Baruch Spinoza was a radical and a rebel. His philosophic writing was boldly secular and rational, scintillatingly irreverent and irrepressibly critical, committed to friendship, and emancipated embodied experience. Spinoza and his contemporaries traced out the principles of civil freedom still operative today and the acceptance of diversity with a commitment to good faith political discussion and the rule of law.

But Spinoza’s utopia was one of a merchant class grown rich on colonial exploits. Today, with globalised capitalism in crisis, these principles are suddenly in question. The hope of a future of prosperous ease, powered by reason and science seems to be faltering, revealing the vast majority desperate and angry, prey to reactionary nationalism and all manner of intolerance. Can Spinoza’s thinking help us gain agency to face our challenges today?

Through the readings and discussions in the monthly Spinoza circles we hope to re-evaluate the status and prospects of European civil democracies in the light of the contemporary challenges which are laying bare its weaknesses and its strengths.

In 2019 and 2020, West Den Haag in coordination with the Vereniging Het Spinozahuis will host monthly reading and discussion series connecting Spinoza’s thought with our contemporary conditions and applying his ideas to explore the exhibitions on display at West Den Haag.

The sessions are convened by Baruch Gottlieb and will be held on the last Sunday of each month. The Spinoza reading circle is open to anyone who would like to read Spinoza regardless of previous experience. Main language of discussion will be English. Texts will be provided online to participants two weeks before the events. Participation fee is 6 euro (incl. coffee).

Image: Mauritshuis Den Haag

Spinoza Circle #16: Recognition