Product Description

Noteworthy for its profundity and insightfulness, this treatise by Spinoza presents a heart-felt appeal for religious freedom and tolerance. He is of the view that true religion emerges from devoutness, independence of mind and speech, and treating every one as your equal. Thought-provoking!

Customer Reviews (2)

keystone piece
this is a well written masterpiece worth reading objectively to see some of the power struggles between religion and government.masterful accounting of history.while it seems that the author emits some prejudices it is nevertheless a key historic denkensturken.i give it a B plus and i recommend perusing it.

one of Benedict De Spinoza's most important works
A Theologico-Political Treatise (Tractatus Theologico-Politicus) by Benedict de Spinoza

In the context of a new emerging wave of religious fundamentalism on one hand, and post-modernist denials of the importance of Reason on the other, the book is as important as ever to the intellectual heritage of modern Society. ... Read more

Product Description
Please visit www.ArcManor.com for more books by this and other great authors. ... Read more

Product Description
Please visit www.ArcManor.com for more books by this and other great authors. ... Read more

Product Description
Please visit www.ArcManor.com for more books by this and other great authors. ... Read more

Product Description
Please visit www.ArcManor.com for more books by this and other great authors. ... Read more

Product Description
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

Product Description
Classic of philosophy, first published (posthumously) in 1677. 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

Customer Reviews (2)

Spinoza's ethics: a unique book
This is a well known and widely read book, ever since its first publication, in latin, in 1677. It is an extraordinary example of multum in parvo - much in little: it has earned for its author a first-class positionin the history of philosophy. Benedictus de Spinoza (1632-1677) isunquestionably one of the world's greatest philosophers. In theEncyclopaedia Brittanica he is described as "author of one of thegreatest metaphysical systems in the history of philosophy". BertrandRussell in his History of Western Philosophy (available through Amazon)calls him "the noblest and most lovable of the greatphilosophers". Karl Jaspers, in his Introduction to Philosophy (againavailable through Amazon - Way to Wisdom) mentions that "Spinoza isthe metaphysician who with traditional and Cartesian concepts expresses aphilosophical faith. He is original in the metaphysical mood which he alonepossessed among the philosophers of his time. Of the philosophers of hiscentury he alone has followers today". Spinoza's importance inphilosophy derives, I believe, from the following points:(i)Spinoza's metaphysical edifice rests almost entirely on reason. Reason(Spinoza tells us that "clear reason is infallible", The Ethics,Part I, Prop. XV) is, in his system, both the source of all knowledge, andalso the means of clarifying and arranging all items of knowledge soobtained.(ii) Spinoza identifies God with Nature. Nature is given anall-encompassing, metaphysical meaning and is also called Substance("Substantia sive Deus sive Natura", "Substance otherwiseGod otherwise Nature"). Accordingly, Spinoza belongs to the naturalistschool of thought, along with most of the presocratic philosophers (Thales,Anaxagoras, Empedocles, Parmenides, Democritus, Leucipus) and the stoicphilosophers (Epicurus, Chrysiphus, Seneca, Lucretius). Nature is seen bothas an active causal principle (natura naturans) and as the effect of saidprinciple (natura naturata) (The Ethics, Part I, Prop. XXIX). (iii)Spinoza puts forward a logically coherent system of ethics. In fact, hechose so to name his main metaphysical work, and has added the subtitle:demonstrated in a geometrical manner ("Ethica, more geometricodemonstrata"). The Ethics is laid out in the form of definitions,axioms, propositions, demonstrations of said propositions, and scholia. InSpinoza's system ethical values are logically derived from firstprinciples. So much so, that a moral life is identified as "a way ofliving under the guidance of reason" (The Ethics, Part IV, Prop.XLVI). The moral precepts arrived at, by a process of logical analysis, areas strict as moral precepts based on religious faith. (iv) Spinozaestablishes a novel point of view in the age-old question of the existenceof good and evil. Spinoza identifies good with knowledge, in particularwith knowledge of God, and proceeds to deny the existence of evil. Heexplicitly states that "God has no knowledge of evil" (TheEthics, Part IV, Preface). Again, "The knowledge of evil is inadequateknowledge" (The Ethics, Part IV, Prop. LXIV). (v) Spinozatranscends logic itself in distinguishing three kinds of knowledge: (a)knowledge from hearsay, (b) knowledge arrived at by logical analysis, and(c) intuitive knowledge. By means of this "third kind ofknowledge" we may experience an immediate, intuitive intimation of God("cognitio Dei intuitiva", The Ethics, Part V, Prop. XXV).Accordingly, Spinoza is both a rationalist and a mystic. (vi)Spinoza's personal character and life was fully in accord with histeaching. He was always honest, truthful, and, in the words of B. Russell,"showed throughout his life a rare indifference to money. The few whoknew him loved him, even if they disapproved of his principles". Spinoza's metaphysical system, far from being one-sided and simplistic, hasbeen a constant source of inspiration and reappraisal to many thinkers.

A bit over my head
I knew before reading this book that I liked Spinoza's philosophies on God and life,and I was looking forward to a more in depth study on his thoughts.This book, however, was not what I had in mind.The text wasdifficult to follow.It could be because it was published originally in1883 and translated from Latin.For beginners, like myself, I wouldn'trecommend it.For me, this book was too mathmatically formulated.Also,there were so many references throughout the book to other paragraphs thatit was distracting.All in all,good ideas but not a fun read. ... Read more

Product Description
Spinoza's works on ethics and the understanding ... Read more