Lessing

Summary

Dominique Pagani mentions Lessing briefly but repeatedly, almost always in connection with the same remark: he recalls that Lessing observed that Spinoza was being treated "like a dead dog"12. He presents him as a figure of the Aufklärung3, whom he calls its "summit" or the "glory of the German Enlightenment". In a more recent session, he counts him among the founders of German literature4. He also reports that Lessing is said to have declared himself a Spinozist at the end of his life, which at the time, he specifies, amounted to declaring oneself an atheist5. These mentions appear in varied contexts: a presentation of Hegel, tributes to Jacques D'Hondt and to Domenico Losurdo, and a session on Europe and war. Lessing serves above all as a witness to the reception of Spinoza in Enlightenment Germany. The passages contain no detailed reading of his works. From 2014 to 2026, the remark about Spinoza recurs unchanged.

1. 1H for Hegel22 Dec 2014 · 3:35
2. 2Tribute to Domenico Losurdo2 Jul 2018 · 2:42
3. 3Hegel on the Beach 1/51 Feb 2016 · 19:23
4. 4Their “Europe” means war28 Feb 2026 · 17:26
5. 5Tribute to Jacques D'Hondt (1)2 Aug 2016 · 21:07

Summary produced automatically from 5 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.