Spinoza was the most moral philosopher. He was betrayed by Leibnitz and excommunicated by Jews and Christians. Like Hobbes, Spinoza did not see right or wrong in state of nature. The Sovereign is untouchable. The state should dictate policy. But unlike Hobbes, democracy is natural, free opinion is paramount. Spinoza was most interested in religion and … Read more
René Descartes (1596–1650) is rightly considered the founder of modern philosophy. He is the first important philosopher whose outlook is deeply affected by the new physics and astronomy. While he retains much of scholasticism, he does not accept foundations laid by predecessors, but tries to construct a complete and novel philosophic edifice. This had not … Read more
Aside from Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes was a pragmatic political philosopher and even more pragmatic than Machiavelli he was an empiricist who also was mathematical. Aversion is bad. Attraction is good. There is no objective morality, there is no theoretical way of mending two opposing points of view. There is no such thing as static … Read more
Francis Bacon’s most important book, The Advancement of Learning, is remarkably modern. He is commonly regarded as the originator of the saying ‘Knowledge is power’. The basis of his philosophy was practical: to give mankind mastery over the forces of nature by means of scientific discoveries and inventions. He held that philosophy should be separate … Read more
Machiavelli was shocking, but other philosophers would be equally shocking if they were free from bullshit. Such honesty about political dishonesty would have been hardly possible in another age, except perhaps in Greece during the time of the sophists. When Savonarola dominated Florence in his twenties, his miserable end made an impression on Machiavelli, for … Read more
Chapter XIII: ST Thomas Aquinas St Thomas’s most important work was the Summa contra Gentiles (1259–64). It tried to establish the truth of Christianity by arguments to a non-Christian, likely a man versed in the philosophy of the Arabs. His other book, Summa Theologiae, is of equal importance, but it assumes the truth of Christianity before … Read more
Zeno, the founder of Stoicism (a school of thought that appealed to rulers), was a Phoenician. When it comes to preaching about the superiority of slaves or the brotherhood of man, there are few philosophies that could compare to Stoicism during that moment in history. Stoicism, unlike the earlier purely Greek philosophies, is emotionally narrow and … Read more
There are two kinds of virtues: intellectual and moral, corresponding to the two parts of the soul. Intellectual virtues result from teaching, moral virtues from habit. To create a virtuous society, you must create laws that cause citizens to acquire good habits. With time, pleasure comes from performing these good habits. The Golden Mean The … Read more
Plato argues that anything that distracts man from the pursuit of the vision of truth and philosophy should be avoided, and this includes the pleasures of the senses. With each instance of pleasure and pain, the soul becomes more closely identified with the body, until there is no longer any separation. Man becomes a purely … Read more
Plato held the aristocratic opinion that only those who were relieved of having to worry about their daily subsistence were capable of gaining wisdom. Who are they? The wealthy and the political elite. But what is wisdom? And how can someone gain political power through wisdom? Perhaps some kind of training is necessary, but what … Read more