Spinoza: Six Reasons for Excommunicating the Philosopher

Spinoza: Six Reasons for Excommunicating the Philosopher

Special Screening in Cooperation with the Department of Philosophy, Heidelberg University

We are screening the film in conjunction with the conference “Conatus – Self-determination – Subjectivity – Hegel and/or/with Spinoza” at the Department of Philosophy in Heidelberg.

Following the screening, there will be a discussion with the film’s director, David Ofek, and philosophers Michael Engel (Heidelberg College of Jewish Studies), Yitzhak Y. Melamed (Johns Hopkins University), and Ursula Renz (University of Graz) on the therapeutic and practical dimensions of Spinoza’s philosophy.

Documentary

Baruch Spinoza was a Dutch-Jewish philosopher who revolutionized modern thought and declined a call to Heidelberg. His excommunication is a defining yet enigmatic event for understanding his work. How does the tension between philosophy and religion, reason and tradition—a tension that shapes modern society—manifest itself in the history of this event? Director David Ofek takes us on an intercontinental journey in which he traces six reasons for Spinoza’s expulsion from the Jewish community. Traveling between Amsterdam, The Hague, New York, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv, he makes surprising discoveries and traces the life of a man whose ideas continue to fascinate our culture to this day—ideas that remain revolutionary, spiritual, and radical. Spinoza’s philosophy, which often seems abstract, is shown here to be down-to-earth and practically relevant.