Philosophy Journal #1/ Spinoza / From Spinoza to Democracy

From Spinoza to Democracy

When I had presented that Spinoza was a pantheist philosopher who claimed that all that ends well is well, I was over-simplifying. I was probably confused on how any ethical discussion could be possible if everything was to be operated under god’s will. To me at that time, Spinoza said God was always logical and reasonable, so everything just had to be good. If everything was operating logically well, why think over what is right or wrong?

And precisely at that point, I had made a grave mistake in leaving out ‘myself’ from the godly operation of the world. If ‘everything’ were to operate under God’s logical, inevitable, and reasonable will, that would include me as well as many others. Moreover, since the operation was logical, I would have to contemplate, just as a reasonable God would, to make a logical, inevitable, and reasonable decision and an ensuing action.

This explanation may clarify how freedom is possible in Spinoza’s deterministic universe. With knowledge and reason, we can avoid unenlightened circumstances or external influences which would have been otherwise unavoidable. And when we do, we are not merely obeying something, even God, but becoming a more substantial part of it, the order of the universe. So in a sense, Spinoza’s philosophy is more than mere obedience to authority. It is actually closer to ascension of reasoned minds, where every mind is capable of reasoning regardless of social classes. This notion indicates freedom from ignorance and any authority other than a higher power. And even this higher power is strictly bound to inevitability and natural laws (as in rain falls downwards). No wonder the church had to excommunicate Spinoza, for there was no place for unnatural miracles and a mysterious church in his philosophy, not to mention unquestioned authority (for people who are not priests could also understand God’s will).

As Spinoza notes, a more complete comprehension of the world is indeed freedom within the worldly system. To people who still persist that there is no freedom in a determinist system, I would like to ask them whether they feel less freedom every time they realize the Earth spins around every 364.4 days. When we usually discuss freedom, it is freedom from other humans or social institutions, not natural circumstances that we already perceive as natural.

Now that we realize what freedom Spinoza has been trying to fight for, we must contemplate on how such freedom should be acquired in a political dimension. It is a famous anecdote that Spinoza had been excommunicated from his Jewish community, for he wrote that faith and philosophy (governance) should be separated. Offended, the Jewish community pushed him out of its circle. At this time, I would have no other choice but to support the church’s decision. I believe Spinoza articulated his theory in a misleading way, and that church nonetheless had interpreted it right and reacted appropriately.

Spinoza, while discussing on the concept of social contract, quotes Moses and the Jews as an ideal historical example. He cites the Hebrew state, and that upon people’s agreement Moses was able to rule with boundless authority. As implicitly shown in the example, what Spinoza meant by the separation of faith from philosophy was actually of faith from church. As reasonable persons, the Hebrew could respectively ‘choose’ a sovereign subject such as Moses. And their decision was a pretty good one. In short, religious faith is newly amalgamated to reason and logic, the persons themselves. Unlike what Spinoza had bluntly stated, it can be reversely interpreted that a Spinoza-n social contract is that of a democracy that places faith in themselves and their decision.

It was a long way from God’s will to democracy, but from the point that Spinoza made clear that his concept of God was not a human-like being but reason and logic attainable by any men if there were efforts, there is a way from a theocracy to democracy, while the theos is naturally converted into demos. As Spinoza puts it, all’s well that ends well; vox populi vox dei.