Born into a Jewish emigre family in Amsterdam, Spinoza was later excommunicated for his radical theological speculations. Considered nowadays as one of the great Rationalist thinkers of the seventeenth century his work was at first condemned for its atheistic and subversive nature, his reputation only restored later by critics such as Goethe and Coleridge. Spinoza was an advocate of the freedom of scientific and philosophical speculation in the face of religious and political interference.
These witty and informative guides cover the lives and ideas of the major philosophers. Award-winning author Paul Strathern's concise and easily comprehensible style highlights the major advances in philosophy, as well as the men who conceived them and the times in which they lived.
Packed with striking quotes, insights and anecdotes, the aim of the 'Virgin Philosophers' series is to clarify the mysteries of philosophy for the general reader.
