181. - Theological-Political Treatise

Summary

In the mid-1660s Spinoza began to compose the TTP, an ambitious work combining scriptural interpretation and political theory that would ignite a firestorm of criticism in Spinoza’s lifetime. In a 1665 letter to Henry Oldenburg, Spinoza presents the three primary reasons for writing the work: to oppose the prejudices of theologians; to rebut the charge of atheism; and, to defend the freedom of philosophizing (Ep30). The TTP was ultimately published anonymously and with a false imprint in 1670, perhaps occasioned in part by the imprisonment on charges of blasphemy and subsequent death (presumed to be due partially to the conditions of his captivity) of Spinoza’s friend Adriaan Koerbagh. Among the central claims of this multifaceted text are: Scripture is fundamentally a collection of simple moral teachings for ordinary people, rather than a source of insight into God’s nature and operations; philosophy and faith aim at different things, namely truth and obedience respectively; the sovereign maintains complete right over the external practice of religion; and that the peace and piety of a state can be preserved only if the freedom to philosophize is granted.