Book cover for 'The Essence of Spinoza's Ethics', edited with introduction by Hunter Lewis, with a white background, black and gold text, and a gold border in the shape of an E.

The Essence of Spinoza’s Ethics

Edited with an Introduction by Hunter Lewis

ISBN: 978-1-60419-056-4
eISBN: 978-1-60419-059-5

This new edition makes Spinoza’s own words understandable by everyone. Spinoza’s philosophy inspired luminaries like Einstein and Goethe, who praised his serenity and profound insights on love, God, and contentment.

The Essence of series

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Overview

Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677) is regarded as one of the very greatest of the Western philosophers. A Jewish lens grinder, he was expelled from his synagogue, never married, and lived as a boarder, supporting himself with daily work while corresponding with the great minds of Europe. Deliberately rejecting wealth, pleasure, and fame, he found complete contentment in developing a deductive logic that underlay both his view of the world and his famous ethics.

Einstein said: “I believe in Spinoza’s God.” The great German author Goethe said: “[In] the Ethics of this man…, I found the serenity to calm my passions….That wonderful sentence ‘he who truly loves God must not desire God to love him in return’… filled my whole subsequent thought.”

This new edition makes Spinoza’s own words understandable by everyone.

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Axios Press’s Essence of . . . series takes the greatest works ever written in the field of practical philosophy and pares them down to their essence. We select the best passages—the ones that are immediately relevant to us today, full of timeless wisdom and advice about the world and how best to live our lives—and leave behind the more obscure or less important bits. Our selections are not isolated: they flow together to create a seamless work that will capture your interest and attention from page one. And we provide useful notes and a solid introduction to the work.

  • Introduction: Baruch de Spinoza (1632–1677)

    Book One: On the Improvement of the Understanding

    Book Two: The Ethics

    Part A: God

    Part B: Mind and Emotion

    Part C: The Power of Reason (Gaining Human Freedom)

    Appendix A: God

    • Part I: Concerning God

    Appendix B: Mind and Emotion

    • Part II: Of the Nature and Origin of the Mind

    • Part III: On the Origin and Nature of the Emotions

    • Part IV: Of Human Bondage, or the Strength of the Emotions

    Appendix C: The Power of Reason (Gaining Human Freedom)

    • Part V: On the Power of the Understanding, or of Human Freedom

    Book Three: Letters

    Index

  • ISBN-13: 9781604190564

    Publication date: 08/16/2012

    Pages: 219

    Product dimensions: 5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.60(d)

  • From The Introduction

    Uncut Text: Read the complete public domain versions showing deletions and additions:

    On the Improvement of Understanding; The Ethics, Correspondence

    See a complete list of all of Spinoza’s Propositions, Notes, Corollaries, Definitions, Axioms, and Postulates referenced but not included in this book.

    References

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A portrait painting of Spinoza with long, dark curly hair, wearing a white collar and black coat, with a neutral background.

About the Author

Baruch Spinoza

Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677) was born in Amsterdam of Jewish parents who were refugees from the Spanish Inquisition. Of all the philosophers of the 17th century, perhaps none have more relevance today than Spinoza.

About the Editor

Hunter Lewis

Hunter Lewis, co-founder of global investment firm Cambridge Associates, has written eleven books on economics and moral philosophy. He has served on boards and committees of fifteen leading not-for-profit organizations, including environmental, teaching, research, and cultural organizations, as well as the World Bank.

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