Spinoza - A Life

Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) was one of the most important philosophers of all time; he was also one of the most radical and controversial. The story of Spinoza's life takes the reader into the heart of Jewish Amsterdam in the seventeenth century and, with Spinoza's exile from Judaism, into the midst of the tumultuous political, social, intellectual, and religious world of the young Dutch Republic. This new edition of Steven Nadler's biography, winner of the Koret Jewish Book Award for biography and translated into a dozen languages, is enhanced by exciting new archival discoveries about his family background, his youth, and the various philosophical, political, and religious contexts of his life and works. There is more detail about his family's business and communal activities, about his relationships with friends and correspondents, and about the development of his writings, which were so scandalous to his contemporaries.

List of contents

Acknowledgments; Preface; 1. Settlement; 2. Abraham and Michael; 3. Bento/Baruch; 4. Talmud Torah; 5. A merchant of Amsterdam; 6. Cherem; 7. Benedictus; 8. A philosopher in Rijnsburg; 9. 'The Jew of Voorburg'; 10. Homo politicus; 11. Calm and turmoil in The Hague; 12. 'A free man thinks least of all of death'; A note on sources.

About the author

Steven Nadler is the William H. Hay, II, Professor of Philosophy, Evjue-Bascom Professor in Humanities and Weinstein-Bascom Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is the author or editor of over twenty books, winner of the 2000 Koret Jewish Book Award for biography with Spinoza: A Life (Cambridge, 1999) and a Pulitzer Prize finalist with Rembrandt's Jews (2004). His books have been translated into over twenty languages.

Summary

The standard biography of the great seventeenth-century philosopher, now updated to draw on the latest archival discoveries, offers an engaging narrative of Spinoza's life and times and an accessible introduction to his radical ideas. Essential to scholars, it will also appeal to a broad readership interested in early modern Europe.

Product details

• Authors: Steven Nadler, Steven (University of Wisconsin Nadler, Nadler Steven
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 18.08.2022
• EAN: 9781108442466
• ISBN: 978-1-108-44246-6
• No. of pages: 458
• Series: Print on Demand
• Subjects: Education and learning > Teaching preparation > Vocational needs; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: antiquity to present day; Biography: literary, European History, Biography: historical, political & military, PHILOSOPHY / History & Surveys / Modern, c 1500 onwards to present day, 18th century, c 1700 to c 1799, Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700, Biography: writers, History and Archaeology, Biography: historical, political and military, Western philosophy: Enlightenment, C 1700 To C 1800