Spinoza on Theodicy as Foolish Wonder

In this paper I consider the place of theodicy in Spinoza’s well-known critique of clerical power.  In his Theological-Political Treatise, Spinoza explains how clerical authorities maintain power by driving a feedback loop between fear and superstition.  Although Spinoza criticizes the philosophical underpinnings of theodicy itself, he also criticizes its promulgation as pernicious. Drawing on Spinoza’s account of the affects, I connect Spinoza’s view about the dangers of theodicy in terms of his account of wonder, and more broadly to 17th century concerns about the dangers of wonder—as opposed to curiosity—in natural philosophy.  Understood as foolish wonder, we will be in a position to see how theodicy relates to the fear/superstition loop.  I close by briefly comparing Spinoza’s criticism of theodicy to that of contemporary critics.