Marx, Spinoza and Darwin

“All of a sudden, while reading about Spinoza and Marx, the reader is surprised by passages on fiscal adjustments, precarious labor and Japanese robots; or while reading about Darwin and religious thought, is surprised by passages on the social stigmas of HIV/AIDS and Pope Benedict XVI’s declarations – all of it contextualized. As the reading progresses, recognition grows stronger: a patient and firm construction of a powerful project of science affirmation and political transformation on solid philosophical grounds.” -- João Abreu, PhD in Theory of Law at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and author of The problem of private property in Spinoza. “This work by Maurício Vieira Martins eloquently exemplifies the author’s greatest merits. An absolute mastery of philosophical and sociological debates on Marx’s work, as well as on Darwin’s theory of evolution and Spinoza’s philosophy. A mastery that Martins translates into a combination of analytical depth and the ability to always make himself understood. The book is an introduction to the thinking of one of the most brilliant Marxist intellectuals of his generation.” -- Marcelo Badaró Mattos, Full Professor of History at the Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil, and author of The Working Class from Marx to Our Times. “The book reflects years of theoretically rigorous and politically committed research. For Marxists, the book offers a chance to learn more about Spinoza’s philosophy and the philosophical implications of Darwin’s work. It is not exactly innovative to recognize Marx, Spinoza and Darwin as thinkers of immanence. Absolutely innovative, commendable, however, is to recognize them in the way Maurício Vieira Martins has done, especially in this time of proliferation of religious fundamentalisms and conservative thinking.” -- João Leonardo Medeiros, Full Professor of Political Economy at the Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil, and author of The Economy in the face of economic horror. Marx, Spinoza and Darwin on Philosophy presents a common thread in its argument: it shows how these authors–certainly with differences among themselves–consolidated a field of investigation that does not resort to transcendent or religious premises in approaching the phenomena they analyze. Thus, when Spinoza declared that the “will of God” is the “sanctuary of ignorance,” when Marx provocatively maintained that “criticism of religion is the premise of all criticism,” or when Darwin polemicized against a millennial creationist approach, all were taking a stand that invited us to view our world through a secular and immanent lens. In addition to this common thread, Martins discusses other issues present in the works of these thinkers, for instance the space that exists for human subjectivity from a Marxist perspective (which is not to be confused with philosophical “objectivism”): men and women are encouraged to act in the world. With this conceptual background, the concluding chapters of the book address the proliferation of some less examined Christian fundamentalisms in contemporary world, presenting an explanatory hypothesis for the phenomenon. Mauricio Vieira Martins obtained his Ph.D. in Philosophy with a disciplinary background also in Sociology and Politics. He is a retired Professor at the Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil, where he is still active in the Center for Studies and Research on Marx and Marxism (NIEP/Marx).