A Spinoza Reader

by Spinoza, Benedictus de; Curley, Edwin

• ISBN13: 9780691000671
• ISBN10: 0691000670
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1994-02-07
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

This anthology of the work of Baruch de Spinoza (1632-1677) presents the text of Spinoza's masterwork, theEthics, in what is now the standard translation by Edwin Curley. Also included are selections from other works by Spinoza, chosen by Curley to make theEthicseasier to understand, and a substantial introduction that gives an overview of Spinoza's life and the main themes of his philosophy. Perfect for course use, theSpinoza Readeris a practical tool with which to approach one of the world's greatest but most difficult thinkers, a passionate seeker of the truth who has been viewed by some as an atheist and by others as a religious mystic. The anthology begins with the opening section of theTreatise on the Emendation of the Intellect, which has always moved readers by its description of the young Spinoza's spiritual quest, his dissatisfaction with the things people ordinarily strive for--wealth, honor, and sensual pleasure--and his hope that the pursuit of knowledge would lead him to discover the true good. The emphasis throughout these selections is on metaphysical, epistemological, and religious issues: the existence and nature of God, his relation to the world, the nature of the human mind and its relation to the body, and the theory of demonstration, axioms, and definitions. For each of these topics, the editor supplements the rigorous discussions in theEthicswith informal treatments from Spinoza's other works.

Table of Contents

Introduction
I. Spinoza's Life and Philosophy	ix	(24)
II. Bibliographical Note	xxxiii	(1)
III. Abbreviations and Other Conventions	xxxiv
PRELIMINARIES	3	(82)
I. A Portrait of the Philosopher as a Young Man	3	(3)
II. A Critique of Traditional Religion	6	(42)
A. On Religion and Superstition	6	(4)
B. On Revelation	10	(13)
C. On God as an Agent in History	23	(3)
D. On Law and God as a Lawgiver	26	(8)
E. On Miracles	34	(6)
F. On Interpreting Scripture	40	(8)
III. Fragments of a Theory of Scientific Method	48	(7)
A. The Four Kinds of Knowledge	48	(3)
B. Achieving Clear and Distinct Ideas	51	(4)
IV. From a Non-Geometric Draft of the Ethics	55	(11)
A. Of the `Attributes' Which Do Not Belong to God, and on Definition	55	(2)
B. On Natura naturans	57	(1)
C. On Natura naturata	58	(1)
D. Of the Human Soul	58	(4)
E. An Argument for Immortality	62	(2)
F. A Dialogue on God's Causality	64	(2)
V. An Early Attempt at Geometrizing Philosophy	66	(5)
A. Spinoza to Oldenburg	66	(2)
B. Oldenburg to Spinoza	68	(1)
C. Spinoza to Oldenburg	69	(2)
VI. Two Criticisms of Descartes	71	(6)
A. On the Cartesian Circle	71	(3)
B. On Descartes' Attempt to Prove God's Existence from His Own	74	(3)
VII. The Study Group has Questions about Definitions	77	(5)
A. Simon de Vries to Spinoza	77	(2)
B. Spinoza to De Vries	79	(2)
C. Spinoza to De Vries Again	81	(1)
VIII. The Worm in the Blood Spinoza to Henry Oldenburg	82	(3)
THE ETHICS	85	(181)
I. Of God	85	(30)
II. Of the Nature and Origin of the Mind	115	(37)
III. Of the Origin and Nature of the Affects	152	(45)
IV. Of Human Bondage, or the Powers of the Affects	197	(47)
V. Of the Power of the Intellect, or on Human Freedom	244	(22)
OBJECTIONS AND REPLIES	266	(11)
I. Tschirnhaus on Freedom	266	(1)
II. Freedom and Necessity	267	(2)
III. Tschirnhaus on Problems about the Attributes and Infinite Modes	269	(1)
IV. On Knowledge of Other Attributes and Examples of Infinite Modes	270	(2)
V. Tschirnhaus on Knowledge of Other Attributes	272	(1)
VI. Each Thing Is Expressed by Many Minds	272	(1)
VII. Tschirnhaus Presses His Objection	273	(1)
VIII. Spinoza Replies Again	273	(1)
IX. Tschirnhaus on Deducing the Existence of Bodies	274	(1)
X. On the Uselessness of Descartes' Principles of Natural Things	274	(1)
XI. Tschirnhaus Presses the Objection	274	(1)
XII. Spinoza's Last Reply	275	(2)
Index	277