He was born to sephardic portuguese jewish parents, living in the netherlands due to the inquisition. Baruch spinoza 163277 is considered one of the great rationalist thinkers of the seventeenth century. Our correspondence being thus happily renewed, i should be unwilling to fall short of a friends duty in the exchange of letters. Rijnsburg, he was visited by henry oldenburg, who later became secretary of the royal society. Almost three weeks after oldenburg had safely returned 9 august 1661 in london, he dispatched a letter to spinoza on 26 august, in which he invited him to start a philosophical correspondence. Also included are selections from other works by spinoza, chosen by curley to make the ethics easier to understand, and a substantial introduction that gives an overview of spinozas life and the main themes of his philosophy.
So writes henry oldenburg to governor winthrop of connecticut on october, 1667. Buy ethics penguin classics new ed by spinoza, benedict, hampshire, stuart, curley, edwin isbn. The book is perhaps the most ambitious attempt to apply the method of euclid in philosophy. A reading of spinozas ethics, and spinozas metaphysics. Henry oldenburg also henry oldenbourg frs was a german theologian known as a. Oldenburg rejoices at the renewal of correspondence, and alludes to the five books of the ethics which spinoza in a letter now lost had announced his intention of publishing. In calling something cause of itself i mean that its essence involves existence, i. The collected works of spinoza provides, for the first time in english, a truly satisfactory edition of all of spinozas writings, with accurate and readable translations, based on the best critical editions of the originallanguage texts, done by a scholar who has published extensively on the philosophers work. Spinoza the reception and influence of spinoza s philosophy book summary. I want to keep them free, but need some support to be able to do so.
See all books authored by baruch spinoza, including the portable atheist. Spinozas clarification in this letter, i think, is consistent with his views in the ethics on parts and wholes yet does not merely restate the same notions and arguments. Spinozas scandalous treatise and the birth of the secular age 2011, the philosopher, the priest, and the painter. One of the early thinkers of the enlightenment and modern biblical criticism, including modern conceptions.
Just to be clear, there is no single best book on spinoza. In accordance with the wishes of his father he studied theology, but soon showed a decided preference for free philosophical speculation. The letter of 1626 august, the earliest one known in spinoza s exchange, marks the beginning of the longtermed epistolary contact with oldenburg. Baruch spinoza was a seventeenthcentury dutch philosopher who tried to reinvent religion moving it away from something based on superstition and ideas of direct divine intervention to being a discipline that was far more impersonal, quasiscientific and. Spinozas given name, which means blessed, varies among different languages. All our modern philosophers, though often perhaps unconsciously, see through the glasses which baruch spinoza ground. Spinozas psychological theory stanford encyclopedia of. Oldenburg writes, moreover, that the english nobleman, had published a new book that he would send to spinoza. Spinoza 163277 is a philosopher of the seventeenth. These books can take me from 2 to 10 hours to create.
He is a member of the american academy of arts and sciences. Letter 2 2 spinoza to oldenburg spinoza defines god, and attribute and sends definitions, axioms, and first four propositions of book i. This page contains a list of the best books on or by spinoza. These volumes provide a comprehensive selection of high quality critical discussions of spinozas philosophy published in, or translated into english since 1970. Finally, to turn to one of spinozas most important and influential opinions, he denies that the hebrew bible is of divine origin. Henry oldenburg, first secretary of the royal society nature. The strength of spinozas social feelings, and his aristotelian emphasis on friendship as a necessary human good, are abundantly shown in the ethics.
The ethics by baruch spinoza, free pdf, ebook global grey. His magnum opus, ethics, in which he criticized the dualism of descartes, solidified his reputation and greatly influenced the more. Neither the pentateuch the five books of torah nor the prophetic writings or histories were written by god or by anyone serving as gods amanuensis. This page indexes writings of the philosopher baruch spinoza at sacredtexts. I have received boyles book the latin translation of certain. He stayed on in england and in 1662 became the secretary of the royal society, and its best known member to the entire learned world of his time. Oldenburg had probably heard of spinoza through peter serrarius, a millenarian merchant in amsterdam who handled spinoza s dealings with the outside world. Spinoza argues that all finite modes strive to persevere in being iiip6, and he.
