Representation and the Mind-Body Problem in Spinoza [Hardcover]

Michael Della Rocca (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 21, 1996 | ISBN-10: 0195095626 | ISBN-13: 978-0195095623

This first extensive study of Spinoza's philosophy of mind concentrates on two problems crucial to the philosopher's thoughts on the matter: the requirements for having a thought about a particular object, and the problem of the mind's relation to the body. Della Rocca contends that Spinoza's positions are systematically connected with each other and with a principle at the heart of his metaphysical system: his denial of causal or explanatory relations between the mental and the physical. In this way, Della Rocca's exploration of these two problems provides a new and illuminating perspective on Spinoza's philosophy as a system.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A very rigorous, sophisticated and subtle treatment of central issues in Spinoza's philosophy of mind and knowledge....Della Rocca puts forward interpretations which are likely to be the subject of discussion among Spinoza for some years to come. In general, Della Rocca shows himself to be an original, subtle, and often brilliant expositor of Spinoza."--Nicholas Jolley, University of California, San Diego

"It will be a classic--'must' reading for Spinoza scholars, historians of philosophy in general, advanced students of the history of philosophy, and anyone interested in early mdoern cognitive psychology. It is one of the most exciting works in the history of philosophy that I have read in a long time....It deserves the widest possible readership."--Don Garrett, University of Utah

About the Author

Michael Della Rocca is at Yale University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (November 21, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195095626
• ISBN-13: 978-0195095623
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,641,126 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A contemporary look at the mind-body relation in the Ethics, August 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Representation and the Mind-Body Problem in Spinoza (Hardcover)

Although I think that the identity theory of the mind-body relationship in Spinoza is a highly contentious one, Della Rocca has offered a defence which deserves serious consideration by contemporary Spinoza scholars. His outline of the problem, the relationship between the attributes thought and extension, is one of the clearest and most detailed that is available in recent literature on the subject, and his engagement with the idea that Spinoza is a parallelist [a notion supported strongly by Jonathan Bennett, whom Della Rocca takes issue with in his final chapter] are excellent. Della Rocca also endeavours to highlight the contemporary relevance of Spinoza's mind-body relation, comparing the historical philosopher with philosophers such as Quine and Davidson. Ultimately, however, there is no knock-down proof for the identity thesis, although as Della Rocca presents it, it does appear much more plausible than Bennett's version of parallelism. All up, it is an amazing and in depth examination which provides much fruit for further discussion in this as yet unexplored area in Spinoza scholarship.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excelent, June 26, 2008

By 

Sonia N. Rezende "snrezende" (Campinas SP Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Representation and the Mind-Body Problem in Spinoza (Hardcover)

This book is a excelent source for those who are studing in Spinoza, the problem of the relations of body -mind(soul) ,their intimate relations and peculiarities.Other questions are also analysed by De Rocca,whith deep and extended attention.