Rereading Spinoza’s View on Religious bet365 slot gamesng
August 20, 2019 09:22 Source: "Chinese bet365 slot gamesng Journal" Issue 1760, August 20, 2019 Author: Peng Bolin

The topics covered by contemporary scholars’ research on Spinoza’s view of religious bet365 slot gamesng include Spinoza’s theory of religious tolerance、The political value of religion、The relationship between religion and state, etc.。The main tendency of these studies is to regard Spinoza as a democrat,Think he was trying to find a legitimate place for traditional revealed religions in modern democracies。The significance of this study is that Spinoza is no longer simply regarded as an atheist or anti-religionist,Rather, it attempts to unearth Spinoza’s theoretical insights into the political value and general significance of religion,and regard religion as an important political force,Thus discovered Spinoza’s social and political theory and Hobbes、The differences and unique contributions of Locke and others。Especially recently, some scholars have begun to reflect on Strauss’s “classic misreading” of Spinoza’s religious views,They try to find consistent social and political thought and its ontological basis in Ethics, Theological and Political Theory and even Political Theory。In order to implement Spinoza’s ontological thoughts into social and political propositions,They opposed what Strauss called "political rhetoric",Consider that the theological and religious terminology in Spinoza’s sociopolitical writings is not just for avoiding censorship and self-preservation;Opposite,The theological terminology of social politics is Spinoza’s ideological system itself,Although many concepts have been given new meanings and status。

However,The only drawback is,These studies while using the framework of contemporary political philosophy to rescue Spinoza from the label "atheist",But fell into the quagmire of the dichotomous system of contemporary political philosophy。There are two main traditions in contemporary political philosophy that deal with the relationship between religion and state,First, the tradition of civil religion,The second is the tradition of liberalism。The civil religious tradition believes that religion is only a means of political rule,Does not have independent value,Rulers must firmly grasp religious control to serve political purposes,Classic theorists of this tradition include Machiavelli and Hobbes。The liberal tradition believes that modern religion is a private religion,Personal religious behavior is a private right,The government has no right to intervene and control,This tradition is represented by Locke。Based on this dichotomous framework,Scholars have discovered that there are elements of civil religion in Spinoza’s religious and political thought,There are elements of liberalism,Because Spinoza insists on the one hand that rulers are the interpreters of religion,On the other hand, they vigorously defend religious bet365 slot gamesng,Oppose religious strife and persecution,It is therefore difficult to simply place Spinoza entirely in one category。The dilemma caused by studying Spinoza’s view of religious bet365 slot gamesng within the framework of political philosophy reflects scholars’ inaccurate or even distorted views of Spinoza’s entire philosophical system and many of its concepts. know,These misunderstandings are concentrated in the following three aspects。

 True bet365 slot gamesng must be free

First,Not accurately understanding Spinoza’s concept of bet365 slot gamesng。Scholars’ inclusion of Spinoza in the tradition of civil bet365 slot gamesng focuses on the concept of traditional revealed bet365 slot gamesng,Think about the imagination of traditional bet365 slot gamesng、Surprise and virtue both contribute to the state's purpose of exploiting and controlling the population;The tradition that places Spinoza in the liberal tradition focuses on the concept of true bet365 slot gamesng,Believe that true bet365 slot gamesng is mainly a simple moral creed of loving your neighbor as yourself,Citizens’ understanding of nature and God is their natural right to think,Not related to politics。This confusion and blurring of the two concepts of traditional revealed bet365 slot gamesng and true bet365 slot gamesng has led people to realize that although Spinoza does not oppose traditional revealed bet365 slot gamesng,But it is difficult to tell which bet365 slot gamesng Spinoza supports,Even debated whether Spinoza was a theist、Atheist or pantheist,This brought about a series of ambiguities and troubles。

Return to the text to find out,Spinoza’s religious view is based on his view of human nature,The view of human nature is mainly reflected in his view of bet365 slot gamesng。By definition,Human nature refers to the inevitability of human nature,bet365 slot gamesng is when people actively obey the inevitability of this nature,Therefore,People’s religious choices are determined by their degree of bet365 slot gamesng。Unfree people are at the mercy of passion and desire and wander between hope and fear,Fantasy about unrealistic religious rewards or punishments;If the general public can practice the principles of justice and charity with the imagination that is consistent with natural intelligence, they will have true faith;A free man is guided entirely by reason,Immerse yourself in the intellectual love of God,Reflects the God of Knowledge and Love、Philosophy and Ethics、The unity of reason and faith。A person’s degree of bet365 slot gamesng is his ability to survive,The greater a person’s ability to survive,The freer people are,The more people have the right to bet365 slot gamesng。The so-called natural rights are not instantaneous and immutable,Only in the state and true religion and even philosophy can people realize the development of survival ability and intellectual ability,Only in order to continuously increase the right to political bet365 slot gamesng。There cannot be a single religious form within a country or even the entire world,Some people believe in true religion,Some people believe in new philosophical religions,Therefore,In Spinoza’s view,There is no universally applicable rule、Single model of church-state relations。

