Within Reason: A Life of Spinoza
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.58 (511 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0312253583 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 398 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 0000-00-00 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Whether you're a Spinoza enthusiast, an informed critic, or are ignorant of all things Spinozan, the results of Gullan-Whur's research and analysis are fascinating, vividly depicting an era, a place, and a man whose theories did not always manifest themselves in his daily practices--despite his great impatience with pretence and false acts of piety. You would be hard put to find a better, more thorough, more thoughtful biography of Spinoza than this work by Margaret Gullan-Whur. Despite the inconsistencies that Spinoza was subject to, his treatises on ethics and t
The compelling biography of one of the most brilliant and controversial thinkers in Western historyBaruch or Benedictus de Spinoza (1632-1677) is considered one of the greatest Western thinkers and certainly the most rigorous of the Rationalist philosophers.Born of Jewish immigrants escaping the Spanish Inquisition, he was expelled from the Jewish community of Amsterdam for "horrendous heresies" in 1656.He came to be reviled by all religious authorities for claiming that humans were parts of a unified nature, that God was identical with nature, and that reason-not revelation-supplied the truth of any aspect of God, or Nature.Undeterred, Spinoza made this thesis the basis for a rational crusade against superstition and prejudice.This highly informative biography shows how Spinoza's central beliefs developed within the context of his own life in Dutch society.Drawing on very recent scholarly research and making detailed reference to primary sources, some not previously explored, author Gullan-Whur focuses on the philosopher's attempt to act solely through reason in the face of turbulent personal and national circumstances.Margaret Gullan-Whur debunks the myth of the philosopher as a lofty ascetic and exposes the emotional and sexual vulnerability behind Spinoza's misogynist tendencies.Within Reason offers a fresh, new and compelling look at the most important Rationalist and shows his living philosophical experiment to be sharply relevant today.AUTHORBIO: Margaret Gullan-Whur gained a first-class degree in philosophy and critical theory of literature from the University of East Anglia, and a doctorate in the philosophy of Spinoza from University College London.Cover paintings: Portrait of Spinoza, Dutch School, second half of the 17th century, reproduced courtesy of Haags Historisch Museum, The Hague; detail from The Dam with the New Town Hall under Construction by Johannes Lingelbach reproduced by courtesy of Amsterdams Historisch Museum, Amsterdam.
Spinoza within context C. Collins Margaret Gullan-Whur's biography of Spinoza does a fairly good job of placing Spinoza's work within a philosophical, social, and historic context. The connections between the works of Hobbes and Descartes and Spinoza show intellectual reaction and continuity. The connections and associations between Spinoza's work and the Dutch Reform Church and the Jewish community in Amsterdam. More of a Novel Than a Biography Parker Benchley Margaret Gullan-Whur is a victim of bad timing. A Spinoza scholar, she released her book around the same time as Steven Nadler's excellent biography of Spinoza. Spinoza poses large problems for any biographer, for the vast majority of his life was "lived" in the public sphere. Letters from friends and intimates were destroyed. Whereas Nadler presents a straightforward biography . "Poor style, pre-conceived ideas and no insight" according to Stephen A. Haines. Nothing invalidates an historical study more than the imposition of modern values on earlier times. Such an approach misleads the reader and misrepresents the subject. No amount of footnoting and references can redeem a book that applies this century's "political correctness" to attitudes of three hundred years ago. This work is a classic case of the faults of an "a priori" appr