Jonathan Israel

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(Radical Enlightenment (2001), Enlightenment Contested (2006), and Democratic Enlightenment (2011) constitute a trilogy on the history of the Radical Enlightenment and the intellectual origins of modern democracy. A Revolution of the Mind (2009) is a shorter work on the same theme.)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baruch Spinoza</span> Dutch philosopher (1632–1677)

Baruch (de) Spinoza, also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin. As a forerunner of the Age of Reason, Spinoza significantly influenced modern biblical criticism, 17th-century Rationalism, and contemporary conceptions of the self and the universe, establishing himself as one of the most important and radical philosophers of the early modern period. He was influenced by Stoicism, Maimonides, Niccolò Machiavelli, René Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, and a variety of heterodox Christian thinkers of his day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Age of Enlightenment</span> 17th- to 18th-century European cultural movement

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Modernity, a topic in the humanities and social sciences, is both a historical period and the ensemble of particular socio-cultural norms, attitudes and practices that arose in the wake of the Renaissance—in the Age of Reason of 17th-century thought and the 18th-century Enlightenment. Some commentators consider the era of modernity to have ended by 1930, with World War II in 1945, or the 1980s or 1990s; the following era is called postmodernity. The term "contemporary history" is also used to refer to the post-1945 timeframe, without assigning it to either the modern or postmodern era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Counter-Enlightenment</span> Various intellectual stances against mainstream attitudes of the 18th-century Enlightenment

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<i>Tractatus Theologico-Politicus</i> Philosophical work by Spinoza

The Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (TTP) or Theologico-Political Treatise, is a 1670 work of philosophy written in Latin by the Dutch philosopher Benedictus Spinoza (1632–1677). The book was one of the most important and controversial texts of the early modern period. Its aim was "to liberate the individual from bondage to superstition and ecclesiastical authority." In it, Spinoza expounds his views on contemporary Jewish and Christian religion and critically analyses the Bible, especially the Old Testament, which underlies both. He argues what the best roles for state and religion should be and concludes that a degree of democracy and freedom of speech and religion works best, such as in Amsterdam, while the state remains paramount within reason. The goal of the state is to guarantee the freedom of citizens. Religious leaders should not interfere in politics. Spinoza interrupted his writing of his magnum opus, the Ethics, to respond to the increasing intolerance in the Dutch Republic, directly challenging religious authorities and their power over freedom of thought. He published the work anonymously, in Latin, rightly anticipating harsh criticism and vigorous attempts by religious leaders and conservative secular authorities to suppress his work entirely. He halted the publication of a Dutch translation. One described it as being "Forged in hell by the apostate Jew working together with the devil". The work has been characterized as "one of the most significant events in European intellectual history", laying the groundwork for ideas about liberalism, secularism, and democracy.

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Franciscus van den Enden, in later life also known as 'Affinius' was a Flemish former Jesuit, Neo-Latin poet, physician, art dealer, philosopher, and plotter against Louis XIV of France. Born in Antwerp, where he had a truncated career as a Jesuit and an art dealer, he moved later to the Dutch Republic where he became part of a group of radical thinkers sometimes referred to as the Amsterdam Circle, who challenged prevailing views on politics and religion. He held strong ideas about education, and viewed theater as an important teaching tool. He was a Utopian planning to set up an ideal society in the Dutch colonies in America and a proponent of democracy in the administration of states. He is best known as the Latin teacher of Spinoza (1632–1677), with whom Spinoza boarded for a period. Scholars have examined Van den Enden's philosophical ideas and those of Spinoza to assess whether he influenced his pupil, Spinoza biographer Steven Nadler suggests this is not the case. Spinoza biographer Jonathan I. Israel argues that Van den Enden preceded Spinoza in writing radical philosophical texts with a combination of democratic republicanism, rejection of religious authority, and advocacy for basic equality, building on the influence of Pieter de la Court, but only after Spinoza left Amsterdam. Van den Enden was implicated in a plot against Louis XIV and executed by hanging.

<i>Treatise of the Three Impostors</i> Book denying all three Abrahamic religions

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Adriaan Koerbagh was a Dutch physician, scholar, and writer who was a critic of religion and conventional morality. He was in the circle of supporters of Baruch Spinoza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atheism during the Age of Enlightenment</span>

Atheism, as defined by the entry in Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie, is "the opinion of those who deny the existence of a God in the world. The simple ignorance of God doesn't constitute atheism. To be charged with the odious title of atheism one must have the notion of God and reject it." In the period of the Enlightenment, avowed and open atheism was made possible by the advance of religious toleration, but was also far from encouraged.

