Baruch Spinoza Quotes
Every man is by … natural right, the master of his own thoughts
Spinoza was one of the most feared intellectuals in human history—feared that is by the established power structures. He is the only known person who was excommunicated by the Catholics, the Jews and the Muslims—all were forbidden to read his works. He was the enemy of authority and advocated personal reason as the guide for men.
Benedict Spinoza, 1632-1677, Dutch Philosopher, Tractatus Politicus, 1677
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Spinoza was one of the most feared intellectuals in human history—feared that is by the established power structures. He is the only known person who was excommunicated by the Catholics, the Jews and the Muslims—all were forbidden to read his works. He was the enemy of authority and advocated personal reason as the guide for men.
Most politicians and philosophers would argue that liberty is both an individual right and a group right. However there are money who do not recognize group rights and feel that they are inimical to individual rights.
There are few Islamic leaders who were so forthright about freedom of thought vis a vis religion.
Many people who were opposed to slavery, were not willing to take any draconian steps to end or curtail the practice as every proposal had implications for the existing institutions in the country and the society. Starting with the Union itself and the Congress and the government, churches, associations, states, even families were irrevocably split.
Baruch (de) Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Sephardi origin. One of the early thinkers of the Enlightenment and modern biblical criticism, including modern conceptions of the self and the universe, he came to be considered one of the great rationalists of 17th-century philosophy. Inspired by the groundbreaking ideas of René Descartes, Spinoza became a leading philosophical figure of the Dutch Golden Age. Spinoza's given name, which means "Blessed", varies among different languages. In the Netherlands he used the Portuguese name Bento. In his Latin and Dutch works, he used Latin: Benedictus de Spinoza.
