@article{ART001321001},
author={EungJong Kim},
title={The Philosophical Origin of the Modern Atheism －the Cases of Benedictus de Spinoza and Pierre Bayle－},
journal={Korean Review of French History},
issn={1229-702X},
year={2009},
number={20},
pages={45-72}
TY - JOUR
AU - EungJong Kim
TI - The Philosophical Origin of the Modern Atheism －the Cases of Benedictus de Spinoza and Pierre Bayle－
JO - Korean Review of French History
PY - 2009
VL - null
IS - 20
PB - KOREAN SOCIETY FOR FRENCH HISTORY
SP - 45
EP - 72
SN - 1229-702X
AB - The purpose of this article is to examine the particular ‘mode’ of the atheism of the 17th century philosophers, Benedictus de Spinoza and Pierre Bayle, and to verify the genetic relationship between the ‘philosophy’ and the atheism.
Spinoza and Bayle had the philosophical perspectives in common. They interpreted the religion by means of the ‘reason’, and considered the law of the nature instead of the God’s arbitrary intervention like the miracles to be the Providence. In this sense, they are naturalistic philosopher. They proved the existence of the God, bud their God is different from that of the Christianism. Their religion is moral in that the humans are saved not by the faith but by the good works. They argue that the atheists can be moral because the religion isn’t the sole origin of the morality. In fact, Spinoza and Bayle were the moral atheists. It is natural that both the Catholic church and the Protestant church criticized and condemned them as dangerous atheist.
Spinoza is undeniably atheist. Bayle criticized him the most systematic atheist. On the other hand, it isn’t easy to conclude the case of Bayle due to his repetitive confirmations of the fideism and his self-definition as ‘christian philosopher’. I share the opinion of the atheists of the Enlightenment who listed Bayle in the atheist genealogy. So, it is too simple to judge him as fideist. His fideism should be interpreted as the simple reuse of the traditional christian fideism that the religion can’t be grasped by the reason. I think that Bayle took the indirect route to emphasize the unreasonableness of the Christianism.
They became atheist because they were philosophers. In the 17th century, the philosophy cannot be compatible with the religion. Though Bayle declared that he was “christian philosopher”, he knew very well that he was obliged to choose between the philosophy and the religion. His fideism is thought to be only apparent. He was a skeptical philosopher. The incompatibility of the 17th century philosophy with the religion issued from its scepticism. The philosophers liberated the reason from the status of the maid of the theology, and then judged the religion in the court of the reason. The Bible was no longer the source of the knowledge but its object. The Bible in the light of the reason is unreasonable and erroneous. They are interested in the deism which attached importance to the rational religiosity. Spinoza and Bayle can be classified among the deists. In spite of the theistic appearance of the deism, the deism isn’t different from the atheism, in the viewpoint of the christianism.
KW - Spinoza;Pierre Bayle;Naturalism;Philosophy;Reason;Atheism;Deism;
Fideism
DO -
UR -
ER -
EungJong Kim. (2009). The Philosophical Origin of the Modern Atheism －the Cases of Benedictus de Spinoza and Pierre Bayle－. Korean Review of French History, 20, 45-72.
EungJong Kim. 2009, "The Philosophical Origin of the Modern Atheism －the Cases of Benedictus de Spinoza and Pierre Bayle－", Korean Review of French History, no.20, pp.45-72.
EungJong Kim "The Philosophical Origin of the Modern Atheism －the Cases of Benedictus de Spinoza and Pierre Bayle－" Korean Review of French History 20 pp.45-72 (2009) : 45.
EungJong Kim. The Philosophical Origin of the Modern Atheism －the Cases of Benedictus de Spinoza and Pierre Bayle－. 2009; 20 : 45-72.
EungJong Kim. "The Philosophical Origin of the Modern Atheism －the Cases of Benedictus de Spinoza and Pierre Bayle－" Korean Review of French History no.20(2009) : 45-72.
EungJong Kim. The Philosophical Origin of the Modern Atheism －the Cases of Benedictus de Spinoza and Pierre Bayle－. Korean Review of French History, 20, 45-72.
EungJong Kim. The Philosophical Origin of the Modern Atheism －the Cases of Benedictus de Spinoza and Pierre Bayle－. Korean Review of French History. 2009; 20 45-72.
EungJong Kim. The Philosophical Origin of the Modern Atheism －the Cases of Benedictus de Spinoza and Pierre Bayle－. 2009; 20 : 45-72.
EungJong Kim. "The Philosophical Origin of the Modern Atheism －the Cases of Benedictus de Spinoza and Pierre Bayle－" Korean Review of French History no.20(2009) : 45-72.
