Spinoza on Learning to Live Together
Published on 22. October 2020
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-0-19-871307-4 (ISBN)
Description
Philosophising, as Spinoza conceives it, is the project of learning to live joyfully. Yet this is also a matter of learning to live together, and the surest manifestation of philosophical insight is the capacity to sustain a harmonious way of life. Here, Susan James defends this overall interpretation of Spinoza's philosophy and explores its bearing on contemporary philosophical debates around issues such as religious toleration, putting our knowledge to work, and the environmental crisis.
Part I focuses on Spinoza's epistemology. Philosophical understanding empowers us by giving us access to truths about ourselves and the world, and by motivating us to act on them. It gives us reasons for living together and enhances our ability to live co-operatively. Part II takes up Spinoza's claim that, to cultivate this kind of understanding, we need to live together in political communities. It explores his analysis of how states can develop a co-operative ethos. Finally, living joyfully compels us to look beyond the state to our relationship with the rest of nature. James concludes with discussions of some of the virtues this requires.
Part I focuses on Spinoza's epistemology. Philosophical understanding empowers us by giving us access to truths about ourselves and the world, and by motivating us to act on them. It gives us reasons for living together and enhances our ability to live co-operatively. Part II takes up Spinoza's claim that, to cultivate this kind of understanding, we need to live together in political communities. It explores his analysis of how states can develop a co-operative ethos. Finally, living joyfully compels us to look beyond the state to our relationship with the rest of nature. James concludes with discussions of some of the virtues this requires.
Reviews / Votes
one looking for an account of Spinoza's views on the ethics of ordinary life could hardly ask for a better guide than Susan James. Spinoza on Learning to Live Together makes the case for regarding Spinoza, for all of his rarefied intellectualism, as a theorist who is deeply attuned to the challenges to, and importance of, living cooperatively with others. * Justin Steinberg, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews * James's volume has much to add to our understanding of Spinoza's ethics, politics, and their interconnection, and will be an indispensable volume for scholars and casual readers of Spinoza alike. * Hadley Marie Cooney, Central Michigan University, Journal of the History of Philosophy * The essays are informed by deep scholarship, but the exemplary clarity and elegance of their composition make this volume an excellent introduction to Spinoza for those new to philosophy. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers. * M. Latzer, CHOICE * This is a wonderful collection of essays. They offer sophisticated and unexpected insights into aspects of Spinoza's philosophical system-and especially the unity of that system in its metaphysical, epistemological, moral, and political dimensions-that have largely been unexplored by scholars. . . . James is an astute political thinker in her own right, and her commentaries on Spinoza's political, religious, and ethical views are of general philosophical interest. Moreover, James is an elegant writer, and these essays are a pleasure to read. It is a great benefit to have them published together in one place. * Steven Nadler, European Journal of Philosophy *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
529 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-871307-4 (9780198713074)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Susan James
Spinoza on Learning to Live Together
E-Book
10/2020
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€50.49
Available for download
Susan James
Spinoza on Learning to Live Together
E-Book
10/2020
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€50.49
Available for download
Person
Susan James is a professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College London. Her main areas of interest are early-modern philosophy, feminist philosophy, political philosophy, and the philosophy of art. She is the author of Passion and Action: The Emotions in Early-Modern Philosophy (Oxford, 1997) and Spinoza on Philosophy, Religion, and Politics: The Theologico-Political Treatise (Oxford, 2012).
Content
Introduction: Philosophy as the Art of Living Together
Part I. Learning to Live Together
Creating Rational Understanding: Spinoza as a Social Epistemologist
When Does Truth Matter? The Relation Between Theology and Philosophy
Spinoza on Superstition: Coming to Terms with Fear
Narrative as a Means to Freedom: Spinoza on the Uses of Imagination
Responding Emotionally to Fiction: A Spinozist Approach
Part II. The Politics of Living Together
Law and Sovereignty in Spinoza's Politics
Natural Rights as Powers to Act
Democracy and the Good Life in Spinoza's Philosophy
Freedom, Slavery and the Passions
Freedom of Conscience and Civic Peace: Spinoza on Piety
Part III. Philosophical Communities
Freedom and Nature: A Spinozist Invitation
The Affective Cost of Philosophical Self-Transformation
Fortitude: Living in the Light of our Knowledge
Part I. Learning to Live Together
Creating Rational Understanding: Spinoza as a Social Epistemologist
When Does Truth Matter? The Relation Between Theology and Philosophy
Spinoza on Superstition: Coming to Terms with Fear
Narrative as a Means to Freedom: Spinoza on the Uses of Imagination
Responding Emotionally to Fiction: A Spinozist Approach
Part II. The Politics of Living Together
Law and Sovereignty in Spinoza's Politics
Natural Rights as Powers to Act
Democracy and the Good Life in Spinoza's Philosophy
Freedom, Slavery and the Passions
Freedom of Conscience and Civic Peace: Spinoza on Piety
Part III. Philosophical Communities
Freedom and Nature: A Spinozist Invitation
The Affective Cost of Philosophical Self-Transformation
Fortitude: Living in the Light of our Knowledge