His scientifically grounded work laid the foundation for the 18th century enlightenment, and modern biblical criticism. Joseph ratner the philosophy of spinoza modern library modern library edition hardcover new york modern library random house 1954 very good in a very good price clipped dust jacket. Considered one of the great rationalists of 17thcentury philosophy, spinozas posthumous masterpiece ethics, in which he opposed descartess mindbody dualism, has earned him recognition as one of western philosophys most important thinkers. In accordance with the wishes of his father he studied theology, but soon showed a decided preference for free philosophical speculation. Of all the philosophers of the seventeenth century, spinoza is among the. Spinozas philosophy as a whole can be seen as continuous reflection on the role and. Elwes 1853 written by the dutch philosopher baruch spinoza, the tractatus theologicopoliticus or theologicopolitical treatise was one of the most controversial texts of the early modern period. Some scholars believe that spinoza actually lived with the collegiants after he left the jewish community.
Men would never be superstitious, if they could govern all their circumstances by set rules, or if they were always favoured by fortune. The ethics by baruch spinoza, free pdf, ebook global grey. By laying the groundwork for the 18thcentury enlightenment and modern biblical criticism, he came to be considered one of the great rationalists of 17thcentury philosophy. By its means it is hoped that the student may avoid the chief pitfalls of spinozainterpretation, and be carried past many of the difficulties encountered by the modern mind in the. By virtue of his magnum opus, the ethics, spinoza is considered one of western philosophys definitive ethicists. He made significant contributions in virtually every area of philosophy, and his writings reveal the influence of such divergent sources as stoicism, jewish rationalism, machiavelli, hobbes, descartes, and a variety of heterodox religious thinkers of his day. 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. Moreover, he identifies spinoza and his works as the beginning of jewish modernity. Passages from the ethics are cited according to book i v, definition d. His first published work, the principia philosophiae cartesianae principles of cartesian philosophy of 1663, was a systematic presentation of the philosophy of descartes, to which he added his own suggestions for its improvement, and it already contained many of the characteristic elements of his later work. Morgan provides a general introduction that places spinoza in western philosophy and culture and sketches the philosophical, scientific, religious, moral and political dimensions of spinozas thought.
The latter give rise only to superstitious behavior and subservience to ecclesiastic authorities. Jun 12, 2015 spinoza tried to replace the bible with a scientificallybased ethical system. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. It also speaks of metaphysics in relation to spinoza and cartesian philosophy. The intellectual love of wisdom is the true god, who is the immanent reality. Thus, the fundamental insight of spinoza in the first book is that nature is an indivisible whole, without cause, substantial.
Published shortly after his death in 1677, the ethics is. Morgans brief introductions to each work give a succinct historical, biographical, and philosophical overview. Correspondence by spinoza, free pdf, ebook global grey. Baruch spinoza 16321677, is a dutch philosopher and has written the following works. Kindle edition published in 2011, 1934255289 paperback published in 2010, 1146544235 paperback publi. This unique nature, unified and necessary is what spinoza calls god. Last week, i suggested that a mode is something like a wave on the sea, being a dependent, transient part of a far greater. The first part of the book addresses the relationship between god and the universe.
Free delivery on book orders dispatched by amazon over. Spinoza opera, edited by carl gebhardt, 5 volumes heidelberg. The noblest and most lovable of the great philosophers. He is considered one of the great rationalists of 17thcentury philosophy and, by virtue of his magnum opus the ethics, one of the. Spinoza asserts that ethics can be based on a geometric model in which axioms and propositions follow each other with. Spinoza s philosophy encompasses nearly every area of philosophical discourse, including metaphysics, epistemology, political philosophy, ethics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science. It was written between 1664 and 1665 and was first published in 1677. After that, he had few contacts with other jews, but because he was a jew his dutch acquaintances were not friendly to him.
Book overview often named the prince of philosophers, benedict baruch spinoza is considered one of the most prominent rationalists in the history of philosophy. He identified god with nature and denied the possibility of an act of creation. The ethics spinozas main work, is exposed as is a treatise on geometry. Though written in a way which should make it accessible to undergraduates, his book also contains much that would make it of interest to more advanced students. Spinoza begins by describing what can be known about god. Spinoza is also the most influential atheist in europe during this period. Allison expounds spinoza sympathetically, but without glossing over the difficulties. This is an excellent general introduction to spinozas thought. On the improvement of the understanding the ethics. In this volume, which was published posthumously, spinoza lays out his ethical philosophy in geometrical order, with axioms and definitions followed by propositions. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the general books club where they can select from more than a million books without charge.
Outside of nature, there is nothing, and all that exists is a part of nature. By 1656 spinoza had already made acquaintances among members of the collegiants, a religious group in amsterdam that resisted any formal creed or practice. Spinoza, rejecting any divine transcendence, identifies and merges god and the nature. Buy ethics penguin classics new ed by spinoza, benedict, hampshire, stuart, curley, edwin isbn. Leo strauss dedicated his first book, spinozas critique of religion, to an examination of the latters ideas. The essential philosophical works wordsworth world literature. You may copy it, give it away or reuse it under the terms of the project gutenberg license included with this ebook or online at. The key to discovering and experiencing god, for spinoza, is philosophy and science, not religious awe and worshipful submission. Buy ethics online of indias largest online book store, only genuine products. From a pen and ink drawing by the authorpreface biographical note bibliographical noteintroductionpart i. Spinoza was expelled from the synagogue for his heterodox philosophy, and earned his living as an opticallens grinder. Baruch spinoza aka benedict spinoza 1632 1677 was a dutch philosopher of portuguese jewish origin who lived and worked during the age of reason along with rene descartes and gottfried leibniz, he is considered one of the great rationalists of the 17th century, although the breadth and importance of his work was not fully realized until years after his death. Correspondence from a twovolume chief works collection. Inspire a love of reading with prime book box for kids discover.
A theologicopolitical treatise and a political treatise. Spinoza maintains that the validity of ethical ideas can be demonstrated by mathematical argument or proof. Proved in geometrical order cambridge texts in the history of philosophy. Spinoza guides the listener through his thoughts on shifting from speculation of the eternal nature of the universe to mans place in the natural order as well as the significance of freedom and the power of understanding. In it, spinoza follows a logical stepbystep format consisting of definitions, axioms, propositions, proofs, and corollaries to create a comprehensive inquiry into the truth about. He made significant contributions in virtually every area of philosophy, and his writings reveal the influence of such divergent sources as stoicism, jewish rationalism. The book gives a huge depth into cartesian philosophy which is the philosophical doctrine of rene descartes. Spinoza s ethics is one of the classical texts of philosophy but is also one of the most difficult to understand because of the authors use of rigorous logical deduction and the geometrical framework within which his ideas are set. God is infinite substance, consisting of infinite attributes, each of which expresses gods eternal and infinite essence i, prop. Purchased from the ny estate of the exorcists ellen burstyn. By virtue of his magnum opus, the ethics, spinoza is considered one of western philosophy s definitive ethicists.
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