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Spinoza's Theologico-Political Treatise is simultaneously a work of philosophy and a piece of practical politics. It defends religious pluralism, a republican form of political organisation, and the freedom to philosophise, with a determination that is extremely rare in seventeenth-century thought. But it is also a fierce and polemical intervention in a series of Dutch disputes over issues about which Spinoza and his opponents cared very deeply. Susan James makes the arguments of the Treatise accessible, and their motivations plain, by setting them in their historical and philosophical context. She identifies the interlocking theological, hermeneutic, historical, philosophical, and political positions to which Spinoza was responding, shows who he aimed to discredit, and reveals what he intended to achieve. The immediate goal of the Treatise is, she establishes, a local one. Spinoza is trying to persuade his fellow citizens that it is vital to uphold and foster conditions in which they can cultivate their capacity to live rationally, free from the political manifestations and corrosive psychological effects of superstitious fear. At the same time, however, his radical argument is designed for a broader audience. Appealing to the universal philosophical principles that he develops in greater detail in his Ethics, and drawing on the resources of imagination to make them forceful and compelling, Spinoza speaks to the inhabitants of all societies, including our own. Only in certain political circumstances is it possible to philosophise, and learn to live wisely and well.

Spinoza, Baruch --- Political science --- Religion --- Political and social views --- Philosophy --- Spinoza, Benedictus de, --- History --- Political philosophy --- Ispīnūzā, --- Spinoza, Baruch, --- Espinoza, Baruch d', --- Sbīnūzā, --- Espinosa, Baruch de, --- De Spinoza, Benedictus, --- Shpinozah, --- Shpinozah, Barukh, --- Spinoza, Benedict de, --- Spinoza, Barukh, --- Spinoza, Baruch de, --- Spinoza, Benoît de, --- ספינאזא, ברוך דע --- ספינאזא, ברוך, --- שפימוזה, ברוך --- שפינאזא, בענעדיקט --- שפינאזא, ברוך --- שפינאזע, ברוך --- שפינוזא, בנדיקטוס --- שפינוזהת ברוך, --- שפינוזה, ברוך --- שפינוזה, ברוך די, --- שפינוזה, ברוך, --- שפינוזה, ב. --- سبينوزا، بندكتس --- Political and social views. --- de Spinoza, Benedictus --- Political science - Philosophy --- Religion - Philosophy --- Religion - Philosophy - History - 17th century --- Spinoza, Benedictus de, - 1632-1677 - Political and social views --- Spinoza, Benedictus de --- Spinoza, Benedict de --- Spinoza, Benedictus de, - 1632-1677

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Superstition --- Fear --- Philosophy and religion --- Superstitions --- Peur --- Philosophie et religion --- Philosophy --- Philosophie --- Spinoza, Benedictus de, --- Spinoza, Benedictus de, - 1632-1677

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Philosophising, as Spinoza conceives it, is the project of learning to live joyfully. Yet this is also a matter of learning to live together, and the surest manifestation of philosophical insight is the capacity to sustain a harmonious way of life. Here, Susan James defends this overall interpretation of Spinoza's philosophy and explores its bearing on contemporary philosophical debates around issues such as religious toleration, putting our knowledge to work, and the environmental crisis. Part I focuses on Spinoza's epistemology. Philosophical understanding empowers us by giving us access to truths about ourselves and the world, and by motivating us to act on them. It gives us reasons for living together and enhances our ability to live co-operatively. Part II takes up Spinoza's claim that, to cultivate this kind of understanding, we need to live together in political communities. It explores his analysis of how states can develop a co-operative ethos. Finally, living joyfully compels us to look beyond the state to our relationship with the rest of nature. James concludes with discussions of some of the virtues this requires.

Political science --- Belonging (Social psychology) --- Philosophy --- Spinoza, Benedictus de, --- Spinoza, Baruch --- Philosophical anthropology --- General ethics --- Political science - Philosophy --- Spinoza, Benedictus de, - 1632-1677

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Cavendish, Margaret [Duchess of Newcastle] --- Political science --- Utopias --- Voyages, Imaginary --- Imaginary travels --- Imaginary voyages --- Travels, Imaginary --- Exoticism in literature --- Robinsonades --- Voyages to the otherworld --- Ideal states --- States, Ideal --- Utopian literature --- Socialism --- Dystopias --- Administration --- Civil government --- Commonwealth, The --- Government --- Political theory --- Political thought --- Politics --- Science, Political --- Social sciences --- State, The --- Great Britain --- England --- Politics and government. --- Social conditions. --- Politics and government --- Social conditions

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Feminist jurisprudence --- Feminism, Legal --- Legal feminism --- Feminist theory --- Jurisprudence --- Feminist jurisprudence. --- Politics --- Philosophy --- Human rights --- Sociology of the family. Sociology of sexuality --- Legal theory and methods. Philosophy of law --- Feminism --- Legal theory --- Theory --- Book