ABSTRACT
This chapter looks closer at Spinoza’s political philosophy as this connects with an educational notion of balancing resistance. It discusses the double role of education in relation to the double role of Spinoza’s conception of the state: to moderate and restrain harmful passive affects and to maximize the degree of freedom of the individual within the limits of the state. The parallel between the governance of the state and the governance of the classroom, in turn, calls for a discussion on teaching and authority and on indoctrination and education. It is concluded that the Spinozistic teacher functions as a therapist of sorts, helping the student overcome harmful passive affects that stand in the way of a more long-term sense of happiness. In doing so it returns to one of the central themes of this book, namely the notion that a Spinozistic education may be conceived as a way of combating mental illness.
