Customer Reviews

Spinoza (The Routledge Philosophers)

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I've been a student of Spinoza's work for over 30 years now, and I can almost say without hesitation this is the best general study of Spinoza I've encountered. I say "almost" only because there have been so many other really, really good books on Spinoza appearing in the past decade, so using "best" here is not done lightly. Among these books are Steven Nadler's important studies of Spinoza, as well as--heaven forbid--more accessible, popular works by the likes of Rebecca Goldstein, Antonio Damasio, Jonathan Israel, and Matthew Stewart (The Courtier and the Heretic), not to mention the veritable cottage industry of scholarly articles on Spinoza's thought. The only reason I can think of for Della Rocca's lucid tome not getting more attention is it coming from an academic publisher without the same distribution clout and marketing savvy as the heavyweights. It is certainly not because of the work itself, which is highly recommended for both those new to Spinoza as well as for scholars versed in the Spinoza literature.

Unlike the other mentioned works, this is a real work of philosophy focusing squarely on elucidating the essence of Spinoza's thought. What makes it different from other philosophical studies, however, is its eminently readable style. Della Rocca takes pains to make Spinoza's thought intelligible to the non-specialist, and in so doing helps us to understand why Spinoza is so important and relevant for us today. Unlike other studies of Spinoza, Della Rocca begins not by telling us how "difficult" Spinoza is, but rather by letting us know that, armed with a few key concepts, Spinoza is not only accessible, but also intellectually fascinating to read. Della Rocca dives right in with the first chapter by carefully outlining the key concepts in understanding Spinoza's "project"--concepts such as the principle of sufficient reason (or PSR), Spinoza'a naturalism, and intelligibility. As the previous reviewer notes, Della Rocca's exposition goes far in helping the reader to "get it", to reaching that "a-ha" moment of understanding the genius of a great thinker. In so doing Della Rocca is not simplifying, or dumbing down, Spinoza's thought for the reader; rather, he is providing us with a profoundly insightful interpretation that closely follows Spinoza's own thinking. This makes reading Della Rocca's study itself a delightful meditation on one of the three greatest thinkers of the modern era (along with Kant and Hegel).

Spinoza indeed represents the intellectual foundation for the modern era, and for this reason making the effort to understand him is time well spent; as Hegel so correctly noted, all modern philosophy begins with Spinoza. If a beginning philosophy student were to ask me what five introductory books she should read, Della Rocca's study of Spinoza would be one of them.

Critics compared the works of the philosopher William James to those of his novelist brother, Henry, thus: "William James writes like a novelist, and his brother writes like a philosopher." It was not intended as a compliment to Henry, nor to philosophers. Well, for the most part, Michael Della Rocca - Chair of Philosophy at Yale - does NOT write like a philosopher. And what's equally important is that he offers a key - the "Principle of Sufficient Reason" - which has made understanding the core of Spinoza's philosophy much clearer for me.

I would have given the book 5 stars except for those instances when Della Rocca (a philosopher himself, after all) falls back on the jargon. But those are few and have not deterred me from enjoying the book. If you are interested in, but struggling with, understanding the thinking of the ultimate rationalist, I recommend this book.