EPZ Spinoza's 'Ethics' A Reader's Guide

by Cook, J. Thomas

• ISBN13: 9780826489159
• ISBN10: 082648915X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-01-15
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

Reader's Guides are clear, concise and accessible introductions to classic works of philosophy. Each book explores the major themes, historical and philosophical context and key passages of a major philosophical text, guiding the reader toward a thorough understanding of often demanding material. Ideal for undergraduate students, the guides provide an essential resource for anyone who needs to get to grips with a philosphical text. The Ethics is one of the undisputed masterworks of early modern philosophy. In this single volume Spinoza offers the reader an unorthodox account of God, a novel version of the mind-body relation, a systematic theory of the emotions and a detailed prescription for human virtue and blessedness. Too controversial to be published during his lifetime, it was surreptitiously printed by Spinoza's friends after his death. Nowadays the Ethics is studied in university classes as an exemplary work of early modern rationalism. In Spinoza's 'Ethics': A Reader's Guide, J. Thomas Cook explains the philosophical background against which the book was written and the key themes inherent in the text. The book then guides the reader to a clear understanding of the text as a whole, before exploring the reception and influence of this classic philosophical work. This is the ideal companion to study of this most influential and challenging of texts.

Author Biography

J. Thomas Cook is Professor of Philosophy at Rollins College, Florida, USA

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. vii
Preface	p. viii
Spinoza and the Ethics: background and context	p. 1
Main themes and influences	p. 8
Reading the text	p. 15
On God
On the Nature and Origin of the Mind
On the Origin and Nature of the Affects
Of Human Bondage, or the Power of the Emotions
On the Power of the Intellect, or On Human Freedom
The influence of the Ethics	p. 151
Notes for further reading	p. 163
Index	p. 167
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