Spinoza: Logic, Knowledge and Religion

Richard Mason is a Fellow at Wolfson College, Cambridge University, UK.

'Mason succeeds in presenting Spinoza’s thought in its extraordinary simplicity and at the same time this study is a channel for Mason to question the major tenets of the standard analytical tradition. It is clear that this is not only a book for students of Spinoza but also an intervention in contemporary analytical debates.' Herman De Dijn, Hoger Instituut voor Wijsbegeerte, Leuven 'Richard Mason was a unique Spinoza scholar. His masterly study The God of Spinoza (1997) established his fame as a profound and subtle analyst of what remains one of the most formidable metaphysical systems in the history of philosophy. The present collection - Mason’s precious legacy to Spinoza scholarship - offers a wide range of highly original and thought-provoking essays. It approaches Spinoza’s philosophy from different but correlated perspectives: logic, knowledge, and religion. The result is a fresh reading that dispels many tenacious preconceptions. ' Piet Steenbakkers, University of Utrecht

• Contents: Introduction: Understanding Spinoza. Part I Logic: What had to be so; How things happen; Concrete logic; One thing after another. Part II Knowledge: Dealing with Descartes; Intelligibility; Belief; Spinoza, Davidson and objectivity. Part III Religion: Reducing religion?; Two views of faith; A revenge on Jewish Law?; On not being a Christian philosopher: the difference in Spinoza. Bibliography; Index.