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The philosopher Baruch (or Pinto) Spinoza (1632-1677) was born in Amsterdam, the son of Portuguese Marrano Jews who had fled the Inquisition. At a very young age, he questioned the Torah, pointing out its inconsistencies and inconsistencies. The Rabbis deny the reality of miracles and argue that Israel is the chosen people. It gives priority to reason in understanding the world. From this authentic revolutionary, the Portuguese writer JR dos Santos creates the hero of an extraordinary true novel in translation The man who killed God.
How did Spinoza influence philosophical thought?
It is the basis of two great revolutions. According to him, contrary to the ideas of his time, God cannot change the laws of nature that do not need supernatural explanations. In saying this, he uses the scientific methods that we use today. On the other hand, it deconstructs the Bible. It appears to be a text written by humans for humans with a moral message. In his view, religion prevents the development of knowledge and manipulates people, and this is not its role.
He always puts the mind first.
It must be used to understand and organize the world, as it is man's main tool. This concept will lead to freedom, and even liberalism. Spinoza's ideas are enshrined in the American Constitution, characterized the French Revolution, and today permeate Western democracies. From a political point of view, we live in Spinoza's world.
In the name of reason, he attacks superstitions…
Science allows us to explain the world and politics to organize it. Reason allows humans to be free from slavery. Spinoza's influence would be enormous on the philosophers of the French Enlightenment, most notably Rousseau, as well as on the philosophers of the German Enlightenment.
He says he believes in God, but you wrote that he was hiding things. what about ?
It is a debate between philosophers and historians. According to the first statement, he is correct in what he said. His own method is used by historians, and he wrote in his treatise on political theology that everything should be read in the context of its time. In his time, denying the existence of God was an inevitable death sentence. He used the technique of the Marranos, the Portuguese Jews: to say one thing, he said another. Like code. When he talks about God, he is talking about nature. For him, one is the other. He is forced to use this doublespeak. He did not deify nature, but rather made it God.
He says that people are not always right because they can be governed by their emotions…
Trump's election manipulated by the Russians, Brexit, trolls trying to weaken our liberal democracies, conspiracy, dictatorships: these are all attacks on Spinoza's world. Which confirms its importance.
J. R. dos Santos, “Spinoza. The Man Who Killed God,” Hervé Chopin, 573 pp.
