Commentary

• “From Democracy to Aristocracy: Spinoza, Reason and Politics”

  - Prokhovnik, Raia. “From Democracy to Aristocracy: Spinoza, Reason and Politics.” History of European Ideas 23, no. 2–4 (1997): 105–115. doi:10.1016/S0191-6599(96)00012-5.
  Excerpt: “Several commentators on Spinoza take his famous pronouncements in the Theologico-Political Treatise I of 1670, that, democracy is ‘the most natural form of government’ (TTP 263), and ‘of all forms of government the most… More

• Piety, Peace and the Freedom to Philosophize

  - Bagley, P. J. Piety, Peace and the Freedom to Philosophize. New York: Springer, 1999.
  From the Publisher: “The 11 essays collected here have been composed by members of the North American Spinoza Society. They exhibit the fruits of the research, investigation and erudition of an array of established scholars and newer students whose… More

• Spinoza’s Revelation: Religion, Democracy, and Reason

  - Levene, Nancy K. Spinoza’s Revelation: Religion, Democracy, and Reason. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
  From the Publisher: “Nancy Levene reinterprets a major early-modern philosopher, Benedict de Spinoza – a Jew who was rejected by the Jewish community of his day but whose thought contains, and critiques, both Jewish and Christian ideas. It… More

• Conflict, Power, and Multitude in Machiavelli and Spinoza: Tumult and Indignation

  - Lucchese, Filippo Del. Conflict, Power, and Multitude in Machiavelli and Spinoza: Tumult and Indignation. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2011.
  From the Publisher: “Conflict, Power and Multitude in Machiavelli and Spinoza explores Spinoza’s political philosophy by confronting it with that of Niccolò Machiavelli. Filippo Del Lucchese conducts a study of the relationship between… More

• “Benedict Spinoza on the Naturalness of Democracy”

  - Ward, Lee. “Benedict Spinoza on the Naturalness of Democracy.” Canadian Political Science Review 5, no. 1 (April 6, 2011): 55–73.
  Abstract: “Benedict Spinoza is arguably the first important political philosopher to endorse democracy as the best government. He does so primarily on the basis of the claim that it is the most natural regime. However, there are features of Spinoza’s… More