(P/B) SPINOZA - ROCCA MICHAEL DELLA

Spinoza (1632-77) was one of the towering philosophers of the seventeenth century, described by Bertrand Russell as "the noblest and most lovable of all the great philosophers". His work investigated some of the deepest questions of philosophy and whilst renowned for his metaphysics, he also made significant contributions to understanding the human mind, the emotions, moral philosophy, and political philosophy. In this outstanding introduction to Spinoza's philosophy, Michael Della Rocca takes Spinoza's fundamental conviction that everything exists for a reason - a principle that came to be known as the 'principle of sufficient reason' - as the key to unlocking his thought. Beginning with an overview of Spinoza's life in the context of his Jewish background, Della Rocca carefully unpacks and explains Spinoza's philosophy: his metaphysics of substance and argument at the center of his whole system that God is the sole independent substance and that finite things are merely ways in which this one substance exists; Spinoza's account of the human mind and its relation to the body; his theory that human beings tend towards self-preservation and the role of the emotions; the central arguments in his most famous work, the Ethics, above all the problem of free will; and his writings on the state, religion and scripture. Della Rocca concludes with a chapter on Spinoza's legacy and how modern philosophers, such as Hume, Hegel, and Nietzsche, responded to Spinoza's challenge. Ideal for those coming to Spinoza for the first time as well as those already acquainted with his thought, Spinoza is essential reading for anyone studying philosophy and also those in related subjects such as religion and history. (from the publisher)