Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) has long appealed to skeptics and secularists. In the 18th century, “Spinozism” was a synonym for atheism. Shelley channeled him in his own arguments for atheism, George ...

Prospect receives commission when you buy a book using this page. Thank you for supporting us. What do we think we know about Baruch Spinoza? We know he was one of the greatest philosophers of the ...

Bertrand Russell declared the 17th century lens grinder Baruch Spinoza to be “the noblest and most loveable of the great philosophers.” To judge from several recent books, he’s not alone in that ...

For our first event in 2006, independent scholar Matthew Stewart discussed his new book, The Courtier and the Heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza, and the Fate of God in the Modern World. Stewart’s book ...

What is Spinoza’s Philosophy? Ian Buruma’s 2024 “Spinoza: Freedom’s Messiah,” a significant addition to Jewish studies, is published by Yale University Press. This book is a comprehensive introduction ...

A passage in Or ha-Shem [Light of the Lord], the major work of Ḥasdai Crescas (1340-1410/11), the Jewish critic of medieval Aristotelianism, is adduced here as contributing to Spinoza's decisive step ...

Gottfried Leibniz is remembered as a metaphysical Pollyanna, thanks to Voltaire's caricature -- the hapless Dr. Pangloss, who insists that all is for the best, even as he is afflicted with syphilis, ...

Is there room for a novel about Baruch Spinoza in a publishing market crowded with supernatural creatures and kinky romance? Irvin D. Yalom thinks so. In fact, there’s plenty of room to describe the ...

People often ask me if I believe in God, and my honest answer is always: ‘It depends what you understand by the word “God”’. This word probably means something different for every person who professes ...