Oldenburg tried to persuade him to write a proper book. In letter 32, spinoza wrote to henry oldenburg 1665 in latin, answering his request for further explanation about spinozas views on parts and wholes. Oldenburg was educated at the evangelical school at bremen, which he left for the. Click here for more information the only complete edition in english of baruch spinozas works, this volume features samuel shirleys preeminent translations, distinguished at once by the lucidity and fluency with which they convey the flavor and meaning of. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Henry oldenburg german theologian and author britannica. Spinoza in 90 minutes philosophers in 90 minutes series by paul strathern and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The only complete edition in english of baruch spinozas works, this volume features samuel shirleys preeminent translations, distinguished at once by the lucidity and fluency with which they convey the flavor and meaning of spinozas original texts.
His books include a spinoza reader, behind the geometrical method. I shall never stop exhorting you till you grant my request, he said, but spinoza kept. By laying the groundwork for the 18thcentury enlightenment and modern biblical criticism, he came to be considered one of the great rationalists of 17thcentury philosophy. Illustrious sir, and most worthy friend,so painful to me was the separation from you the other day after our meeting in your retreat at rhijnsburg, that it is my first endeavour, now that i am returned to england, to renew, as far as is. An 800page scholarly overview is unlikely to be best for someone looking for a short beginnerfriendly introduction, for example. Uncorrected paperswallace matson 4 excellent essays on spinoza start there. Edited by a distinguished academic panel, these volumes allow current debates on key themes to be followed through in depth, and present to readers the. Land seorsum repetita classic reprint, and more on. When i visited you recently in your retreat at rijnsburg i. Spinozas thesis iiip7 that the essence of any finite mode, including any human mind iiip9, is a striving conatus to persevere in being is an attempt to give an account of nature under which human beings with their apparent peculiarities are natural. The collected works of spinoza provides, for the first time in english, a truly satisfactory edition of all of spinozas writings, with accurate and readable translations, based on the best critical editions of the originallanguage texts, done by a scholar who has published extensively on the philosophers work this first volume contains spinozas single most important work, the. Spinoza is the only thinker to both espouse and explicate the existence and operation of the human mind. List of books and articles about spinoza online research. Spinozas life he belonged to the community of jews from spain and portugal who had fled the inquisition.
Ex editione operum quoquot reperta sunt quam curaverant j. Project gutenberg offers 61,951 free ebooks to download. Unfolding the latent processes of his reasoning, 2 vols. Oldenburg, after complimenting spinoza, asks him to enter into a philosophical correspondence. Almost three weeks after oldenburg had safely returned 9 august 1661 in london, he dispatched a letter to spinoza on 26 august, in which he invited him to start. Why spinoza was excommunicated national endowment for. So perhaps the best reason for reading spinozas ethics is this. Download henry oldenburg, born in 1619 in bremen, germany, first came to england as a diplomat on a mission to see oliver cromwell. The best book for you will depend on your preferred learning style and the amount of time that you want to spend reading about spinoza. And yet in his lifetime he was expelled from the jewish community in amsterdam as a heretic, and after his death his works were first banned by the christian authorities as atheistic, then hailed by humanists as the gospel of. Oldenburg, henry dnb00 wikisource, the free online library. Illustrious sir, how pleasant your friendship is to me, you may yourself judge, if your modesty.
Among oldenburgs correspondents at this time was baruch spinoza, whom he was introduced to on a trip to the netherlands. The seven best books on or by spinoza the daily idea. He is also the author of descartes against the skeptics and the editor of an edition of hobbess leviathan. Heine the multitudes, ever prone to superstition, and caring more for the shreds of antiquity than for eternal truths, pays homage to the books of the bible, rather than to the word of god. So he said that the main positionsinterpretations of spinozas ethics are represented by these books. Chinese danish dutch english esperanto finnish french german greek hungarian italian latin. And in these words he briefly expresses what was the chief aim of the best years of his life. The philosophy of spinoza alfred weber b aruch benedict spinoza,1 spinosa, or despinoza, was born at amsterdam, in 1632, of portuguese jewish parents, who were, it seems, in good circumstances. Oldenburg to sir robert moray, 7 october 1665wolf, 1935, pp.
It was written between 1664 and 1665 and was first published in 1677. Baruch spinoza books list of books by author baruch spinoza. But although spinoza who admired many aspects of stoicism is regarded as the chief source of modern pantheism, he does, in fact, want to maintain the. Oldenburg had visited spinoza at rijnsburg rhynsburg in 1661, and. Edwin curley is professor emeritus of philosophy at the university of michigan.
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