'One and All': Herder's Spinoza Appropriation in God, some Conversations

The essay explores hitherto neglected aspects of Herder's reception and appropriation of Spinoza. Focusing on the philosophical dialogue Gott, einige Gesprache (1787;1800), three decisive issues in Herder's Spinoza interpretation are given special consideration: (1) the relation between the world of finite beings (natura naturata) and infinite, absolute Substance (natura naturans); (2) the ontological status and epistemological function of the individual not merely as a 'modification' of God/Nature, but as an assemblage of self-conscious reflective powers (Krafte); and (3) the possibility of scientia intuitiva or the 'third' level of knowledge in Spinoza, not simply in logic, metaphysics and mathematics, but also in the realm of the human sciences and in empirical natural science. In particular, the feminine figure of Theano in Gott is read as the key figure of the dialogue through which Herder is able to work through and come to terms with tensions that had become acute in the Pantheismusstreit of 1785-1787.