Spinozas book, the posthumous ethics, in which he opposed descartes mindbody dualism, has earned him recognition as one of western. A first look at its main principles could bring the uninformed reader to believe that it is the same as hobbess. Samuel shirley, who translated spinozas complete works. It was written between 1661 and 1675 1 and was first published posthumously in 1677. Philosopher andrew youpa offers a novel reading of spinozas moral philosophy. Read then some commentary, like pollocks spinoza, or martineaus study of spinoza, or better, both. Project gutenberg offers 61,951 free ebooks to download. Baruch spinoza is sometimes called the father of modernity.
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. Ethica, ordine geometrico demonstrata, usually known as the ethics, is a philosophical treatise written in latin by baruch spinoza. This is the first complete biography of spinoza in any language and is based on detailed archival research. Then, one day i finally found him, i finally encountered what my soul was wanting in the late yirmiyahu yovels book spinoza and other. 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. Buy ethics penguin classics new ed by spinoza, benedict, hampshire, stuart, curley, edwin isbn. An authoritative edition of george eliots elegant translation of spinozas greatest philosophical work. Baruch spinoza 16321677 was one of the most important philosophers of all time. List of propositions from the ethics, which helps readers to trace the development of key themes. 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. Practical philosophy by gilles deleuze, looking for spinoza.
Oberto marrama, consciousness, ideas of ideas and animation in spinozas ethics, british journal for the history of philosophy, may 2017. Baruch spinoza books list of books by author baruch spinoza. Feb 01, 2003 enter your search terms separated by spaces, then press. His ideas on religion, politics, ethics, human psychology and metaphysics, presented in. Ex editione operum quoquot reperta sunt quam curaverant j. This would have become the first edition of spinozas controversial masterpiece in english, but the translation remained. 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.
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. This was the first complete biography of spinoza in any language and is based on detailed archival research. In accordance with the wishes of his father he studied theology, but soon showed a decided preference for free philosophical speculation. The spinoza problem is engrossing, enlightening, disturbing and ultimately deeply satisfying.
Much like mozart as the pinnacle of baroque music, spinoza was the pinnacle of latin academic writings in rationalist philosophy. Baruch spinoza 16321677 was a prominent dutch philosopher and along with rene descartes, he was a leading philosophical figure of the dutch golden age. In the secondary scholarship, nadler has been a oneman spinoza industry recently. Offering a new reading of spinozas masterpiece, smith asserts that the ethics is a celebration of human freedom and its attendant. Spinoza s ancestors were persecuted in the spanish inquisition, moving to portugal and then to holland, which showed more toleration. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Ethics archived 20150226 at the wayback machine, by geo. 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. However, a new scholarly consensus has recently emerged that the teachings of the two philosophers were in fact much closer than was previously thought. Hasana sharps spinoza and the politics of renaturalization is one the most invigorating books published in philosophy this year. 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. 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. What is the best book of spinoza to begin with his work. Just to be clear, there is no single best book on 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. 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. 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. According to spinoza, the true order and connection of ideas is known not through experience and habit, but through reason. Spinoza now is an important addition to a new strand of literature on philosopher baruch spinoza.
Spinoza s political philosophy is scattered in three books, the theologicopolitical treatise, the ethics and the political treatise. A life, an introduction to spinozas ethics spinozas ethics. Designed to facilitate a thoughtful and informed reading of spinoza s ethics, this anthology provides the ethics, related writings, and two valuable appendices. Mar 28, 2011 according to spinoza, the true order and connection of ideas is known not through experience and habit, but through reason.
This page contains a list of the best books on or by spinoza. The new spinoza articulates that presence, making the influence and significance of spinoza perfectly clear for a new generation of philosophy. 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. It seems this was the declaration many had been waiting for in the land of israel. Baruch spinoza was a dutch philosopher of sephardiportuguese origin. 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. Spinoza began to appear as a subject of research and debate in dozens of articles and books. The ethics, on the improvement of the understanding, and a theologicopolitical treatise all four parts. Entertainingly written, more like a historical novel than a serious biography, with a short preface by einstein. Land seorsum repetita classic reprint, and more on. It is a strong collection of essays that are individually thoughtprovoking and collectively coherent, giving the widest possible overview of the interesting.
