Between Philosophy and Religion, Vol. I

Spinoza, the Bible, and Modernity

By (author) Brayton Polka

Not available to order

Publication date:

26 October 2006

Length of book:

290 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9780739152324

In Between Philosophy and Religion Volumes I and II, Brayton Polka examines Spinoza's three major works_on religion, politics, and ethics_in order to show that his thought is at once biblical and modern. Indeed, Polka argues that Spinoza is biblical only insofar as he is understood to be one of the great philosophers of modernity and that he is modern only when it is understood that he is unique in making the interpretation of the Bible central to philosophy and philosophy central to the interpretation of the Bible. This book and its companion volume are essential reading for any scholar of Spinoza.

Chapter 1 Introduction: The Challenge of Spinoza to Modernity
Chapter 2 The Bible and Hermeneutics
Chapter 3 The Ontological Argument and Modernity: The Relationship Between Thought and Existence
Chapter 4 Conclusion: Hermeneutics and Ontology
Chapter 5 Appendix 1: Critical Commentary on Works Relating to Spinoza, the Bible, and Modernity
Chapter 6 Appendix 2: Strauss on the Bible, Philosophy, and Modernity
Chapter 7 Bibliography
Chapter 8 Index

Polka offers a striking challenge to received readings of Spinoza by privileging neither reason nor revelation. Combining hermeneutics and ontology in reciprocal presupposition, he offers a highly original challenge to dominant views of faith and reason in modernity. This Hegelian reading of Spinoza demands careful consideration from philosophers of religion and Spinoza scholars alike. This is a genuinely extraordinary book....