Thursday 28 February 2013

Reading Spinoza for the first time in a while

While looking at some philosophy lectures loaded on Youtube, I came across a prograame on Spinoza - four philosophers debating various aspects of his thought.  It has been some time since I last read much about Spinoza and so, with my forthcoming trip to France on the near horizon, I have decided to focus on him for the next few weeks.  So into the packing goes the Nadler biography, the Cambridge Companion and The Courtier and the Heretic

On my two year course in the history of philosophy at university, Spinoza was the philosopher that I studied most (followed by Kant, then Leibniz).  And the last twenty years or so have definitely seen a resurgence in interest in him.  I am very pleased by this development - it is fair to say that much of my own views come from Spinioza, especially the role of reason in overcoming psychological issues. 



Also found and packed for the trip is  Tariq Ali's film "Spinoza - apostle of reason" from years ago.  Very keen to see that too.

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