The Cambridge Companion to Spinoza

by Don Garrett (Editor)

Benedict (Baruch) de Spinoza has been one of the most inspiring and influential philosophers of the modern era, yet also one of the most difficult and most frequently misunderstood. The essays in this volume provide a clear and systematic exegesis of Spinoza's thought informed by the most recent scholarship. They cover his metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of science, psychology, ethics, political theory, theology, and scriptural interpretation, as well as his life and influence on later thinkers.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, History, Jewish, Reference, Judaica

480 pages, Paperback

First published October 27, 1995

Reviews

[Ruben]

This is a solid collection of introductory essays on Spinoza. They're not going to replace actually reading the Ethics or the Theologico-Political Treatise, but they will be helpful in contextualizing and clarifying what you find there. My favorite chapters were probably those by Wilson, Garrett and Donagan, who present very rich, careful and sympathetic treatments of Spinoza's epistemology, ethics and theology respectively. Bennett's chapter on Spinoza's metaphysics is helpful as well (if, as always, pretty tendentious) for the connections it draws (or rather, forges) between Spinoza and some topics in contemporary metaphysics.

One thing to keep in mind with this collection is that it is more than 20 years old now, and that a lot has happened in Spinoza studies in the interim. So while this still mostly holds up as a discussion of general themes, it's worth also taking a look at Koistinen's Companion to the Ethics that was published a few years back.

[Joe Sabet]

Don Garrett’s writing and a few other chapters like “Kissinger, Spinoza, and Genghis Khan” or “Spinoza’s metaphysical psychology” are great. Tye rest is annoying, utter garbage at explaining something to a beginner. Good book overall for 5 dollars half off at a used book store

[John]

philosophy,nonfiction

[Craig Bolton]

The Cambridge Companion to Spinoza (Cambridge Companions to Philosophy) by Don Garrett (1995)