The history of human thought covers the history of philosophy, history of science and history of political thought and spans across the history of humanity. The academic discipline studying it is called intellectual history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lodewijk Meyer</span> Dutch physician and scholar

Lodewijk Meyer was a Dutch physician, classical scholar, translator, lexicographer, and playwright. He was a radical intellectual and one of the more prominent members of the circle around the philosopher Benedictus de Spinoza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabriel Wagner</span> German philosopher

Gabriel Wagner was a radical German philosopher and materialist who wrote under the nom-de-plume Realis de Vienna. A follower of Spinoza and acquaintance of Leibniz, Wagner did not believe that the universe or bible were divine creations, and sought to extricate philosophy and science from the influence of theology. Wagner also held radical political views critical of the nobility and monarchy. After failing to establish lasting careers in cities throughout German-speaking Europe, Wagner died in or shortly after 1717.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yirmiyahu Yovel</span>

Yirmiyahu Yovel was an Israeli philosopher and public intellectual. He was Professor Emeritus of philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and at the New School for Social Research in New York. Yovel had also been a political columnist in Israel, cultural and political critic and a frequent presence in the media. Yovel was a laureate of the Israel Prize in philosophy and officier of the French order of the Palme académique. His books were translated into English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Rumanian, Hebrew, Korean and Japanese. Yovel was married to Shoshana Yovel, novelist and community organizer, and they had a son, Jonathan Yovel, poet and law professor, and a daughter, Ronny, classical musician, TV host and family therapist.

<i>Een Bloemhof</i>

Een Bloemhof is a dictionary published in 1668 and written by Adriaan Koerbagh under his own name. Its full title was Een Bloemhof van allerley Lieflijkheyd sonder verdriet. The book sparked controversy in Amsterdam because of its articles defining political and religious terms, even though they comprise only a small portion of the overall dictionary. The book also offers laymen explanations for technical jargon and foreign terms, covering topics such as medicine and law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederik van Leenhof</span>

Frederik van Leenhof was a Dutch pastor and philosopher active in Zwolle, who caused an international controversy because of his Spinozist work Heaven on Earth (1703). This controversy is extensively discussed in Jonathan Israel's 2001 book Radical Enlightenment.

Hendrik Wyermars was a Dutch radical Enlightenment thinker from Amsterdam who in 1710 published a philosophical book defending the eternity of the world and rejecting the literal version of the Creation story from the Book of Genesis. For contradicting fundamental Christian doctrine the book was condemned by the local church authorities and Wyermars was subsequently jailed for 15 years in the Amsterdam Rasphuis. He was considered an adherent of Spinozism, proclaiming atheist and materialist views.

<i>Discourses Concerning Government</i>

Discourses Concerning Government is a political work published in 1698, and based on a manuscript written in the early 1680s by the English Whig activist Algernon Sidney who was executed on a treason charge in 1683. It is one of the treatises on governance produced by the Exclusion Crisis of the last years of the reign of Charles II of England. Modern scholarship regards the 1698 book as "fairly close" to Sidney's manuscript. According to Christopher Hill, it "handed on many of the political ideas of the English revolutionaries to eighteen-century Whigs, American and French republicans."

References

  1. https://www.ias/edu/hs/israel Jonathan Israel, Institute for Advanced Study accessed 6 September 2022
  2. 'Cambridge University Tripos Results', The Times, 23 June 1967.
  3. "Jonathan Israel Appointed to Faculty of Institute for Advanced Study". Princeton Institute for Advanced Study. 17 January 2001. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  4. Amsterdam, Universiteit van. "The Spinoza Chair – Philosophy – University of Amsterdam". Uva.nl. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  5. Israel, J. (2001). Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity, 1650-1750. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. pp. vi. ISBN   0-19-820608-9.
  6. Chamberlain, Lesley (8 December 2006). "When freedom fought faith" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  7. Israel, Jonathan (2014). Revolutionary Ideas: An Intellectual History of the French Revolution from The Rights of Man to Robespierre. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 521. ISBN   978-0-691-15172-4.
  8. La Vopa, Anthony J. (September 2009). "A NEW INTELLECTUAL HISTORY? JONATHAN ISRAEL'S ENLIGHTENMENT". The Historical Journal. 52 (3): 717–738. doi:10.1017/S0018246X09990094.
  9. Moyn, Samuel (12 May 2010). "Mind the Enlightenment". The Nation. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  10. Talbot, Ann; North, David (9 June 2010). "The Nation, Jonathan Israel and the Enlightenment". World Socialist Web Site. International Committee of the Fourth International. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  11. "De vijftien klassieke werken over de Nederlandse geschiedenis". 12 January 2004. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  12. "Jonathan Israel" (in Dutch). Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  13. "Jonathan Israel (biographical details)". Princeton Institute for Advanced Study. Archived from the original on 21 September 2009. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  14. "Jonathan Israel Awarded 2010 Benjamin Franklin Medal". Princeton Institute for Advanced Study. 24 November 2010. Archived from the original on 1 January 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  15. "Jonathan Israel Awarded 2015 PROSE Award in European and World History". Princeton Institute for Advanced Study. 10 February 2015. Archived from the original on 1 May 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  16. "Jonathan Israel Awarded 2017 Comenius Prize". Princeton Institute for Advanced Study. 8 February 2017. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  17. "Review: Banishing the dark". The Economist. 30 November 2006. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  18. Moyn, Samuel (12 May 2010). "Review: Mind the Enlightenment". The Nation. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  19. Bell, David A. (8 February 2012). "Review: Where Do We Come From?". The New Republic. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
Jonathan Israel
FBA
Born
Jonathan Irvine Israel

22 January 1946 (1946-01-22) (age 78)
Nationality British
Occupation(s) Academic, historian
Awards Wolfson History Prize
Fellow of the British Academy
Leo Gershoy Award
Order of the Netherlands Lion
Dr A.H. Heineken Prize
Benjamin Franklin Medal
PROSE Award
Academic background
Alma mater Queens' College, Cambridge
University of Oxford