In her introduction, James explains her methodology by pointing out that "in order to follow Spinoza, and to grasp the significance of his claims, it is not enough to explicate the text: one must also set it in the context of the sequence of theological and political debates to which he is contributing" (4). Though not myself a card-carrying member of the contextualist school, I believe that at least in the case of the TTP this attitude is quite fruitful and apt for a rather simple reason. The most salient feature of the text (as James points out) is its polemical nature, and it is hard to grasp the full meaning of a claim made as part of a debate when that claim is abstracted from its setting. Obviously, this interpretative attitude makes the decision about the proper context for understanding the book utterly critical.
...But James interestingly suggests that, in spite of this historical grounding, the book should not be read merely as an "active theological-political intervention in the politics of its time," but also as a work which "yields insights of general philosophical interest, bearing on our own predicament as much as that of the Dutch state in the second half of the seventeenth century" (6).--Yitzhak Melamed reviewing Susan James' Spinoza on Philosophy, Religion, and Politics: The Theologico-Political Treatise, Oxford University Press.
I was trained as a member of the contextualist school, and I used to carry my card proudly when I left home. (Nowadays as regular readers of this blog know I vaccilate between trying to save or abolish the school!) But the school was also founded with a dogma--the denial that classic philosophical texts addressed perennial issues that may have permanent answers. Yet, in the part of the introduction quoted by Melamed, James comes very close to denying the contextual dogma; Spinoza's text ""yields insights of general philosophical interest." So, what we are seeing, I think, is an evolution in the contextualist school.
Anyway, Susan James' book will be the subject of an author-meets-critics-workshop in Ghent (come join us!)
Recent Comments