The Ethics ; Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect ; Selected Letters (Paperback)

by Benedictus de Spinoza (Author) "If Socrates' execution was the key event in Plato's life that shaped his subsequent career in philosophy, Spinoza's excommunication from the Jewish community of Amsterdam..." (more)
Key Phrases: equally great emotion, absolutely infinite entity, fictitious idea, Corollary Hence, Proof All, Benedict de Spinoza (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Since their publications in 1982, Samuel Shirley's translations of Spinoza's Ethics and Selected Letters have been commended for their accuracy and readability. Now with the addition of his new translation of Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect this enlarged edition will be even more useful to students of Spinoza's thought.

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Latin --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Hackett Publishing Company; 2 edition (November 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0872201309
• ISBN-13: 978-0872201309
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #165,484 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine translation of the Ethics., June 10, 2000

By	John S. Ryan "Scott Ryan" (Silver Lake, OH) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Ethics: Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect : Selected Letters (Hardcover)

This volume is a fine translation of Spinoza's _Ethics_ together with some other writings that help to illuminate it -- namely, the _Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect_ and some well-chosen passages from Spinoza's correspondence.

Aside from its presentation of Samuel Shirley's clear and readable translation, this volume includes two additional helpful features. Seymour Feldman's workmanlike twenty-page introduction provides an overview of Spinoza's thought and of the main themes of the _Ethics_; and a translator's preface includes a list of twenty-four possibly confusing features of Spinoza's terminology with short explanations/clarifications. The TIE is of interest in its own right, and the items from Spinoza's correspondence are well selected to illustrate or elaborate some of the features of his more formal wriitngs.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For Spinoza Fans., March 13, 1999

By	Joseph B. Yesselman "jyselman" (Fairfax, VA USA) - See all my reviews

Invaluable are the Introduction by Seymour Feldman and also, the Translator's Preface by Translator Samuel Shirley which gives lucid explanations of key Spinoza termsone of which is:

From Page 23, Note 5  G-D(Deus)

"Although Spinoza gives repeated warnings that his "Deus" is far from the anthropomorphic conception of God prevalent in the theology of his time, the reader will find it difficult to bear this constantly in mind. It is not until Ethics 1, Prop.14, that God, by definition, is shown to be identical with the infinite, all-inclusive, unique Substance, and thereafter it is all too easy to lose sight of this, as the religious overtones of the word "God" keep asserting themselves. So Spinoza's frequent use of the phrase "Deus sive Natura"God, or Natureis intended as a salutary corrective. For Spinoza God is all Being, all Reality, in all its aspects and in all its infinite richness."