The Philosophy of Spinoza
A 4-Part Course with Professor Steven Nadler
Thursdays at 7 p.m. ET
Aug. 8 - 29
All classes will be recorded and sent to registrants.
On July 27, 1656, Jewish leaders in Amsterdam issued a writ of “herem” against 23-year-old Baruch Spinoza. He had yet to publish anything on his views on religion, politics, ethics or science, but he had voiced controversial opinions about Judaism and God — and that earned him permanent censure and expulsion from the local Jewish community.
At the same time, that moment marked the beginning of Spinoza’s career as a public intellectual. He would go on to become one of the most important philosophers of the modern world, influencing early Enlightenment concepts, the field of rationalism and Jewish thought, among other fields.
In a new four-part course from My Jewish Learning, Steven Nadler — widely recognized as one of the country’s top scholars of Spinoza’s life and work — will give an overview of the core principles that make up Spinoza’s philosophy. Those include his conception of God, his views on the Bible and Jewish law, and the immortality of the human soul.
Why study Spinoza’s ideas in 2024? They are the ultimate reminder that there is as much to learn about Judaism and human nature today as there was in the 17th century.
About Your Teacher
Steven Nadler is Vilas Research Professor and the William H. Hay II Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he is also director of the Institute for Research in the Humanities and affiliate faculty with the Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies. His books include A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza's Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age (Princeton, 2011); Spinoza: A Life (Cambridge, 1999; 2nd ed. 2018, winner of the 2000 Koret Jewish Book Award); Menasseh ben Israel: Rabbi of Amsterdam (Yale, 2018); Rembrandt’s Jews (Chicago, 2003, which was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize); and, most recently, Think Least of Death: Spinoza on How to Live and How to Die (Princeton, 2020). In 2020, he was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
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About My Jewish Learning
My Jewish Learning is the internet's leading pluralistic Jewish education resource. We offer thousands of articles, videos, live classes and other resources to help you navigate all aspects of Judaism and Jewish life — from Jewish ritual and practice to texts to history and culture.
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