Introduction to the Philosophy of Spinoza

FAIN: FT-52511-04

Michael Angelo Della Rocca
Yale University (New Haven, CT 06510-1703)

My project is the completion of a book on Spinoza for Routledge's new series on the great philosophers. The book is intended to introduce students to Spinoza's philosophy and to advance scholarly debate. All of Spinoza's works and all of the philosophical positions he developed will be covered. A guiding theme of the book is that Spinoza's commitment to the Principle of Sufficient Reason or the explicability of all facts is the key that can unlock much that seems impenetrable in Spinoza. I will devote a chapter to Spinoza's historical context. The final chapter will chart the multifarious lines of Spinoza's influence and explain the ways in which Spinoza is directly relevant to philosophical, political and cultural concerns today.