His magnum opus, the posthumous ethics, in which he opposed descartes mindbody dualism, has earned him recognition as one of western philosophys most important thinkers. Offering a new reading of spinozas masterpiece, smith asserts that the ethics is a celebration of human freedom and its attendant. The best book for you will depend on your preferred learning style and the amount of time that you want to spend reading about spinoza. Entertainingly written, more like a historical novel than a serious biography, with a short preface by einstein. It was written between 1661 and 1675 1 and was first published posthumously in 1677. By laying the groundwork for the 18thcentury enlightenment and modern biblical criticism, i. Buy ethics penguin classics new ed by spinoza, benedict, hampshire, stuart, curley, edwin isbn. Help us create the kind of literary community youve always dreamed of. The essays collected in this volume suggest that what applies to althusser applies to his whole generation that spinoza is an unsuspected but very real presence in the work of contemporary philosophers from deleuze and lacan to foucault and derrida. It seems this was the declaration many had been waiting for in the land of israel. Hasana sharps spinoza and the politics of renaturalization is one the most invigorating books published in philosophy this year. Spinozas philosophy encompasses nearly every area of philosophical discourse, including metaphysics, epistemology, political philosophy, ethics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science. Where deleuzian and postalthusserian accounts of spinoza occasionally take all the affect out of one of the traditions most effective writers, sharps book is eminently readable and clear about the stakes. A first look at its main principles could bring the uninformed reader to believe that it is the same as hobbess.
Also included are selections from other works by spinoza, chosen by curley to make the ethics easier to understand, and a substantial introduction that gives an overview of spinozas life and the main. The reader is presented with a living debate engaged by firstrate scholars, who come to grips with the ideas of a philosopher seen as one of the few founders of the modern mind. Spinozas book, the posthumous ethics, in which he opposed descartes mind body dualism, has earned him recognition as one of western. Andrew youpa is associate professor of philosophy at southern illinois.
Buy a cheap copy of a spinoza reader book by baruch spinoza. According to spinoza, the true order and connection of ideas is known not through experience and habit, but through reason. The ethics, on the improvement of the understanding, and a theologicopolitical treatise all four parts. Baruch spinoza has 178 books on goodreads with 118128 ratings. Baruch spinoza 16321677 was one of the most important philosophers of all time. Ethics archived 20150226 at the wayback machine, by geo.
I wrote an undergraduate thesis largely on the subject of just how thoroughly he is misunderstoodspecifically how his discovery was the first western iteration of the one ma. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Land seorsum repetita classic reprint, and more on. He published his public writings anonymously, but his most farreaching book, ethics, was discovered in a drawer in his home following his death. Then, one day i finally found him, i finally encountered what my soul was wanting in the late yirmiyahu yovels book spinoza and other. Yalom draws much of the discussion verbatim from spinozas two great books. This was the first complete biography of spinoza in any language and is based on detailed archival research. In the secondary scholarship, nadler has been a oneman spinoza industry recently. According to spinoza, god is nature, and nature is. Spinoza, along with descartes and leibniz, is considered on of the great rationalists of the 16th and 17th centuries. Most readers of spinoza treat him as a pure metaphysician, a grim determinist, or a stoic moralist, but none of these descriptions captures the author of the ethics, argues steven b.
Designed to facilitate a thoughtful and informed reading of spinoza s ethics, this anthology provides the ethics, related writings, and two valuable appendices. See all books authored by baruch spinoza, including the portable atheist. Although it was published posthumously in 1677, it is his most famous work, and is considered his magnum opus. The exposition is simply presented for lay readers, with the explosive nature of his thinking retained.
In accordance with the wishes of his father he studied theology, but soon showed a decided preference for free philosophical speculation. This would have become the first edition of spinozas controversial masterpiece in english, but the translation remained. Feb 01, 2003 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. In calling something cause of itself i mean that its essence involves existence, i. His ideas on religion, politics, ethics, human psychology and metaphysics, presented in. Whereas studies of spinoza in english have emphasized the logic of the ethics, these essays instead focus on the marginal and developmental moments that have had such a profound effect on french thought. Baruch spinoza 16321677 was a prominent dutch philosopher and along with rene descartes, he was a leading philosophical figure of the dutch golden age. This is the first complete biography of spinoza in any language and is based on detailed archival research. Edwin curley, professor of philosophy at the university of illinois at chicago, is the author of behind the geometrical method. In 1932, yehoshua yehuda cohen wrote in the pages of doar hayom that it is impossible to say that we do not now relate to spinoza with all due respect. Both descartes and leibniz found a place in their systems for something like the traditional judeochristian god, a personal god, who. This page contains a list of the best books on or by spinoza. Ways into reading spinoza philosophical bibliotherapy.
Spinoza s political philosophy is scattered in three books, the theologicopolitical treatise, the ethics and the political treatise. The seven best books on or by spinoza the daily idea. Mar 28, 2011 according to spinoza, the true order and connection of ideas is known not through experience and habit, but through reason. Ethics, demonstrated in geometrical order usually known as the ethics, is a philosophical. I do not read latin nor am i an expert on spinoza or his ethicha but the french translation helps me to put other translations in, e. Spinoza now is an important addition to a new strand of literature on philosopher baruch spinoza. To see the presence of spinoza, louis althusser once quipped, one must at least have heard of him. A life, an introduction to spinozas ethics spinozas ethics. The small pocket book edition of spinozas ethica contains the latin original and the french translation of the ethica. Practical philosophy by gilles deleuze, looking for spinoza. Project gutenberg offers 61,918 free ebooks to download. Born just prior to the age of enlightenment, baruch spinoza laid the groundwork for radical thought in 17th c europe regarding the existence and definition of god. Ethica, ordine geometrico demonstrata, usually known as the ethics, is a philosophical treatise written in latin by baruch spinoza.
