Ingenium and the Argument for Religious Toleration in Spinoza

Human beings have different likes and dislikes, different beliefs and prejudices, different hopes and fears. These features of one’s temperament (or ingenium, as Spinoza often calls it) contribute to our individuality. This conception of individuality plays a special role in some of Spinoza’s discussions of religious freedom. Because of their different ingenia, some people are attracted to different religions, which, Spinoza argues, is deserving of toleration. But, for Spinoza, ingenia pertain not only to individuals, but to groups of individuals. One might think that the argument for toleration would transfer more or less directly from individuals to groups of individuals. But, I argue, it is more complicated than that.