Spinoza on Ethics and Understanding

Description

This volume unites Peter Winch's previously unpublished work on Baruch de Spinoza. The primary source for the text is a series of seminars on Spinoza that Winch gave, first at the University of Swansea in 1982 and then at King's College London in 1989. What emerges is an original interpretation of Spinoza's work that demonstrates his continued relevance to contemporary issues in metaphysics, epistemology and ethics, and establishes connections to other philosophers - not only Spinoza's predecessors such as Rene Descartes, but also important 20th Century philosophers such as Ludwig Wittgenstein and Simone Weil. Alongside Winch's lectures, the volume contains an interpretive essay by David Cockburn, and an introduction by the editors.

Peter Winch was Professor of Philosophy at King's College London and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. David Cockburn is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at University of Wales, Trinity Saint David. Michael Campbell is a researcher at the Centre for Ethics in the University of Pardubice. Sarah Tropper is a researcher at the Alpen-Adria-Universitat Klagenfurt.

"Peter Winch's depth as a philosopher comes out in the depth of his engagement with Spinoza. Spinoza's ethical concerns resonated with Winch's own; and his lectures are wonderfully expressive of how he saw philosophy itself. Winch's discussions of the complex relation between Descartes's philosophy and that of Spinoza are among the most valuable features of this fine book." - Cora Diamond, Kenan Professor Of Philosophy Emerita, Department of Philosophy, University of Virginia