It is a strong collection of essays that are individually thoughtprovoking and collectively coherent, giving the widest possible overview of the interesting work being done on spinoza today. Leibniz, spinoza e il destino di dio nel mondo moderno. The spinoza problem is engrossing, enlightening, disturbing and ultimately deeply satisfying. Ex editione operum quoquot reperta sunt quam curaverant j. The book displays a panoramic picture of spinoza scholarship. Spinoza is the only thinker to both espouse and explicate the existence and operation of the human mind. Baruch spinoza was a dutch philosopher of sephardiportuguese origin. The new spinoza articulates that presence, making the influence and significance of spinoza perfectly clear for a new generation of philosophy. In his perceptive new book, joshua parens sets out to. What should i read to learn about spinozas philososphy. Abraham verghese, author of cutting for stone in 1909, sixteenyearold alfred rosenberg is called into his headmasters office for making antisemitic remarks. Among philosophers, spinoza is best known for his ethics, a monumental work that presents an ethical vision unfolding out of a monistic metaphysics in which. It is a strong collection of essays that are individually thoughtprovoking and collectively coherent, giving the widest possible overview of the interesting. Spinozas thought is discussed both in the sections of the book set in the netherlands and in the sections set in nazi germany.
Much like mozart as the pinnacle of baroque music, spinoza was the pinnacle of latin academic writings in rationalist philosophy. Feb 01, 2003 enter your search terms separated by spaces, then press. Nov 22, 2016 spinoza is by far the most poorly understood western philosopherperiod. Spinoza s ancestors were persecuted in the spanish inquisition, moving to portugal and then to holland, which showed more toleration. Offering a new reading of spinozas masterpiece, smith asserts that the ethics is a celebration of human freedom and its attendant joys and responsibilities and. Project gutenberg offers 61,951 free ebooks to download.
It was written between 1661 and 1675 and was first published posthumously in 1677 the book is perhaps the most ambitious attempt to apply the method of euclid in philosophy. An authoritative edition of george eliots elegant translation of spinozas greatest philosophical work. Read then some commentary, like pollocks spinoza, or martineaus study of spinoza, or better, both. However, a new scholarly consensus has recently emerged that the teachings of the two philosophers were in fact much closer than was previously thought. Spinoza began to appear as a subject of research and debate in dozens of articles and books. Baruch spinoza was born to portuguese jews living in exile in holland, but his life among the marranos there was often unsettled. Just to be clear, there is no single best book on spinoza. On god, on man, and on mans well being by baruch spinoza, joseph ratner, et al. Despite an early rabbinical education, he was expelled from the synagogue at amsterdam for defending heretical opinions in 1656. Uncorrected paperswallace matson 4 excellent essays on spinoza start there. Spinoza, by roger scruton spinoza a life, by steven nadler. Baruch spinoza is sometimes called the father of modernity. The twentyfive articles collected for this anthology display a wide range of interpretations to central themes in spinoza s philosophy. The living thoughts of spinoza, by arnold zweig on spinoza, by diane steinberg.
The twentyfive articles collected for this anthology display a wide range of interpretations to central themes in spinozas philosophy. Synopsis baruch spinoza 16321677 was one of the most important philosophers of all time. Read the book not all at once, but in small portions at many sittings. The breadth and importance of spinozas work was not fully realized until many years after his death. What is the best book of spinoza to begin with his work. The story of spinozas life takes the reader into the heart of jewish amsterdam in the seventeenth century and, with spinozas exile from judaism, into the midst of the tumultuous political, social, intellectual, and religious world. It earned spinoza an enduring reputation as one of the most important and original thinkers of the seventeenth century. And having finished it, consider that you have but begun to understand it. This brings us back to the deductive, geometrical structure of the ethics. Click here for more information the only complete edition in english of baruch spinozas works, this volume features samuel shirleys preeminent translations, distinguished at once by the lucidity and fluency with which they convey the flavor and meaning of spinozas original texts. Samuel shirley, who translated spinozas complete works. Baruch spinoza books list of books by author baruch spinoza.
In his most important book, titled ethics demonstrated in a geometrical manner, spinoza argues for a radically new picture of the universe to rival the traditional. An authoritative edition of george eliots elegant translation of spinoza s greatest philosophical work. An 800page scholarly overview is unlikely to be best for someone looking for a short beginnerfriendly introduction, for example. List of propositions from the ethics, which helps readers to trace the development of key themes. Both descartes and leibniz found a place in their systems for something like the traditional judeochristian god, a personal god, who created. This would have become the first edition of spinoza s controversial masterpiece in. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. Until the last century, it was generally agreed that maimonides was a great defender of judaism, and spinozaas an enlightenment advocate for secularizationamong its key opponents. Oberto marrama, consciousness, ideas of ideas and animation in spinozas ethics, british journal for the history of philosophy, may 2017. Leggere letica di spinoza con questo strumento sara piu agevole. Of the three of them, spinoza was philosophically the most radical. The philosophy of spinoza alfred weber b aruch benedict spinoza,1 spinosa, or despinoza, was born at amsterdam, in 1632, of portuguese jewish parents, who were, it seems, in good circumstances. Philosopher andrew youpa offers a novel reading of spinozas moral philosophy.