Jan 10, 2019 this page contains a list of the best books on or by spinoza. Human beings are determined by baruch spinoza as the ethics,1 a book published posthumously from the fear of persecu tion from the charge of the blasphemy of pantheism. In the ethics, spinoza attempts to demonstrate a fully cohesive philosophical system that strives to provide a coherent picture of reality and to comprehend the meaning of an ethical life. Over a hundred years earlier in 1677, spinoza had just died at the age of 44 after living a modest life as a lens grinder. Leo strauss dedicated his first book, spinozas critique of religion, to an examination of the latters ideas. Ethica, ordine geometrico demonstrata, usually known as the ethics, is a philosophical treatise written in latin by baruch spinoza. The ethics by baruch spinoza, free pdf, ebook global grey. Ethics is a philosophical book written by baruch spinoza. Many people prefer to read offline or to print out text and read from the real printed page. Human beings are determined by baruch spinoza as the ethics,1 a book published posthumously from the fear of persecution from the charge of the blasphemy of pantheism.
Dr read the abridged version of the ethics and della roccas spinoza before tackling the ethics proper. While spinoza s ethics covers theology, anthropology or ontology and metaphysics, he chose the term ethics because he posits that happiness comes from a liberation from superstition and passions. The first purpose of this piece is to explicate spinozas understanding of god, or nature so that the reader. Spinoza puts forward a small number of definitions and axioms from which he attempts to derive hundreds of propositions and corollaries, such as when the mind imagines its own lack of powe. Although it was published posthumously in 1677, it is his most famous work, and is considered his magnum opus. It has long been assumed that when spinoza wrote, but paul, to whom christ also appeared afterward, gloried that he knew christ not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. A substance cant be produced by anything else by the corollary to 6, so it must be its own cause. Some say that spinoza killed god a century before nietzsches famous sentence god is dead. Baruch spinoza argues against the doctrine of free will as a result of demonstrating that the activity of our minds is equivalent to the activity of our bodies. I now pass on to explaining the results, which must necessarily follow from the essence of god, or of the eternal and infinite being. Spinozas ethics is one of the most difficult books in philosophy. I now pass on to explaining the results, which must necessarily follow from the essence of god, or of the eternal and infinite.
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. It was written between 1661 and 1675 and was first published posthumously in 1677. While he may have had this passage in mind, it is more likely spinoza had galatians 1. Land seorsum repetita classic reprint, and more on. Ethics by baruch spinoza, stuart hampshire, edwin m. Ethics part 2 an outline the following was posted on 692007 to the spinoza slow reading list see related sites hi all, at the beginning of part 2 of the ethics spinoza opens with this comment. Baruch spinoza, human beings are determined abstract. The ethical part of the ethics parts iii, iv and iv is much more accessible. 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. Ambitious in its subject matter as critical spinoza all traditional philosophical conceptions of god. The ethics, only published after spinozas death, is ingenious, not just for what it says, but for how it says it. The main characters of this philosophy, non fiction story are. Baruch spinoza ethics full unabridged audiobook youtube. An analysis of baruch spinozas ethics crc press book.
In short, this book is an explication of spinozas ethics. Others want to carry documents around with them on their mobile phones and read while they a. Jan 24, 2017 this book is heavy on god which may be off putting. The book sparked what was known as the pantheist controversy, which popularized baruch spinozas work. Ambitious in its subject matter as critical spinoza all traditional philosophical conceptions of god, of man and the universe. Ep 78 that spinoza was referring to 2 corinthians 5. The book is perhaps the most ambitious attempt to apply the method of euclid. Published shortly after his death, the ethics is undoubtedly spinoza s greatest work an elegant, fully cohesive cosmology derived from first principles, providing a coherent picture of reality, and a guide to the meaning of an ethical life. The ethics spinozas main work, is exposed as is a treatise on geometry. Spinoza tried to replace the bible with a scientificallybased ethical system. Baruch spinoza was born in amsterdam, the son of portuguese jewish refugees who had fled from the persecution of the spanish inquisition. The ethics can be a bit difficult to understand given the geometrical order it is written, but when it finally makes sense it is evident that it truly is very profound and influential deductive rationalist logic. Ignore the proofs of the propositions but read the scholia.
His strong convictions had caused him to be banned from the jewish community in his twenties. Published shortly after his death in 1677, ethics is undoubtedly spinozas greatest worka fully cohesive philosophical system that strives to provide a coherent picture of reality and to. Spinozas magnum opus, the ethics, was published posthumously in the year of his death. Upon opening spinozas masterpiece, the ethics, one is. Spinozas pantheistic and monistic conception of the universe is absolutely awesome. The book is perhaps the most ambitious attempt to apply the method of euclid in philosophy. The seven best books on or by spinoza the daily idea. Although reared in the jewish community, he rebelled against its religious views and practices, and in 1656 was formally excommunicated from the portuguesespanish synagogue of amsterdam and was thus effectively cast out of the jewish world.
