Field focuses on the role in political theory of the concept of potentia of the people—power unde... more Field focuses on the role in political theory of the concept of potentia of the people—power understood as the informal, natural power of the people—as distinct from potestas understood as the formal arrangement of power under the constitution of a given state. In a close analysis of the arguments of Hobbes and Spinoza on popular power and sovereignty, the book critiques democratic interpretations of both theories. While correct about that, the book neglects fundamental dissimilarities in their views of popular power. Of profound importance is the meaning of the concept “multitude”: unlike Hobbes, Spinoza distinguishes between the great mass of individuals and “the wise,” seeing the “multitude” as encompassing most kings. Also, there is a great gulf between their understandings of the “common good.” For Spinoza, obedience to the sovereign, Hobbes’s desideratum, is only compatible with freedom in the context of a state directed to the common good.
The highly abstract style of Spinoza’s philosophy has encouraged some interpretations of him as a... more The highly abstract style of Spinoza’s philosophy has encouraged some interpretations of him as a thinker with little immediate connection with the whirl of social and cultural affairs around him. This article shows that all three major Western revolts - those of the Netherlands, Portugal and Aragon - against Philip II (his principal symbol and embodiment of tyranny, arbitrary and illicit governance, intolerance and repression of basic liberties) became in some sense internationally entwined and were intensely present in his life, which helps to understand that Spinoza was indeed a revolutionary.
Whereas during the first half of the eighteenth century the expression ‘oświecony’ in Polish was ... more Whereas during the first half of the eighteenth century the expression ‘oświecony’ in Polish was nearly always a religious metaphor, between the 1760s and the early nineteenth century the noun ‘oświeconie’ became secularized, broadened and given a quite revolutionary new meaning, denoting an intellectually grounded, rational and true understanding of things in contrast to how traditional religious authority understood things. This is well known to scholars and students alike. But the question now arises, with the rise over the last 20 to 30 years of ‘Radical Enlightenment’ as a fundamental new category in the humanities, how much has this category applicability in the Central European context? Studying book history and print culture, I shall argue, helps us to determine that in fact it does.
The European controversy over how to interpret Chinese Confucianist thought, during the early eig... more The European controversy over how to interpret Chinese Confucianist thought, during the early eighteenth century left the Radical Enlightenment's conception of Confucianism as essentially atheistic, materialist and as resembling Spinozism, in a generally rather strong position. This was partly because the subversive argument put forward by writers like Isaac Vossius, William Temple, Saint-Evremond, Pierre Bayle, Anthony Collins and Nicolas Freret was, in effect, supported by one wing of the moderate mainstream Enlightenment, most notably by Arnauld, Malebranche, and La Croze, who arrived at broadly the same conclusion out of opposite motives, wanting thereby to damage the reputation of classical Chinese thought (and also that of the Jesuits). The opposing view upheld by the Jesuits and Leibniz, according to which classical Chinese philosophy embraces ”natural theology” and a providential God, did not prosper so well as it came to be opposed by the Papacy and condemned by the Sorbonne.
Arquivos Do Centro Cultural Calouste Gulbenkian, 2004
This paper examines the Marquis d'Argens' deliberately subersive and provocative Deistic ... more This paper examines the Marquis d'Argens' deliberately subersive and provocative Deistic and anti-clerical brand of philo-Semitism. D'Argens considered Christian hostility towards, and contempt for, Jews to be totally irrational, nothing but theological odium, superstition, bigotry and prejudice; furthermore, he equated the "reformed", or purified Jew with what, for him, was the acme of human development: the philosophe. A purged, reborn Judaism could serve as a model to mankind, exemplifyin a basically rational culture with a Deistic inner core and valuable moral qualities. But did such Jews exist, or werew they a mere projection, a fantasy?. D'Argens seems to have been thinking of a narrow fringe of mostly affluent, "westernized" cosmopolitan Sephardic Jews, some of whom could be found in Ottoman lands. D'Argens claimed first hand-knowledge of a positive philosophical attitude, anti-rabbinism, and Deistic tendencies among contemporary Jews, in particular in Holland and Venice. A variety of sources confirm that in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century the Dutch Sephardic community elders and rabbis were acutely sensitive to the wider challenge that Spinoza, Spinozism and the "new Saducees" represented to rabbinical authority and to traditional Jewish belief and scholarship. The case of Lopez de Liz, famous Jewish homme du monde, is examined in some detail, as he represents an emergent type, holding many views current during the early Enlightenment.
... 47. AGS, Consejo de Guerra 1097, consulta de parte, Madrid, 18 June 1634. 48. Sotomayor y Val... more ... 47. AGS, Consejo de Guerra 1097, consulta de parte, Madrid, 18 June 1634. 48. Sotomayor y Valenzuela, Breve Relación, fol. 20v. 49. Cantero Vaca, 'Relación de Oran', 98. 50. Ibid. 51. BL MS Add. 28440, fol. 77. Page 15. THE JEWS OF SPANISH ORAN 249 ...
