Spinoza’s TTP: Politics, Power and the Imagination

Dan Taylor (Open) and Marie Wuth (Aberdeen)

2-and-a-half-day online conference and workshop, bringing together Spinoza specialists with new approaches to Spinoza's politics

29-31 March 2021 - final programme now belowPublished surreptitiously in 1670, Spinoza’s Theological-Political Treatise (TTP) transformed early modern Europe, destabilising common ideas about prophecy, miracles and biblical scripture, while making groundbreaking arguments for democracy, free speech and religious toleration. Dismissed by one contemporary as a book ‘forged in hell by the Devil himself’, the TTP continues to exert a fascination for researchers working on Spinoza and politics. In particular, for Spinoza’s understanding of freedom, the imagination and the affects, as well as reappraisals of the TTP’s legacy. As the 350th anniversary of its publication passes, this online conference brings together early career researchers and leading scholars on Spinoza’s politics and philosophy. Held over two days remotely using Microsoft Teams, involving a mixture of keynote presentations, expert- roundtables and panels. For the latter, we welcome abstracts from doctoral students and early career researchers for 15-minute papers. The workshop encourages a range of approaches to the TTP, and its call for contributions is open, without any predetermined panels. It aims to give participants the opportunity to present and discuss their own research approaches and questions.Confirmed Speakers:Prof Susan James (Birkbeck, University of London)Prof Beth Lord (University of Aberdeen)Prof Hasana Sharp (McGill University, Montreal)Prof Martin Saar (Goethe University, Frankfurt a.M.)Dr Mogens Lærke (CNRS, Maison Française d’Oxford / IHRIM, ENS de Lyon)Prof Jimena Solé (Buenos Aires)Associate Prof Dimitris Vardoulakis (Western Sydney)Supported by the <a href="https://bshp.org.uk/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">British Society for the History of Philosophy</a>Conference programmePlease note: all times are in GMT.Monday 29th March 17.30-17.45	Welcome17.45-19.15 	Keynote: Susan James (Birkbeck University of London), “Poetry in the Theologico-Political Treatise”Chair: Steph Marston (Birkbeck University of London)Tuesday 30th March11.30 – 12.30 	Panel 1: Puzzles in the TTP Antonio Salgado Borge (University of Edinburgh), “God or Natura Naturata? Spinoza on the numerical identity between God’s essence and all things in Nature”Emanuele Costa (Vanderbilt University), “Spinoza on Prophecy and Belief Justification”Chair: Marie Wuth (University of Aberdeen)12.30 – 13.15 	Lunch Break 13.15 – 14.00 	Jimena Solé (Universidad de Buenos Aires), “Truth, Obedience and Freedom. Some considerations on Spinoza’s concept of politics and its relation with philosophy”Chair: Antonio Salgado Borge (University of Edinburgh)14.00 – 14.15 	Break 14.15 – 15.45	Roundtable: Mogens Laerke (CNRS, Maison Française d’Oxford, ENS de Lyon) and Martin Saar (Goethe University Frankfurt) on Democracy, Public Reasoning and the Imagination Moderation: Dan Taylor (Open University)15.45 – 16.15 	Break 16.15 – 17.15 	Panel 2: After-lives of the TTPJason M. Yonover (Johns Hopkins University), “Hegel and Spinoza on Religion and the State”Yifan Song (Fudan University), “The Radicalization of Action and Social Transformation: A Spinoza-Hess-Marx Triangle”Chair: Thomas Minguy (McGill University)17.15 – 18.00 	Break 18.00 – 19.30 	Keynote: Beth Lord (University of Aberdeen), “Hobbes and Spinoza on equality, equalization, and equilibriumChair: Dan Taylor (Open University)Wednesday 31st March10.45 – 11.30 	Dimitris Vardoulakis (Western Sydney University), “On the sources of Spinoza’s account of social formation”11.30 – 11.45 	Break 11.45 – 12.45 	Panel 3: Intellectual sources and resonances Ahmad Bostani (Kharazmi University), “Political Philosophy and the Imagination from Al-Farabi to Spinoza” Matthieu Angevin (University of Aberdeen), “Spinoza against Hippocrates?”Chair: Anthony Zirpoli (University of Aberdeen)12.45 – 13.30 	Lunch Break 13.30 – 14.30 	Panel 4: Imagination and Authority in the TTP Ki-myoung Kim (Freie Universität Berlin), “What would the institution of the universal faith in democracy look like?”Gil Morejón (DePaul University), “Imaginary Authority and Critical Immanence: Spinoza’s Critique of Miracles”Chair: Élaina Gauthier-Mamaril (University of Aberdeen)14.30 – 15.00 	Break 15.00 – 16.30 	Panel 5: Imagination, Recognition and Hatred Steph Marston (Birkbeck University of London), “Recognition-rebellion-freedom – emergent identities in Spinoza’s political philosophy”Nicolas Lema Habash (University of Paris 1, Panthéon-Sorbonne), “Spinoza’s political exception? The problem of sovereign interruption in the Theological-Political Treatise”Marie Wuth (University of Aberdeen), “Daily Invectives: The State of Bitter Hate”Chair: Jacob Zellmer (UC San Diego)16.30 – 17.15 	Break 17.15 – 18.45 	Keynote: Hasana Sharp (McGill University), “I dare not mutter a word”: Truth, Lies, and Political Violence in SpinozaChair: Marie Wuth (University of Aberdeen)

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