Spinoza's Heresy: Immortality and the Jewish Mind

by Steven Nadler

Overview

Why was the great philosopher Spinoza expelled from his Portuguese-Jewish community in Amsterdam? Nadler's investigation of this simple question gives fascinating new perspectives on Spinoza's thought and the Jewish religious and philosophical tradition from which it arose.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199247073
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/02/2002
Pages:	242
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Steven Nadler is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Table of Contents

1. Cherem in Amsterdam2. Abominations and Heresies3. Patriarchs, Prophets, and Rabbis4. The Philosophers5. Eternity and Immortality6. The Life of Reason7. Immortality on the AmstelConclusionNotes; Bibliography; Index

Editorial Reviews

"Nadler's project is intriguing because it takes us right into the heart of the most difficult and interesting parts of Spinoza's philosophy, as well as into the thick of the historical milieu in which the expulsion took place and which helped shape Spinoza's intellectual development....Nadler does an excellent job of summarizing and synthesizing a vast body of literature into an accessible and plausible narrative....In short, Nadler's book is an admirable piece of work. It relates Spinoza's thought to a wide variety of contexts, each of which enrich our understanding of Spinoza. It is clearly written and highly readable, continuing the story begun in Nadler's earlier Spinoza: A Life. It will be mandatory reading for students of Spinoza, as well as for students of Jewish thought and history more generally."—Martin Lin, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

From the Publisher