Spinoza: A Very Short Introduction

From The Publisher: Father Of The Enlightenment And The Last Guardian Of The Medieval World, Spinoza Made A Brilliant Attempt To Reconcile The Conflicting Moral And Intellectual Demands Of His Epoch And To Present A Vision Of Man As Simultaneously Bound By Necessity And Eternally Free. Ostracized By The Jewish Community In Amsterdam To Which He Was Born, Spinoza Developed A Political Philosophy That Set Out To Justify The Secular State Ruled By A Liberal Constitution, And A Metaphysics That Sought To Reconcile Human Freedom With A Belief In Scientific Explanation. Here, Roger Scruton Presents A Clear And Systematic Analysis Of Spinoza's Thought And Shows Its Relevance To Today's Intellectual Preoccupations. Preface -- Abbreviations -- List Of Illustrations -- 1: Life And Character -- 2: Background -- 3: God -- 4: Man -- 5: Freedom -- 6: Body Politic -- 7: Spinoza's Legacy -- Further Reading -- Glossary -- Index. Roger Scruton. First Published As An Oxford University Press Paperback, 1986. -- T.p. Verso. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 119-121) And Index.