Spinoza A Very Short Introduction [Paperback]

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 Amsterddam 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
1. Life and Character
2. Background
3. God
4. Man
5. Freedom
6. The Body Politic
7. Spinoza's Legacy
Glossary
Further Reading
Index

Review from previous edition: ...an interesting and provocative guide' --Christian Science Monitor

His exposition is beautifully lucid. --Expository Times

Roger Scrutonwas Lecturer in Philosophy 1971-79, Reader 1979-85, and Professor of Aesthetics 1985-92 at Birkbeck College, University of London.