11 April

Spinoza made visible an impossible tension at the heart of all of our lives. What is ‘right’, in terms of morals but also facts and knowledge, is always in opposition to what is socially acceptable or popular. If you want to live a life that is based on what is right, you will always be in opposition to most of the people you know. Our wrong ideas about democracy encourage us to think the ‘consensus’ view on something is the right view. But consensus comes from battling social teams, fighting for status. A negotiated ceasefire. It has nothing to do with what is objectively right. Spinoza refused to compromise. His own community literally cast him out. 350 years after his death they still haven’t forgiven him.