Chapter 1. Spinoza’s Political Theory and Its Consequences for Civic Education: On Prophets, Philosophers, and Educators -- Chapter 2. Illusions and Fictions: Educating the Imagination -- Chapter 3. The Pedagogical Importance of Ingenium: Exemplarism and Popular Narratives -- Chapter 4. Teaching Doctrines to People: Manipulation and Civic Education -- Chapter 5. Spinoza’s Lesson to the Contemporary Political Imagination.

This book is a philosophical enquiry into the educational consequences of Spinoza’s political theory. Spinoza’s political theory is of particular interest for educational thought as it brings together the normative aims of his ethical theory with his realistic depiction of human psychology and the ramifications of this for successful political governance. As such, this book aims to introduce the reader to Spinoza’s original vision of civic education, as a project that ultimately aims at the ethical flourishing of individuals, while being carefully tailored and adjusted to the natural limitations of human reason. Readers will benefit from a succinct introduction to Spinoza’s political philosophy and from an account of civic education that is based on careful exegetical work. It draws conclusions only hinted at in Spinoza’s own writings.