Despite the wealth of published studies on individual German, Austrian, and Czech Jewish communit... more Despite the wealth of published studies on individual German, Austrian, and Czech Jewish communities of the early modern era, it is remarkable how rare have been the attempts to synthesize the material and reach an overall assessment of the impact of the Thirty Years' War on Central European Jewish life. This gaping lacuna was noted some years ago by S. W. Baron, whose own general discussion of this subject is virtually unique. Immensely erudite, Baron's piece not only reveals the vast scope of the relevant material but tentatively suggests that the great European conflict was a key formative episode in the development of German Jewry, reversing earlier trends and preparing the way for the “Court Jews” of the later seventeenth century. This it undoubtedly was. Even so, Baron's evaluation is open to criticism on several counts. In particular, he fails to bring out, or make clear, just how crucial and how favorable a phase the Thirty Years' War was for the Jews of the ...
Page 1. JONATHAN I. ISRAEL W RAFAEL VALLADARL CHIARA VANGELISTA WMATTHIAS RÓHRIG ASSUN( MARIANNE ... more Page 1. JONATHAN I. ISRAEL W RAFAEL VALLADARL CHIARA VANGELISTA WMATTHIAS RÓHRIG ASSUN( MARIANNE L. WIE5EBRON 1l? CARLOS QUENAN ACUARELA DE BRASIL 500 AÑOS DESPUÉS Seis ensayos ...
ABSTRACT Traducción de: Race, Class and Politics in Colonial Mexico, 1610-1670 Incluye índice Inc... more ABSTRACT Traducción de: Race, Class and Politics in Colonial Mexico, 1610-1670 Incluye índice Incluye bibliografía El presente estudio investiga las diversas tensiones que afectaron a la sociedad mexicana a mediados de la época colonial y de las distintas maneras en que dichas tensiones influyeron en el curso de la vida pública de Nueva España.
Field focuses on the role in political theory of the concept of potentia of the people—power unde... more Field focuses on the role in political theory of the concept of potentia of the people—power understood as the informal, natural power of the people—as distinct from potestas understood as the formal arrangement of power under the constitution of a given state. In a close analysis of the arguments of Hobbes and Spinoza on popular power and sovereignty, the book critiques democratic interpretations of both theories. While correct about that, the book neglects fundamental dissimilarities in their views of popular power. Of profound importance is the meaning of the concept “multitude”: unlike Hobbes, Spinoza distinguishes between the great mass of individuals and “the wise,” seeing the “multitude” as encompassing most kings. Also, there is a great gulf between their understandings of the “common good.” For Spinoza, obedience to the sovereign, Hobbes’s desideratum, is only compatible with freedom in the context of a state directed to the common good.
The highly abstract style of Spinoza’s philosophy has encouraged some interpretations of him as a... more The highly abstract style of Spinoza’s philosophy has encouraged some interpretations of him as a thinker with little immediate connection with the whirl of social and cultural affairs around him. This article shows that all three major Western revolts - those of the Netherlands, Portugal and Aragon - against Philip II (his principal symbol and embodiment of tyranny, arbitrary and illicit governance, intolerance and repression of basic liberties) became in some sense internationally entwined and were intensely present in his life, which helps to understand that Spinoza was indeed a revolutionary.
Whereas during the first half of the eighteenth century the expression ‘oświecony’ in Polish was ... more Whereas during the first half of the eighteenth century the expression ‘oświecony’ in Polish was nearly always a religious metaphor, between the 1760s and the early nineteenth century the noun ‘oświeconie’ became secularized, broadened and given a quite revolutionary new meaning, denoting an intellectually grounded, rational and true understanding of things in contrast to how traditional religious authority understood things. This is well known to scholars and students alike. But the question now arises, with the rise over the last 20 to 30 years of ‘Radical Enlightenment’ as a fundamental new category in the humanities, how much has this category applicability in the Central European context? Studying book history and print culture, I shall argue, helps us to determine that in fact it does.
The European controversy over how to interpret Chinese Confucianist thought, during the early eig... more The European controversy over how to interpret Chinese Confucianist thought, during the early eighteenth century left the Radical Enlightenment's conception of Confucianism as essentially atheistic, materialist and as resembling Spinozism, in a generally rather strong position. This was partly because the subversive argument put forward by writers like Isaac Vossius, William Temple, Saint-Evremond, Pierre Bayle, Anthony Collins and Nicolas Freret was, in effect, supported by one wing of the moderate mainstream Enlightenment, most notably by Arnauld, Malebranche, and La Croze, who arrived at broadly the same conclusion out of opposite motives, wanting thereby to damage the reputation of classical Chinese thought (and also that of the Jesuits). The opposing view upheld by the Jesuits and Leibniz, according to which classical Chinese philosophy embraces ”natural theology” and a providential God, did not prosper so well as it came to be opposed by the Papacy and condemned by the Sorbonne.
