Continuity and Discontinuity between the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus and the Ethics

Abstract

Abstract This chapter aims to analyze the relationship between the Tractatus theologico-politicus and the Ethics. On the proposed reading, Spinoza carries out his biblical exegesis in the TTP according to the “ex sola Scriptura” principle (adherence to the “letter”) in order to show that even though the biblical texts are interpreted differently, their moral meaning, i.e. the “spirit,” remains unchanged. It is argued that the same spirit that Spinoza finds in his secularized reading of Scripture can also be found in the Ethics, where Spinoza develops a philosophical reflection on the good and on justice, according to principles of love and knowledge, as well as a political reflection on common human salvation and bliss. Spinoza’s insistence on a literal reading of the Bible also offers a model that seeks to avoid the “lucubrations of theologians” and the attribution of mysterious and mystifying meanings to the text. This model of reading will have a profound impact on later literature.