Ethics, demonstrated in geometrical order usually known as the ethics, is a philosophical treatise written in latin by baruch spinoza. Jun 12, 2015 philosophy baruch spinoza the school of life. Published shortly after his death, the ethics is undoubtedly spinozas greatest work an elegant, fully cohesive cosmology derived from first principles, providing a coherent picture of reality, and a guide to. Pdf ethics book by baruch spinoza free download 186 pages. Spinoza believed, much as socrates believed, the excellent life. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Here spinoza lays out a complete system that encompasses metaphysics, theology, physics, psychology, and. Throughout philosophys history, some of its most prominent thinkers have drawn inspiration from sources outside of its canon. Baruch spinozas ethics is a dense masterpiece of sustained argumentative reasoning. Others want to carry documents around with them on their mobile phones and read while they are on the move. The ethics is a philosophical book written by baruch spinoza. The first part of the book addresses the relationship between god and the universe.
See all books authored by baruch spinoza, including the portable atheist. So perhaps the best reason for reading spinozas ethics is this. In it, spinoza follows a logical stepbystep format consisting of definitions, axioms. Hi all, at the beginning of part 2 of the ethics spinoza opens with this comment. Feb 01, 2003 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. If i were exiled to a desert island, imprisoned, or otherwise isolated, and there were only book of philosophy i could have to read and reread for the rest of my life, it would be the ethics of spinoza. Baruch spinoza was a seventeenthcentury dutch philosopher who tried to reinvent religion moving it away from something based on superstition and ideas of direct divine intervention to being a discipline that was far more impersonal, quasiscientific and yet also, at all times, serenely consoling. In the ethics, spinoza attempts to demonstrate a fully cohesive philosophical system that strives to. Published shortly after his death, the ethics is undoubtedly spinozas grea.
Baruch spinoza has 178 books on goodreads with 118128 ratings. The work opposed descartes philosophy of mindbody dualism, and earned spinoza recognition as one of western philosophy s most important thinkers. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Dec 30, 20 published shortly after his death in 1677, ethics is undoubtedly spinozas greatest worka fully cohesive philosophical system that strives to provide a coherent picture of reality and to. At this period in philosophical history, philosophers were extremely impressed both with geometry and the physics of newton and leibniz. The mind is more or less active or contemplative in. Moreover, he identifies spinoza and his works as the beginning of jewish modernity. The first edition of the novel was published in 1677, and was written by baruch spinoza. Buy ethics penguin classics new ed by spinoza, benedict, hampshire, stuart, curley, edwin isbn. In the book, strauss identified spinoza as part of the tradition of enlightenment rationalism that eventually produced modernity. Ethics, demonstrated in geometrical order, usually known as the ethics, is a philosophical treatise written in latin by baruch spinoza. Spinoza 163277 is a philosopher of the seventeenth. Baruch spinoza books list of books by author baruch spinoza. What are the basic constituents of reality, and how do other less basic things depend on them.
The whole of spinozas argument for god is based on the ontological argument so his whole system can be rejected if you deny the ontological argument but what is fascinating about spinoza is what still stands when you excise god from his ethics. Ethics by baruch spinoza, 9780872209, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. And for this reason, there is an exact correspondence between them. This penguin classics edition is edited and translated from the latin by edwin curley, with an introduction by stuart hampshire. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 186 pages and is available in paperback format. It is of my opinion that one of these philosophers, spinoza, in the first book of his ethics, borrowed elements of the kabbalah, to portray his image of god. Ethics by benedict spinoza penguin books australia. An 800page scholarly overview is unlikely to be best for someone looking for a short beginnerfriendly introduction, for example. Presented with the assumed precision of a geometry textbook like that of euclid, its central idea is that god is the universe, the one substance in which all natural phenomena exist. 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. Spinoza s pantheistic and monistic conception of the universe is absolutely awesome. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1, 2. Ex editione operum quoquot reperta sunt quam curaverant j.
This book is heavy on god which may be off putting. The whole of spinozas argument for god is based on the ontological argument so his whole system can be rejected if you deny the ontological argument but what is fascinating about spinoza is what still. He was the middle son in a prominent family of moderate means in amsterdams portuguesejewish community. It is notoriously obscure, as spinoza invents a variety of new terms and attempts to layout the book like a geometric proof. A geometric demonstration of ethics is a novelty in the history of thought, but baruch spinozas ethics is famous not because of, but in spite of, its novelty of method.
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