Meaning in Spinoza's Method [Paperback]

Garrett argues for the interconnection between Spinoza's method and the content of his philosophy.Readers of Spinoza's philosophy have often been daunted, and sometimes been enchanted, by the geometrical method which he employs in his masterpiece the Ethics. In Meaning in Spinoza's Method Aaron Garrett examines this method and suggests that its purpose, in Spinoza's view, was not just to present claims and propositions but also in some sense to change the readers, allowing them to look at themselves and the world in a different way. This original and controversial book will be of interest to historians of philosophy.Readers of Spinoza's philosophy have often been daunted, and sometimes been enchanted, by the geometrical method which he employs in his masterpiece the Ethics. In Meaning in Spinoza's Method Aaron Garrett examines this method and suggests that its purpose, in Spinoza's view, was not just to present claims and propositions but also in some sense to change the readers, allowing them to look at themselves and the world in a different way. This original and controversial book will be of interest to historians of philosophy.Readers of Spinoza's philosophy have often been discouraged, as well as fascinated, by the geometrical method which he employs in his masterpiece Ethics. Aaron Garrett examines this method and suggests that Spinoza intended not only to make claims and propositions but also to transform readers by enabling them to view themselves and the world in a different way. This original and controversial book will be of interest to historians of philosophy.Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Texts and editions; Introduction; 1. A worm in the blood: some central themes in Spinoza's Ethics; 2. A few further basic concepts; 3. Emendative therapy and the Tractatus de Intellectus Emendatione; 4. Method: analysis and synthesis; 5. Maimonides and Gersonides; 6. Definitions in Spinoza's Ethics: where they come from and what they are for; 7. The third kló<