Spinoza and the Rise of Systems - Reception and Critique in the French Enlightenment

This book contributes to the ongoing debate on the contemporary relevance of Enlightenment philosophy by examining – through the lens of the French reception of Spinoza in the Eighteenth century – crucial themes such as virtuous atheism, freedom of conscience, and the tension between the ‘spirit of system’ and the ‘systematic spirit.’Diego Donna retraces the resistances, conflicts and interpretive ambiguities that the Enlightenment brought to bear on Spinoza’s work. These are all hallmarks of a philosophical freedom that rejects all systems and authorities in the name of a new systematic reason. Donna therefore presents the notion of ‘system’ as essential both for understanding the historical development of Spinozism and assessing the evolution of modern philosophical debate, from the encyclopaedic culture of the Eighteenth century to the systemic rationality of the twentieth century.