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The Questions

Dirk van Weelden and Mediamatic formulated 16 questions based on the ideas of Spinoza. Choose a question that compels you to participate in the discussion.

Each question has its own forum. Log in to respond, to start a new discussion, or to raise a question yourself.

Question:10 topics 1 1

Freedom of speech, who benefits from that?

Spinoza is one of the first philosophers in the 17th Century to view society like nature: like a network of causes and…
Question:5 topics 4

If you don’t recognize yourself in a law, are you being oppressed or are you just part of…

In an ideal democracy, laws are temporarily the best tools to serve the public interest as viewed by the majority, without violating…
Question:2 topics 2

Do those who demand respect call for equal rights? Or for more than that?

Strictly speaking, respect always means the honoring of equal rights, but by respect, people usually mean a certain esteem or even…
Question:9 topics 18

What do you think God is doing right now?

Many people tend to forget, they unquestioningly imagine God as a person, but one who reigns over the universe.    To Spinoza…
Question:7 topics 5

Why do you do as you're told?

We may be fully convinced when obeying the law and taking up expectations and requests from others, or at least once in a while. But…
Question:8 topics 6

Why is cannibalism bad?

Usually, people invoke holiness of the human or a decree of divine nature. But Spinoza would say science has to give the answer in…
Question:3 topics 4

Is it wrong to get sentenced to prison for throwing gum on the street?

A question reminding us, that laws are invented to serve the common good by setting rules and creating punishment, for safety as…
Question:2 topics

Do minorities serve a purpose, or are they merely a problem?

Spinoza’s idea that there’s only one reality, suggests that no phenomenon is more real than the next. Everything is equally…

Question:5 topics 1 2

Where can I find the rules for creating new rules?

Spinoza’s most important contribution to modern democracy is this radical idea: he views the state and the political system as a…
Question:6 topics 3

Are all opinions equally good?

Now that everyone can publish their opinions twenty-four seven from their mobile, it may seem as though democracy entails all…
Question:3 topics 2

Which ideas are so dangerous they should be kept from the public?

This is a question that occupied Spinoza’s thoughts on a daily base. He was convinced that he and his friends were not safe and…
Question:3 topics 7

When you start thinking you truly become frightened?

Many people hate insecurity and doubt. They think fixed values and invariable rules are a guarantee to happiness. Spinoza is a…
Question:5 topics 1

Should power be based on more than on violence? And if so, on what?

 Spinoza thinks people acknowledge the authority of the state for two reasons: because of fear and self-interest. As long as the…
Question:3 topics 4

When does the state become the enemy of the civilians?

The authority of kings, dictators and the state is traditionally based on God, or one or the other historical necessity or idea.…
Question:4 topics 3

Where do all the freely stated opinions go?

Or: who claims what against who? Against a crowd of cabaret fans, you don’t have to underpin your claims with arguments, but under…
Question:13 topics 7

Why is it a crime to kick a dog, but not to eat a cow?

People take for granted using all plants and animals as they wish. Based on which arguments do some limit themselves in that…