Between Hegel and Spinoza: A Volume of Critical Essays (Bloomsbury Studies in Philosophy)

By: Hasana Sharp and Jason E. Smith

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Synopsis: Recentwork in political philosophy and the history of ideas presents Spinoza andHegel as the most powerful living alternatives to mainstream Enlightenmentthought. Yet, for many philosophers and political theorists today, one mustchoose between Hegel or Spinoza. As Deleuze's influential interpretationmaintains, Hegel exemplifies and promotes the modern "cults of death," whileSpinoza embodies an irrepressible "appetite for living." Hegel is the figure ofnegation, while Spinoza is the thinker of "pure affirmation". Yet, betweenHegel and Spinoza there is not only opposition. This collection of essays seeksto find the suppressed kinship between Hegel and Spinoza. Both philosophersoffer vigorous and profound alternatives to the methodological individualism ofclassical liberalism. Likewise, they sketch portraits of reason that arecontext-responsive and emotionally contoured, offering an especially rich appreciationof our embodied and historical existence. The authors of this collectioncarefully lay the groundwork for a complex and delicate alliance between thesetwo great iconoclasts, both within and against the Enlightenment tradition.