Abstract

To become more free, Spinoza argues, we need to develop the virtue of fortitudo - the determination to enlarge our understanding and live as it dictates. In an era of post-factual politics, there is arguably a need for this virtue, and in this piece I examine Spinoza's account of the process by which it is acquired. As he sees it, I argue, the process is gradual and is always a collective one. Part of the task of politics is therefore to cultivate fortitudo.