Adriaan Koerbagh 2. ’t Samen-spraeck 3. Hobbes’s Leviathan in translation 4. Een Bloemhof van allerley lieflijkheyd sonder verdriet 5. Een Ligt schijnende in duystere plaatsen VII. Spinoza’s Reversal 1. 1661 – 1665 2. Tractatus theologico-politicus, 1670 2.1 First movement, first motive 2.2 Second movement, second motive 2.3 Third movement, third motive 3. Countermovement, 1670 – 1676 3.1 1671 – 1673 3.2 1674 3.3 1675 – 1676 4. Tractatus politicus, 1677 4.1 The basis 4.2 Experience 4.3 […] VIII. Une mauvaise rhapsodie, un artifice 1. A revolutionary thesis 2. L’Esprit de Spinosa/Traité des trois imposteurs 3. Unmasking deceit 4. The effectual truth for everyone Counterpoint 1 Counterpoint 2 Counterpoint 3 IX. Quodlibet. In the spirit of Machiavelli Appendix. The Manuscript Finis est in Holandia Editorial note Transcription Translation Bibliography

Reviews

Florentine thinker, S. Lavaert underlines the double reception to which [Spinoza] was subjected: sometimes as a defender of tyranny and an immoral policy, sometimes as a republican proposing a democratic and liberating vision of society. The book delves into this second reception by showing how, around Machiavelli's legacy, the sixteenth and XVII centuries, a constellation of authors that can be brought together by several common points: a naturalism that identifies God and nature, a critique of religion as an instrument of political domination, and a democratic prism that values freedom and equality. -- Julien Adoue * Archives de philosophie *

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