The Legacy of Spinoza. The Enlightenment According to Jonathan Israel

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Published: Jun 25, 2014
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13153/diam.40.2014.629
Keywords:
Enlightenment Spinoza historiography naturalism pantheism atheism human nature

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Przemysław Gut
Department of the History of Modern and Contemporary Philosophy Institute of Theoretical Philosophy Faculty of Philosophy The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to present and analyze the interpretation of the Enlightenment which has recently been proposed by Jonathan Israel, with the focus on its philosophical aspect as opposed to the historical one.  The paper consists of two parts. The task of the first part is reconstructive: it attempts to explore Israel’s most characteristic statements concerning the Enlightenment. The second and more extensive part has a polemical character: it endeavours to furnish the reader with an answer to the question of the degree to which the understanding of the Enlightenment proposed by Israel can be considered a satisfying interpretation of this period. The paper suggests that the main problem which may undermine Israel’s account of the Enlightenment is associated with the unduly selective interpretation of Spinoza’s philosophy and its position in the intellectual society of that time.

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How to Cite
Gut, Przemysław. 2014. “The Legacy of Spinoza. The Enlightenment According to Jonathan Israel”. Diametros, no. 40 (June):45-72. https://doi.org/10.13153/diam.40.2014.629.
Issue
No. 40 (2014)
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Special Topic - The Radicalism of the Enlightenment

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Author Biography

Przemysław Gut, Department of the History of Modern and Contemporary Philosophy Institute of Theoretical Philosophy Faculty of Philosophy The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin

Dr hab. Przemysław GutAssistant ProfessorDepartment of the History of Modern and Contemporary PhilosophyInstitute of Theoretical PhilosophyFaculty of PhilosophyThe John Paul II Catholic University of LublinAl. Racławickie 1420-950 LublinPolandEmail: dedo@kul.pl
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