Spinoza: A Very Short Introduction
May 2002 · OUP Oxford
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About this ebook
Benedict de Spinoza (1632-77) was at once the father of the Enlightenment and the last sad guardian of the medieval world. In his brilliant synthesis of geometrical method, religious sentiment, and secular science, he attempted to reconcile the conflicting moral and intellectual demands of his epoch, and to present a vision of humanity as simultaneously bound by necessity and eternally free. In this book Roger Scruton presents a clear and systematic analysis of Spinoza's thought, and shows its relevance to today's intellectual preoccupations. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
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4.0
2 reviews
Dmitriy Kalinin
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August 17, 2017
This is a nice book. Not as mature, stylistically elegant, and fascinating as Scruton's "Modern Philosophy: Introduction and Survey," yet it illuminates Spinoza's system and analyzes its problems, as deeply as an introduction can do. The last chapter is the weakest in the book (as regards the description of Spinoza's legacy and the strength of some of Scruton's own views), yet also the most thought-provoking (exactly because of Scruton's views about the overcoming of nihilism, which are at the same time appealing, unsatisfactory and stimulating).
About the author
Roger Scruton was Lecturer in Philosophy 1971-79, Reader 1979-85, and Professor of Aesthetics 1985-92 at Birkbeck College, University of London.
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