The Accessible Spinoza: Ethics Without Proofs. Selected Propositions with Modern Restatement and Commentary (The Accessible Classics: Modernized with Commentary)

Spinoza's Ethics is one of the most important books in the history of philosophy and one of the least finished.Written in the style of Euclidean geometry, dense with axioms, definitions, and proofs, it has fascinated readers for over three centuries and defeated most of them. Now, for the first time, the Ethics is available in a form anyone can actually read.The Accessible Spinoza: Ethics Without Proofs presents the key propositions of Spinoza's masterwork in plain English, with modern commentary that explains what each idea means and why it still matters. No prior knowledge of philosophy is required.What you'll discover:Why Spinoza identified God with Nature, and what that radical claim means for how we understand the worldThe mind-body identity that anticipated modern neuroscience by 300 yearsSpinoza's theory of the emotions: why we feel what we feel, and how understanding our passions can set us freeThe determinism at the heart of Spinoza's system, and why it leads not to despair but to a deeper kind of freedomThe concept of conatus — the drive to persist in being that underlies all human motivationWhat Spinoza means by the "intellectual love of God". His vision of the highest human happinessEach proposition is presented three ways: in Spinoza's own words, in a plain English restatement, and in a clear modern commentary. The book is designed for reading straight through or one page at a time, like a set of daily meditations. Generous white space on every page invites you to write your own reflections. Making this both a companion to Spinoza and a notebook for your own philosophical inquiry.Perfect for readers of:Rebecca Goldstein's Betraying SpinozaClare Carlisle's Spinoza's ReligionRyan Holiday's The Daily StoicAlain de Botton's The Consolations of PhilosophyDK's The Philosophy BookAnyone who loved the idea of philosophy in school or university but found the primary texts impenetrableTopics covered: God and Nature · Substance and infinity · Mind-body identity · The emotions · Conatus and self-preservation · Human bondage and freedom · Virtue, reason, and blessedness · Intellectual love of God/Nature · Pantheism · Determinism · 17th-century rationalismWhether you are approaching Spinoza for the first time or returning after a failed attempt at the Ethics, this edition gives you a clear path through one of the greatest works of Western philosophy and the space to make it your own. Read more