This brings us back to the deductive, geometrical structure of the ethics. And having finished it, consider that you have but begun to understand it. This would have become the first edition of spinoza s controversial masterpiece in. 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. An 800page scholarly overview is unlikely to be best for someone looking for a short beginnerfriendly introduction, for example. In calling something cause of itself i mean that its essence involves existence, i. Of the three of them, spinoza was philosophically the most radical.
Spinoza and the politics of renaturalization, sharp. 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. 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 best book for you will depend on your preferred learning style and the amount of time that you want to spend reading about spinoza. The twentyfive articles collected for this anthology display a wide range of interpretations to central themes in spinoza s philosophy. Baruch spinoza has 178 books on goodreads with 118128 ratings. Ways into reading spinoza philosophical bibliotherapy. Abraham verghese, author of cutting for stone in 1909, sixteenyearold alfred rosenberg is called into his headmasters office for making antisemitic remarks. The exposition is simply presented for lay readers, with the explosive nature of his thinking retained. Yalom draws much of the discussion verbatim from spinozas two great books. 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. Feb 01, 2003 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg.
Despite an early rabbinical education, he was expelled from the synagogue at amsterdam for defending heretical opinions in 1656. Spinozas thought is discussed both in the sections of the book set in the netherlands and in the sections set in nazi germany. 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. Nov 22, 2016 spinoza is by far the most poorly understood western philosopherperiod.
Spinozas philosophy encompasses nearly every area of philosophical discourse, including metaphysics, epistemology, political philosophy, ethics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science. Ethics, demonstrated in geometrical order usually known as the ethics, is a philosophical. Help us create the kind of literary community youve always dreamed of. 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. Both descartes and leibniz found a place in their systems for something like the traditional judeochristian god, a personal god, who. On god, on man, and on mans well being by baruch spinoza, joseph ratner, et al. It earned spinoza an enduring reputation as one of the most important and original thinkers of the seventeenth century. Spinozas book, the posthumous ethics, in which he opposed descartes mind body dualism, has earned him recognition as one of western. The breadth and importance of spinozas work was not fully realized until many years after his death. The seven best books on or by spinoza the daily idea. Andrew youpa is associate professor of philosophy at southern illinois.
Leggere letica di spinoza con questo strumento sara piu agevole. To see the presence of spinoza, louis althusser once quipped, one must at least have heard of him. Leibniz, spinoza e il destino di dio nel mondo moderno. 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. What should i read to learn about spinozas philososphy. Both descartes and leibniz found a place in their systems for something like the traditional judeochristian god, a personal god, who created. Edwin curley, professor of philosophy at the university of illinois at chicago, is the author of behind the geometrical method. Baruch spinoza was born to portuguese jews living in exile in holland, but his life among the marranos there was often unsettled. 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. 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. According to spinoza, god is nature, and nature is.
In his perceptive new book, joshua parens sets out to. Spinoza is the only thinker to both espouse and explicate the existence and operation of the human mind. An authoritative edition of george eliots elegant translation of spinoza s greatest philosophical work. The book displays a panoramic picture of spinoza scholarship. He published his public writings anonymously, but his most farreaching book, ethics, was discovered in a drawer in his home following his death.
The small pocket book edition of spinozas ethica contains the latin original and the french translation of the ethica. By laying the groundwork for the 18thcentury enlightenment and modern biblical criticism, i. Buy a cheap copy of a spinoza reader book by baruch spinoza. Project gutenberg offers 61,918 free ebooks to download.
1552 714 245 218 630 1603 205 143 693 457 219 1271 756 1152 521 921 1547 1164 1420 410 1340 125 58 1600 696 657 31 236 696 382 600 375 622 830 1083 306 265 1398 656