Spinoza, Immanence, the Love of God, and Jewish Political Thought

• In Event: Immanence and Jewish Political Thought

Abstract

When the concept of immanence is brought up in the history of Jewish thought, Spinoza's philosophy is rightfully front and center. This holds true for Spinoza's philosophy in the history of political thought SIMPLICITER, as well. As such, this paper seeks to engage Spinoza's philosophy of immanence with a view to bringing him to bear on certain debates within the budding field of Jewish political thought. By focusing specifically on Spinoza's concept of the intellectual love of God, this paper asks what would a Spinozistic political theology of immanence look like, and what are its ramifications for current debates surrounding the limits of political theology and Spinoza's politics generally.

Author

• Erik Dreff, University of North Carolina at Greensboro