The Cambridge Companion to Spinoza

An extensively updated guide to all aspects of Spinoza's philosophy written by leading scholars of his work and influence.

Don Garrett (Edited by)

9781107479876, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 28 October 2021

500 pages
22.5 x 15 x 2.6 cm, 0.71 kg

Benedict (Baruch) de Spinoza (1632–1677) was one of the most systematic, inspiring, and influential philosophers of the early modern period. From a pantheistic starting point that identified God with Nature as all of reality, he sought to demonstrate an ethics of reason, virtue, and freedom while unifying religion with science and mind with body. His contributions to metaphysics, epistemology, psychology, ethics, politics, and the analysis of religion remain vital to the present day. Yet his writings initially appear forbidding to contemporary readers, and his ideas have often been misunderstood. This second edition of The Cambridge Companion to Spinoza includes new chapters on Spinoza's life and his metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of religion, and biblical scholarship, as well as extensive updates to the previous chapters and bibliography. A thorough, reliable, and accessible guide to this extraordinary philosopher, it will be invaluable to anyone who wants to understand what Spinoza has to teach.

Introduction Don Garrett
1. Spinoza's life Piet Steenbakkers
2. Spinoza's metaphysics of substance Yitzhak Y. Melamed
3. Spinoza on the metaphysics of thought and extension Martin Lin
4. Spinoza's epistemology Ursula Renz
5. Spinoza on natural science and methodology Alan Gabbey
6. Spinoza's metaphysical psychology Michael Della Rocca
7. Spinoza's ethical theory Don Garrett
8. Kissinger, Spinoza, and Genghis Khan Edwin Curley
9. Spinoza's philosophical religion Susan James
10. Spinoza's contribution to biblical scholarship Edwin Curley
11. Spinoza's reception Pierre-François Moreau and Mogens Lærke.

Subject Areas: Philosophy of religion [HRAB], Ethics & moral philosophy [HPQ], Philosophy: metaphysics & ontology [HPJ], Western philosophy: Enlightenment [HPCD1]