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As part of our new Thuistezien program where we explore all the ways we can engage and exchange together through the available technologies and techniques, we are launching a series of Spinozan conversations, where host of our Spinoza Circles, Baruch Gottlieb will meet and discuss with contemporary thinkers for whom Spinoza's thinking offers some helpful insights into our contemporary condition.

For our first session we are happy to welcome Mateusz Janik from the Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Political Studies. Together we will discuss some of his research into the influence of Chinese philosophy on Early Modern European thinking in general and on Spinozism in particular, a damning label used in the 18th century to exclude certain vectors of philosophical argument from the academy.

We will be streaming the discussion live on Wednesday April 15th at 15:00 and will be taking audience questions at the end.

Mateusz Janik works in the field early modern political philosophy and metaphysics. He is the author of ‘Spinoza’s Political Ontology’ (inPolish 2017) and a variety of papers on political and social thought. His current research interests are focused on the global and comparative philosophy, particularly the reception and impact of neo-Confucian thought on the early modern European philosophy.