Commentary

• The Radical Enlightenment: Pantheists, Freemasons and Republicans

  - Jacob, Margaret C. The Radical Enlightenment: Pantheists, Freemasons and Republicans. New Orleans: Cornerstone Book Publishers, 2006.
  From the Publisher: “When first published in 1981, “The Radical Enlightenment” encountered both praise and blame. In the course of time it became a classic. In the era after 1945 the book was perhaps the first English language scholarly work… More

• Spinoza and the Rise of Liberalism

  - Feuer, Lewis S. Spinoza and the Rise of Liberalism. Piscataway: Transaction Publishers, 1987.
  From the Publisher: “In this classic work the author undertakes to show how Spinoza’s philosophical ideas, particularly his political ideas, were influenced by his underlying emotional responses to the conflicts of his time. It thus differs form… More

• “Spinoza’s Paradox: Judaism and the Construction of Liberal Identity in the Theologico-Political Treatise.”

  - Smith, Steven B. “Spinoza’s Paradox: Judaism and the Construction of Liberal Identity in the Theologico-Political Treatise.” Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy 4, no. 2 (1995): 203–225.

• “Power and Difference: Spinoza’s Conception of Freedom”

  - James, Susan. “Power and Difference: Spinoza’s Conception of Freedom.” Journal of Political Philosophy 4, no. 3 (1996): 207–228. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9760.1996.tb00050.x.
  Excerpt: “During the last two decades, an established though contested alliance between liberty and equality has been profoundly challenged by reassessments of the view that, when States impose the same rights and obligations on all their citizens,… More

• “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

• “Spinoza’s Conception of Sovereignty”

  - Prokhovnik, Raia. “Spinoza’s Conception of Sovereignty.” History of European Ideas 27, no. 3 (2001): 289–306. doi:10.1016/S0191-6599(01)00051-1.
  Abstract: “The article argues that Spinoza’s principle of political order represents a conception of sovereignty which is both historically intelligible and analytically coherent. The appropriateness of four meanings of sovereignty to… More

• “Spinoza’s Argument for Political Freedom”

  - Rosen, Stanley. “Spinoza’s Argument for Political Freedom.” Cardozo L. Rev. 25 (2003): 729-741.
  Excerpt: “It is a striking fact in the history of philosophy that one of the most notorious advocates of metaphysical determinism should have been the first great philosopher to present a systematic defense of political freedom. This defense occurs in… More

• Spinoza’s Book of Life: Freedom and Redemption in the Ethics

  - Smith, Steven B. Spinoza’s Book of Life: Freedom and Redemption in the Ethics. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003.
  From the Publisher: “Most readers of Spinoza treat him as a pure metaphysician, a grim determinist or a stoic moralist, but none of these descriptions captures the author of the “Ethics”, argues Steven Smith in this book. Offering a new… More

• Spinoza and Dutch Republicanism

  - Prokhovnik, Raia. Spinoza and Dutch Republicanism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
  From the Publisher: “In this book, Spinoza’s political theory is examined through an analysis of his engagement with the practical politics of his day in the United Provinces. 17th-century Dutch history, political life and political thought, and… More

• Spinoza’s “Theological-Political Treatise”: A Critical Guide

  - Melamed, Yitzhak Y., and Michael A. Rosenthal, eds. Spinoza’s “Theological-Political Treatise”: A Critical Guide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
  From the Publisher: “Spinoza’s Theological-Political Treatise was published anonymously in 1670 and immediately provoked huge debate. Its main goal was to claim that the freedom of philosophizing can be allowed in a free republic and that it… More