Philosophical Reflections: on Life, Freedom, and Governance

I’m currently reading The History of Philosophy by A.C. Grayling1 and am at the part where the author describes the philosophical thoughts of Baruch Spinoza, born in 1632 in Amsterdam. Grayling explains Spinoza’s ideas about the best life and the purpose of the state (or government). Below are some parts that caught my attention.

Regarding the best life, the author explained that Spinoza’s aim,

“was to show that the best life is a life in which reason reveals the true nature of things, so that by understanding them we can be liberated from the bondage both of false beliefs and of misdirected, because inevitably futile, passions.” (P. 212)

About the state (or government), Spinoza thought that,

“it is a mistake for a state to think that it can control what people inwardly think, although it is right that is should aim to encourage outward behavior that ensures peace, safety and well-being in society. He described the “ultimate purpose” of the state as being “not to dominate or control people by fear or subject them to the authority of another. On the contrary, its aim is to free everyone from fear, so that they may live in security … that they may retain to the highest possible degree their natural right to live and to act without harm to themselves or to others … to allow their minds and bodies to develop in their own ways, in security, and enjoy the free use of reason, and not to participate in conflicts based on hatred, anger, or deceit, or in malicious disputes with each other. Therefore, the true purpose of the state is in fact freedom.” 

“What is private and personal to each individual in the way of his or her thoughts and beliefs cannot be a matter for law or a sovereign’s commands. “Everyone is by absolutely natural right the master of his own thoughts,” he (Spinoza) wrote, “and utter failure will attend any attempt in a commonwealth to force men to speak only as prescribed by the sovereign despite their different and opposing opinions.” There will be disagreement and arguments, but good government will be tolerant and will recognize that worse vices arise from trying to control though than by allowing it to be free. Moreover, freedom of thought “is of the first importance in fostering the sciences and arts for only those whose judgement is free and unbiased can attain success in these fields.”(P. 216-217)

It’s amazing how philosophers have been formulating thoughts about life, ethics, and politics for centuries. I’m looking at our current environment and thinking that this philosopher from the 1600s is describing something that is impacting us now. 

Why is it that freedom is so crucial but so challenging to preserve?

  1. Grayling, A.C. The History of Philosophy. New York: Penguin Press, 2019 ↩︎

43 thoughts on “Philosophical Reflections: on Life, Freedom, and Governance”

  1. Clare Carlisle’s book <i>Spinoza’s Religion</i> is a great read if you want to know more about the philosopher’s life and times. From a review I wrote for the public library’s “comments” page:

    The book draws the connections between Spinoza’s thought and the legacy of Aquinas and Anselm, and suggests that he resisted a new conception of “religion” following the Reformation. In the struggle over doctrines and creeds, the original sense of religio as a personal virtue, a form of piety, was lost. The older conception of religion, as preserved by Spinoza, conceived God as immanent, a necessary part of nature and being, yet also its transcendent ideal. Modernity, with its doctrinal approach to faith and analytical approach to nature, came to conceive God as purely transcendent, separated from nature, and eventually not required. The loss of belonging, of “being-in-God,” has resulted in “diseases of modernity” mentioned by Carlisle, and recognized by many other scholars. As she develops her interpretation of Spinoza’s ideas, she suggests that philosophers at the dawn of modernity could have learned more from him, and in the evening of modernity, so can we.

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  2. Hi Edward
    Thanks for quoting Spinoza and ideas about Spinoza’s philosophy. I read Spinoza as a student a long time ago. I had nearly forgotten his basic ideas but your post made them coming back into my mind.
    Thank you
    Klausbernd 🙂

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  5. You never fail to share your finds of gifts on target dappling in philosophy pertaining to how it shows up in our world today.

    The question of the ages💕

    Why is it that freedom is so crucial but so challenging to preserve?

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    1. Thank you so much, Cindy, for your comment. You’re right; that’s the question of the ages. I mentioned to Vicki that it seems certain people enjoy a form of freedom that allows them to impose their beliefs on others, resulting in the infringement of everyone’s freedoms, which is crazy.

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    1. Of course, we have to keep stimulating and stretching our brains. This one is going to stretch it for 597 pages. 🤓 Something else that I learned from reading this book was that Renaissance Humanism believes that studying grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry, and ethics helps develop well-rounded and effective citizens. Your poetry and the works of others in my WP community are beautifully contributing to that endeavor. Thank you, Michele, for always reading my posts and for your kind words.

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  9. I like this line a lot, “…by understanding them we can be liberated from the bondage both of false beliefs”. Understanding, and maybe the simple ability to seek out understanding is what will actually liberate us from false information. I work as a carpet cleaner, and I’ll be pondering this the next time I’m working on a big job for sure. Thanks, Edward!

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  10. It comes to my mind that even though each and every person is free to create his or her own thoughts, there is a sort of subtle mind conditioning or programming related to the society he or she is born in. Ultimately, unless a person becomes aware of such conditioning and is willing to reset the program, he or she is somehow a “prisoner” of the system. Until then, freedom of thought is still partial and conditional, even if in subtle ways. Wonderful reflection, Edward! Thank you for enlarging our minds and hearts. Lots of light and blessings to you, my friend 🙏 💫

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    1. Susana, I really liked how you explained it, especially this part: “there is a sort of subtle mind conditioning or programming related to the society he or she is born in. Ultimately, unless a person becomes aware of such conditioning and is willing to reset the program, he or she is somehow a “prisoner” of the system.” I think you are right, and your comment clarified some additional questions and thoughts that I had. Thank you for your insights that are always helpful.

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  11. When do we humans stop retreading the same foundational constructs? Oh my. Thanks, Edward. This struck me as a truth and one that I cannot believe we’re still grappling with…if only people could challenge and consider before following/adopting points of view…maybe more people would have the capacity to be “liberated from the bondage of false beliefs”.

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    1. It’s incredible. It seems like certain people enjoy freedom, but it’s a special kind of freedom—one that allows them to impose their beliefs on others, resulting in the infringement of everyone’s freedoms. It’s definitely a crazy cycle, like the Tom Cruise movie, The Edge of Tomorrow, reliving things over and over again.

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  13. Simple yet very meaningful. I wish some of the world leaders read this as it would surely improve many current situations all over the world.

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    1. Thank you, Michael. You are absolutely right, but I think some leaders prefer difficult and painful paths for some reason. Maybe they feel good about themselves knowing that they are making life difficult for everyone else.

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  14. Nice post, Edward. I also have Grayling’s book (and a few others of his). Whenever I read philosophy I’m always struck by how how we ask the same questions over and over again, and don’t seem to get much wiser! 🤷🏼‍♀️😊

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    1. I know, right? It’s just weird. We know what right looks like, but we get stuck in this vicious cycle where we are unable to learn from past mistakes. Great book so far, and I might read some of his others at some point.

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    1. Indeed, and you know the sad part is that there are not enough voices in the public domain countering those aspects. I was depending on news outlets to inform the truth, but now they seem like they are fueling and spreading those aspects. They are really making it worse.

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