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Franciscus van den Enden | |
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Born | |
Died | 27 November 1674 | (aged 72)
Era | 17th century philosophy |
Region | Western philosophy |
Main interests | |
Signature | |
Franciscus van den Enden, in later life also known as 'Affinius' (Latinized form of 'Van den Enden')[1][2][3] (c. 5 February 1602 – 27 November 1674) was a Flemish former Jesuit,[4] Neo-Latin poet, physician, art dealer, philosopher, and plotter against Louis XIV of France. Born in Antwerp, where he had a truncated career as a Jesuit and an art dealer, he moved later to the Dutch Republic where he became part of a group of radical thinkers sometimes referred to as the Amsterdam Circle, who challenged prevailing views on politics and religion.[5] He held strong ideas about education, and viewed theater as an important teaching tool. He was a Utopian planning to set up an ideal society in the Dutch colonies in America and a proponent of democracy in the administration of states. He is best known as the Latin teacher of Spinoza (1632–1677), with whom Spinoza boarded for a period. Scholars have examined Van den Enden's philosophical ideas and those of Spinoza to assess whether he influenced his pupil,[6] Spinoza biographer Steven Nadler suggests this is not the case.[7] Spinoza biographer Jonathan I. Israel argues that Van den Enden preceded Spinoza in writing radical philosophical texts with a combination of democratic republicanism, rejection of religious authority, and advocacy for basic equality, building on the influence of Pieter de la Court, but only after Spinoza left Amsterdam.[8] Van den Enden was implicated in a plot against Louis XIV and executed by hanging.[9]