Excursions Into Libertarian Thought

George H. Smith continues his discussion of Benedict Spinoza by explaining how he defended freedom of religion and speech.

George H. Smith explains why Benedict Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise became one of the most scandalous books ever published.

George H. Smith discusses Benedict Spinoza’s controversial ideas about God, religion, and his criticism of the Design Argument.

George H. Smith explains Francis Bacon’s defense of certainty and his contributions to a secular worldview.

Pyrrhonic skepticism had a tremendous influence on religious debates in post-Reformation Europe.

George H. Smith explains the political implications of the deistic repudiation of special revelation and miracles.

George H. Smith explains the controversial arguments of the deist John Toland, as defended in Christianity not Mysterious.

George H. Smith explains why Edward Gibbon rejected miraculous accounts in his masterpiece, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

George H. Smith explains the basic tenets of deism and why it posed a political threat.

George H. Smith explains the origins of deism and its basic ideas.

George H. Smith explains some tactics that early freethinkers used in the attempt to avoid punishment for blasphemy and other religious crimes.

George H. Smith explores Shaftesbury’s defense of ridicule and satire in matters of religion.

George H. Smith explains how some leading Christian theologians justified the death penalty for heretics and blasphemers.

George H. Smith explains the similarities between medieval heresy and our modern notion of treason against the state.

Augustine argued that religious persecution was justified when done in the interest of the salvation of those persecuted.

George H. Smith begins his series on the historical relationship between religious skepticism and libertarianism.

George H. Smith discusses what Bernard Mandeville meant in saying that private vices produce public benefits, and how Francis Hutcheson criticized that theory.

George H. Smith discusses Bernard Mandeville’s defense of legal prostitution and other vices.

George H. Smith explains why Mandeville’s ideas about vice made him one of the most notorious writers of his time.