The Early Mod Period: Spinoza and Mendelssohn

Catalog description

Whether Baruch Spinoza can be thought of as a Jewish philosopher has always been a subject for debate. This course will analyze his key philosophical ideas in relation both to his medieval Jewish forbears and the major Jewish thinker who followed him-Moses Medelssohn. Topics to be covered will include: the nature of God, the immortality of the soul; freedom and determinism; the status of Jewish Law; and the relationship between religion and state.