 Religious bet365 slot gamesng is not a product of modern politics

Second,Not accurately understanding Spinoza’s concept of bet365 slot gamesng。Scholars simply default to bet365 slot gamesng in the political and legal sense,Understand human bet365 slot gamesng as the legality and scope of citizen actions,Its essence is that it cannot be intervened、Inviolable natural rights。According to the above understanding,As a kind of political bet365 slot gamesng, religious bet365 slot gamesng, like other public activities of human beings, refers to the rights and legality of human actions。This very modern political concept of bet365 slot gamesng is consistent with Spinoza’s work in ancient Hebrew history、The concepts of bet365 slot gamesng examined in the history of Christianity and even the history of mankind are very different。

Through the investigation of human religious and political history,The various forms Spinoza discovered in human history、In various stages,Whether or not the people living in it have political and commercial bet365 slot gamesng、bet365 slot gamesng of speech、bet365 slot gamesng of the press, etc.,They all have an eternal bet365 slot gamesng, that is, religious bet365 slot gamesng。He thinks,Religious bet365 slot gamesng is not a product of modern politics,Extremely superstitious early humans、Subjects ruled by a tyrant、Countries that are closed to the outside world can enjoy religious bet365 slot gamesng without exception。Their religious bet365 slot gamesng may be reflected in compliance with basic moral principles,Like the Ten Commandments of Moses;Or it may be embodied in the fact that only the monarch’s orders are followed and thus does not violate the law;Or it may be embodied in the Hebrew spirit that loving the country is loving God。In addition,In Spinoza’s view,Although bet365 slot gamesng mainly refers to activities in which people actively strive to obey the inevitability of human nature,But it also means a kind of natural right of human beings without interference。However,If people do not rely on acquired moral cultivation and intellectual improvement,This precious right of non-interference will always be in danger of being deprived。Because in the state of nature everyone has this right to be free from interference,A person has as much power as he has power,Individuals with weaker survival power are always facing threats from stronger external forces。Therefore,Human bet365 slot gamesng needs to be developed、Unfinished。Spinoza thinks,With the improvement of people’s bet365 slot gamesng,The religion people believe in will become more and more free from imaginary superstition,Toward the virtue and philosophy of reason。

  Protecting religious bet365 slot gamesng is the country’s ethical responsibility

Third,Not accurately understanding Spinoza’s concept of state。Spinoza researchers one-sidedly believe that the state only has legal significance,The state must rely on the external coercive force of the law to restrain citizens,Use the passion of fear to suppress the desire of unfree citizens to destroy the living community。They believe that the country and human bet365 slot gamesng are relative,Once a country is established, it stipulates various rights for citizens to act in the form of law,The right to religious belief is one of them。Therefore,The relationship between religion and the state is an established relationship stipulated by law,It is a political system that has legal provisions first,Then there was religious bet365 slot gamesng。In addition,The state as a political community is only an external condition for citizens’ bet365 slot gamesng and rights, not the subject of bet365 slot gamesng,The state only protects people’s bet365 slot gamesng of life and property,The country itself does not matter whether it is free or not,Whether the existence of the country as a community itself can be guaranteed is only a legal fact,Without ontological or ethical significance。However,Spinoza’s state is based on ethics、The category that uses law as a means,The state does not originate from a natural state but an ethical state,Only based on ethical status,It is necessary for the state and the contract to maintain the ethical state,“If a person is born bound by God’s laws and rights,That is, if sacred laws and rights are a necessity that humans are born with,Then there is no need for God to make a contract with mankind,Use oaths and agreements to make humans must abide by God’s laws and rights”。A country establishes a monarchy、Whether it is aristocratic or democratic law depends on the degree of bet365 slot gamesng the people are accustomed to,The law itself is just a product of convention,Has no real value。The essence of the state is to maintain the state of divine law arising from the state of nature,This is the mission of the country and the legitimacy of its existence,If a nation wants to survive, it must act from the same mind as individuals,The relationship between countries is similar to the relationship between individuals。

These conclusions of Spinoza are all intended to illustrate that the survival of the country is in line with the nature of free people to help each other,The state is an essential need of human beings,Maintaining the immortality of the country is a manifestation of human bet365 slot gamesng,Therefore,The bet365 slot gamesng of a country is the bet365 slot gamesng of people。Spinoza believes that no established national law can regulate the relationship between the state and religion,Opposite,National laws must be formulated based on the religion that people can believe in and the ability to maintain the bet365 slot gamesng of the country,The more faith a person has, the more pure his virtue is.、Philosophical religion,The more you can avoid tyranny and anarchy,The less external coercion by law is needed。Anyway,Scholars use political bet365 slot gamesng to argue for ethical bet365 slot gamesng,And Spinoza uses ethical bet365 slot gamesng to demonstrate political bet365 slot gamesng。

 (Author’s affiliation: School of bet365 slot gamesng, Fudan University)

Editor: Zhang Yueying
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