Believe and Research, or the Issue of Religion with Baruch Spinoza
Believe and Research, or the Issue of Religion with Baruch Spinoza

Summary/Abstract: When talking about a philosopher and his ideas, one should also consider the intellectual environment in which he was formed, and the sources to which he had access. In the case of Baruch Spinoza, he wrote in a century that saw the inquisitorial denunciation of Galileo Galilei (1632), the birth of Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1644), and the death of Thomas Hobbes (1672): in short, early modernity. The paper traces Spinoza’s intellectual and philosophical evolution, laying a special emphasis on his Theological Political Treatise and its importance for the development of European thought. By analyzing Spinoza’s work and its reception in both Jewish and Christian milieus, the author attempts to shed a new light on the philosopher’s reasons and intent and their reflection in the actual results of his work.

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