Ragnar Lofstedt
Ashgate
Hardback
256
1993
According to Spinoza it is impossible for a being to be infinitely perfect and to have a legislative will. This idea, demonstrated in the Ethics, is presupposed and further elaborated in the Tractatus Theologico-politicus. It implies not only that on the level of truth all revealed religion is false but also that all authority is of human origin and that all obedience is rooted in a political structure. The consequences for ?authority? as it is used in a religious context are explored: the authority of Scripture, the authority of particular interpretations of Scripture, and the authority of the Church. Verbeek also explores the work of two other philosophers of the period ? Hobbes and Descartes ? to highlight certain peculiarities of Spinoza?s position, and to show the contrasts between their theories.
Ashgate
Hardback
256
1993
According to Spinoza it is impossible for a being to be infinitely perfect and to have a legislative will. This idea, demonstrated in the Ethics, is presupposed and further elaborated in the Tractatus Theologico-politicus. It implies not only that on the level of truth all revealed religion is false but also that all authority is of human origin and that all obedience is rooted in a political structure. The consequences for ?authority? as it is used in a religious context are explored: the authority of Scripture, the authority of particular interpretations of Scripture, and the authority of the Church. Verbeek also explores the work of two other philosophers of the period ? Hobbes and Descartes ? to highlight certain peculiarities of Spinoza?s position, and to show the contrasts between their theories.