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This file includes: The Ethics, On the Improvement of the Understanding, and A Theologico-Political Treatise (all four parts).According to Wikipedia: "Baruch or Benedict de Spinoza(November 24, 1632 – February 21, 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Jewish origin. Revealing considerable scientific aptitude, the breadth and importance of Spinoza's work was not fully realized until years after his death. Today, he is considered one of the great rationalists of 17th-century philosophy, laying the groundwork for the 18th century Enlightenment and modern biblical criticism. By virtue of his magnum opus, the posthumous Ethics, in which he opposed Descartes' mind–body dualism, Spinoza is considered to be one of Western philosophy's most important philosophers. Philosopher and historian Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel said of all modern philosophers, "You are either a Spinozist or not a philosopher at all." All of Spinoza's works were listed on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (List of Prohibited Books) by the Roman Catholic Church. Spinoza lived quietly as a lens grinder, turning down rewards and honors throughout his life, including prestigious teaching positions, and gave his family inheritance to his sister." ... Read more

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Spinoza murio en enero de 1677. En noviembre de ese mismo ano vio la luz su etica, incluida en un paquete de obras postumas financiado por sus amigos. Al siguiente, 1678, ya estaba condenada esa obra por el gobierno holandes. Hubo que esperar mas de un siglo a que irrumpiera el rescate del pensamiento de Spinoza, iniciado por la vena mas profunda de la ilustracion alemana y el neopaganismo romantico de Goethe y continuado por el romanticismo filosofico y el idealismo absoluto germanos. Ese rescate marca un momento estelar del pensamiento contemporaneo.La etica es mucho mas que la definicion de marcos metafisicos en alianza pugna con un metodo. En la etica hay mucho mas. Por ejemplo, hay una extrana relacion entre su titulo y su contenido, y no ya solo porque esta «etica» sea en buena parte metafisica, doctrina del conocimiento, generalisima fisica especulativa y psicologia, sino porque, cuando es etica, lo es de tal manera que no privilegia al hombre, y eso puede sorprender hoy e incluso incomodar a los temperamentos eticos.El recelo frente a las derivas utopicas marca el nacimiento de etica y politica modernas, sobre la consigna lanzada por Maquiavelo: conocer el tiempo y el orden de las cosas y acomodarse a ellos. A ese llamamiento a favor de una desenganada cautela, tendra que dar concepto el siglo xvii. ¿Es pensable una etica que se ajuste a las solas exigencias de la razon? ¿Y una politica? Tal, el envite cuya entidad dibujara Spinoza al comienzo de esa inacabada prolongacion de la etica que quiso ser el Tratado Politico. «Si la naturaleza humana estuviera dispuesta en el modo adecuado para hacer vivir a los hombres bajo el solo imperio de la razon, sin tender a cosa otra alguna, entonces el derecho de naturaleza no estaria determinado mas que por la potencia de la razon. Pero» ... Read more

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Often named the "Prince of Philosophers," Benedict Baruch Spinoza is considered one of the most prominent "Rationalists" in the history of Philosophy. His scientifically grounded work helped lay the foundation for the 18th century "Enlightenment," and modern biblical criticism.

His ideas were branded as heresy, by both Christian and Jewish religious leaders. This special edition of "The Philosophy of Spinoza" contains 3 full essays, originally published in 1926 and edited by Joseph Ratner. His introduction to the life of Spinoza also includes an analysis of the writings and world view of the Dutch philosopher.

Collected in this special edition are the full length original texts of:

1) On God
2) On Man
3) On Man's Well-being ... Read more

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A Portuguese Jew living in Holland, Spinoza was excommunicated because of the unorthodox view he took of God. Spinoza wrote in the rationalist style of a geometric proof to develop his idea of God as the infinite, indwelling cause of all things, a unified causal system that is virtually synonymous with nature. In this system, there is no free will, for all things are necessary and inevitable, and all objects, including humans, are part of God's active self-expression. Our minds can participate in the eternity of God by focusing on natural laws and the way all things follow from God or nature. Human fulfillment is possible, he believed, only by rejecting our finite, flawed selves and identifying with the eternal within us. Spinoza believed that by doing so we can love God with an immediate devotion without asking anything in return. ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Since their publications in 1982, Samuel Shirley's translations of Spinoza's Ethics and Selected Letters have been commended for their accuracy and readability. Now with the addition of his new translation of Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect this enlarged edition will be even more useful to students of Spinoza's thought. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A fine translation of the Ethics.
This volume is a fine translation of Spinoza's _Ethics_ together with some other writings that help to illuminate it -- namely, the _Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect_ and some well-chosen passages from Spinoza'scorrespondence.

Aside from its presentation of Samuel Shirley's clear andreadable translation, this volume includes two additional helpful features.Seymour Feldman's workmanlike twenty-page introduction provides an overviewof Spinoza's thought and of the main themes of the _Ethics_; and atranslator's preface includes a list of twenty-four possibly confusingfeatures of Spinoza's terminology with short explanations/clarifications.The TIE is of interest in its own right, and the items from Spinoza'scorrespondence are well selected to illustrate or elaborate some of thefeatures of his more formal wriitngs.

For Spinoza Fans.
Invaluable are the Introduction by Seymour Feldman and also, the Translator's Preface by Translator Samuel Shirley which gives lucid explanations of key Spinoza termsone of which is:

From Page 23, Note 5 G-D(Deus)

"Although Spinoza gives repeated warnings that his"Deus" is far from the anthropomorphic conception of Godprevalent in the theology of his time, the reader will find it difficult tobear this constantly in mind.It is not until Ethics 1, Prop.14, that God,by definition, is shown to be identical with the infinite, all-inclusive,unique Substance, and thereafter it is all too easy to lose sight of this,as the religious overtones of the word "God" keep assertingthemselves.So Spinoza's frequent use of the phrase "Deus siveNatura"God, or Natureis intended as a salutarycorrective.ForSpinoza God is all Being, all Reality, in all its aspects and in all itsinfinite richness." ... Read more