Arquivos Do Centro Cultural Calouste Gulbenkian, 2004
This paper examines the Marquis d'Argens' deliberately subersive and provocative Deistic ... more This paper examines the Marquis d'Argens' deliberately subersive and provocative Deistic and anti-clerical brand of philo-Semitism. D'Argens considered Christian hostility towards, and contempt for, Jews to be totally irrational, nothing but theological odium, superstition, bigotry and prejudice; furthermore, he equated the "reformed", or purified Jew with what, for him, was the acme of human development: the philosophe. A purged, reborn Judaism could serve as a model to mankind, exemplifyin a basically rational culture with a Deistic inner core and valuable moral qualities. But did such Jews exist, or werew they a mere projection, a fantasy?. D'Argens seems to have been thinking of a narrow fringe of mostly affluent, "westernized" cosmopolitan Sephardic Jews, some of whom could be found in Ottoman lands. D'Argens claimed first hand-knowledge of a positive philosophical attitude, anti-rabbinism, and Deistic tendencies among contemporary Jews, in particular in Holland and Venice. A variety of sources confirm that in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century the Dutch Sephardic community elders and rabbis were acutely sensitive to the wider challenge that Spinoza, Spinozism and the "new Saducees" represented to rabbinical authority and to traditional Jewish belief and scholarship. The case of Lopez de Liz, famous Jewish homme du monde, is examined in some detail, as he represents an emergent type, holding many views current during the early Enlightenment.
... 47. AGS, Consejo de Guerra 1097, consulta de parte, Madrid, 18 June 1634. 48. Sotomayor y Val... more ... 47. AGS, Consejo de Guerra 1097, consulta de parte, Madrid, 18 June 1634. 48. Sotomayor y Valenzuela, Breve Relación, fol. 20v. 49. Cantero Vaca, 'Relación de Oran', 98. 50. Ibid. 51. BL MS Add. 28440, fol. 77. Page 15. THE JEWS OF SPANISH ORAN 249 ...
Despite the wealth of published studies on individual German, Austrian, and Czech Jewish communit... more Despite the wealth of published studies on individual German, Austrian, and Czech Jewish communities of the early modern era, it is remarkable how rare have been the attempts to synthesize the material and reach an overall assessment of the impact of the Thirty Years' War on Central European Jewish life. This gaping lacuna was noted some years ago by S. W. Baron, whose own general discussion of this subject is virtually unique. Immensely erudite, Baron's piece not only reveals the vast scope of the relevant material but tentatively suggests that the great European conflict was a key formative episode in the development of German Jewry, reversing earlier trends and preparing the way for the “Court Jews” of the later seventeenth century. This it undoubtedly was. Even so, Baron's evaluation is open to criticism on several counts. In particular, he fails to bring out, or make clear, just how crucial and how favorable a phase the Thirty Years' War was for the Jews of the ...
Page 1. JONATHAN I. ISRAEL W RAFAEL VALLADARL CHIARA VANGELISTA WMATTHIAS RÓHRIG ASSUN( MARIANNE ... more Page 1. JONATHAN I. ISRAEL W RAFAEL VALLADARL CHIARA VANGELISTA WMATTHIAS RÓHRIG ASSUN( MARIANNE L. WIE5EBRON 1l? CARLOS QUENAN ACUARELA DE BRASIL 500 AÑOS DESPUÉS Seis ensayos ...
ABSTRACT Traducción de: Race, Class and Politics in Colonial Mexico, 1610-1670 Incluye índice Inc... more ABSTRACT Traducción de: Race, Class and Politics in Colonial Mexico, 1610-1670 Incluye índice Incluye bibliografía El presente estudio investiga las diversas tensiones que afectaron a la sociedad mexicana a mediados de la época colonial y de las distintas maneras en que dichas tensiones influyeron en el curso de la vida pública de Nueva España.
Gathering together generations of scholars, The Great Protector of Wits provides a new assessment... more Gathering together generations of scholars, The Great Protector of Wits provides a new assessment of baron d'Holbach (1723-1789) and his circle. A challenging gure of the European Enlightenment, Paul-Henri Thiry d'Holbach not only was a radically materialistic philosopher, a champion of anticlericalism, the author of the Système de la nature known as "the Bible of atheists", an idéologue, a popularizer of the natural sciences and a proli c contributor to the Encyclopédie, but also played a crucial role as an organizer of intellectual networks, a master of disseminating clandestine literature and a consummate strategist in authorial ctions. In this collective volume, for the rst time, all these di ferent threads of d'Holbach's "philosophy in action" are considered and analyzed in their interconnection.
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Papers by Jonathan I Israel