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136. - Obedience

from O

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2025

By
Daniel Garber
Edited by
Karolina Hübner  and
Justin Steinberg
Karolina Hübner
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Justin Steinberg
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
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Summary

In its most general sense, Spinoza defines obedience (obedientia) as “someone’s carrying out a command solely on the authority of the person who commands it” (TTP5.25). As such it has a very clear role to play in political life for Spinoza. In the case of obedience in the political context, there are a number of reasons why people obey the commands of another. For some, hope of reward and fear of punishment is what motivates them to obey.

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Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Spinoza Lexicon , pp. 393 - 395
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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References

Recommended Reading

Garber, D. (2024). Philosophy and theology, reason and revelation. In Garber, D. et al. (eds.), Spinoza: Reason, Religion, Politics. The Relation between the Ethics and the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Matheron, A. (1971). Le Christ et le salut des ignorants chez Spinoza. Aubier-Montaigne.Google Scholar
Pirola, F. (2017). L’obbedienza nel ‘Trattato teologico-politico’ di Spinoza. Filosofia politica, 31, 217–33.Google Scholar
Steinberg, J. (2018). Spinoza’s Political Psychology: The Taming of Fortune and Fear. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Totaro, P. (2014). Obedientia in Spinoza. In Simonutti, L. (ed.), Religious Obedience and Political Resistance in the Early Modern World (pp. 345–62). Brepols.Google Scholar
Verbeek, T. (2003). Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise: Exploring the Will of God. Routledge.Google Scholar

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