LeBuffe, Michael:
The Doctrine of the Two Kingdoms : Miracles, Monotheism, and Reason in Spinoza

In: British journal for the history of philosophy 23, 2 (2015), 318-332

Literature type: Articles
Language: English
Thematic areas: Anthropology / psychology / doctrine of affections / body and mind, Theology / biblical hermeneutics / philosophy of religion
Subject: E, TTP

English commentary: "Spinoza insists in the Theological Political Treatise that philosophy and theology are two separate kingdoms. I argue here that there is a basis in the psychology of the Ethics for one of the major components of the doctrine of the two kingdoms. Under the kingdom of theology, religion's principal function is to overcome the influence of harmful passion that prevents people from living life according to a fixed plan: people can live according to a fixed plan because they can obey. Through a series of arguments I show that Spinoza takes obedience to arise through devotion; devotion to associate with ideas of miracles and imaginative monotheism; and these ideas to be imaginative ideas of singular objects. On the psychology of the Ethics, ideas of this sort, although highly irrational, nevertheless give minds a power to resist harmful passion similar to that of ideas of reason. Although problems remain for the interpretation of the doctrine of the two kingdoms, this argument shows that Spinoza's psychology grounds his claim that theology, although different from philosophy, can help us to live well" (abstract).URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09608788.2014.984157

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