Philosophical Religions from Plato to Spinoza: Reason, Religion, and Autonomy

358 Pages·2015·3.819 MB·English

by  Carlos Fraenkel

more information - www.cambridge.org/9780521194570

PHILOSOPHICAL RELIGIONS FROM
PLATO TO SPINOZA
Many pagan, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim philosophers from
antiquity to the Enlightenment made no meaningful distinction
betweenphilosophyandreligion.Insteadtheyadvocatedaphilosoph-
icalreligion,arguingthatGodisReasonandthatthehistoricalforms
ofareligioustraditionserveasphilosophy’shandmaidtopromotethe
lifeofreasonamongnon-philosophers.CarlosFraenkelprovidesthe
firstaccountofthisconceptandtracesitshistorybacktoPlato.He
showshowJewsandChristiansappropriateditinantiquity,follows
it through the Middle Ages in both Islamic and Jewish forms, and
arguesthatitunderliesSpinoza’sinterpretationofChristianityinthe
earlymodernperiod.Themainchallengetoaphilosophicalreligion
comesfromthemodernviewthatallhumanbeingsareequallyable
toordertheirlivesrationallyandhenceneednoguidancefromreli-
gion. Fraenkel’s wide-ranging book will appeal to anyone interested
inhowphilosophyhasinteractedwithJewish,Christian,andMuslim
religioustraditions.
carlos fraenkel isAssociateProfessor,DepartmentofPhiloso-
phyandDepartmentofJewishStudies,McGillUniversity.

PHILOSOPHICAL RELIGIONS
FROM PLATO TO SPINOZA
Reason, Religion, and Autonomy
CARLOS FRAENKEL
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Fraenkel,Carlos,1971–
PhilosophicalreligionsfromPlatotoSpinoza:reason,religion,
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Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
isbn978-0-521-19457-0
1.Philosophyandreligion. 2.Philosophy–History.
3.Religions. I.Title.
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Contents
Preface pageix
Acknowledgments xvii
Translations,conventions,abbreviations xxi
Introduction:whatisaphilosophicalreligion? 1
1
Introduction
5
Theconceptofaphilosophicalreligion
24
Towardsahistoryofphilosophicalreligions
28
Reason,religion,andautonomy:revisingtheconventionalwisdom
1 Reason,divinenomoi,andself-ruleinPlato 38
38
Introduction
40
Socraticpolitics
48
TheruleofGodasReason
51
Whythephilosopher’slifeisbest
58
Guidingnon-philosophers:thehandmaidofphilosophy
69
Fromcoerciontoself-rule
78
Thewisdomofnon-philosophers
82
Fromculturalrevolutiontophilosophicalreinterpretation
85
DivineLaw–oneormany?
2 Moses,Christ,andtheuniversalruleof
Reasoninantiquity 87
87
Introduction
91
AppropriatingthePlatonicmodel:theevidenceofEusebius
100
Reinterpretingculturaltraditions
103
FromthedivinenomoioftheGreekstothedivinenomoioftheJews
105
MosesandHomer–philosopher-poets?
108
Judaismasaphilosophicalreligion
122
Christianityasaphilosophicalreligion
139
Philosophersinparadise
141
FromMagnesiatoaChristianworld-state
vii
viii Contents
3 CommunitiesofReasonintheIslamicworld 144
144
Introduction
146
PlatoandAristotle
154
Al-Fa¯ra¯b¯ıonphilosophyandtheDivineLaw
164
AverroesandMaimonides–disciplesofal-Fa¯ra¯b¯ı?
167
Islamasaphilosophicalreligion
175
Judaismasaphilosophicalreligion
181
Leadingnon-philosophersoutofthecave
194
Theocracyandautonomy
202
MedievalJewishEnlightenment
205
BetweenMaimonidesandSpinoza:ElijahDelmedigo
4 ChristianityasaphilosophicalreligioninSpinoza 213
213
Introduction
218
Spinoza’searlydogmatism
229
TheevidenceofLodewijkMeyerforSpinoza’searlydogmatism
232
TheconceptofaphilosophicalreligioninSpinoza’slaterwritings
254
Religionandthefreedomtophilosophize
262
FromGodasReasontoDeussiveNatura
265
InterpretingChristianityasaphilosophicalreligion
270
Weretheprophetsphilosophersafterall?
275
Spinoza’scritiqueofreligion
Epilogue:didthehistoryofphilosophicalreligions
cometoanend? 282
282
Introduction
283
DisregardingSpinoza’scritiqueofreligionfromLessingtoHegel
293
Philosophy’snewhandmaid?Artasapedagogical-politicalprogram
295
Makingthehandmaidredundant:equalityasamoral-politicalvalue
297
Prospectsofaphilosophicalreligion
Bibliography 301
Index 319