God, Man, and Well-Being : Spinoza's Modern Humanism

by Uyl, Douglas J. Den

• ISBN13: 9780820444628
• ISBN10: 0820444626
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-06-01
• Publisher: Peter Lang Pub Inc

Summary

"This book explores the seventeenth-century philosopher Spinoza's modernist humanism. There is little doubt that Spinoza was one of the principal founders of modernity, but his modernism is often thought to come at the expense of a humanism. Drawing attention to Spinoza's humanism, this book concentrates on politics, ethics, and psychology in order to understand Spinoza's conception of the human being, and why that conception endures into our own time with particular relevance. This introduction to Spinoza's thought proceeds in a reverse order from the usual treatment: rather than beginning with a consideration of Spinoza's metaphysics, the discussion culminates in an exploration of those concepts. In this way, this book is a deeper examination of what Spinoza himself thought, and allows the reader to consider more fully Spinoza's wider philosophy."--BOOK JACKET.

Table of Contents

A Note on the Texts Used
Introduction	p. 1
Homo Politicus	p. 7
The Foundations of Activity	p. 27
The Ethics of Activity	p. 49
Freedom	p. 73
Modernity, God, and Man	p. 95
Conclusion	p. 123
Notes	p. 131
Bibliography	p. 143
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.