PRACTICE AND THE THEORY: SPINOZA AGAINST THE PHILOSOPHERS

Abstract

This article aims to analyze and qualify Spinoza’s criticisms of philosophers and theologians, undertaken at the beginning of Tractatus Politicus and in other works. Besides examining the semantic field involving both categories in the author, the paper highlights the concept of extorsio (extorsion) which contains ethical, social, and political dimensions, at the heart of theological-political domination.