Democratic Thought from Machiavelli to Spinoza - (Spinoza Studies) by Sonja Lavaert (Paperback)

About the Book

A genealogy of the concept of the multitude and Spinoza's democratic political philosophy

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

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"