Digital Portfolio: Baruch Spinoza (Darcy O'Connor) - Historical Context

Digital Portfolio: Baruch Spinoza (Darcy O'Connor)
[PHIL2013] Rise of Modern Philosophy (St Lucia). Semester 2, 2018

(Status : Public)

Coordinated by Darcy O'Connor

Editor's note: This digital portfolio was completed by Darcy O'Connor for PHIL2013 and published by Cirrus as an example of superlative student work.

Return to Best of Cirrus Special Collection: PHIL2013
Historical Context

A portrait of Spinoza, to help put a face to the name.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baruch_Spinoza#/media/File:Spinoza.jpg

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assertion

Baruch Spinoza was born in 1632 in Amsterdam. He is recognized as one of the most important figures in early modern philosophy.

Spinoza grew up in the ‘most tolerant country in early modern Europe’ (Steinberg 2008: 2). The social and theological contexts of his upbringing were surprisingly non-rigid for the era. In fact, Amsterdam was a cosmopolitan hub for merchant traders, as well as a ‘sanctuary for free thinkers and religious minorities’ (Steinberg 2008: 2). This relative freedom is seen to inform his trend-breaking philosophy.

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