The Collected Works of Spinoza Volume IIBenedictus de SpinozaLabel: Princeton University PressDescription: The Collected Works of Spinoza provides for the first time in English a truly satisfactory edition of all of Spinoza's writings with accurate and readable translations based on the best critical editions of the original-language texts done by a scholar who has published extensively on the philosopher's work. The centerpiece of this second volume is Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise a landmark work in the history of biblical scholarship the first argument for democracy by a major philosopher and a forceful defense of freedom of thought and expression. This work is accompanied by Spinoza's later correspondence much of which responds to criticism of the Theological-Political Treatise. The volume also includes his last work the unfinished Political Treatise which builds on the foundations of the Theological-Political Treatise to offer plans for the organization of nontyrannical monarchies and aristocracies. The elaborate editorial apparatus--including prefaces notes glossary and indexes--assists the reader in understanding one of the world's most fascinating but also most difficult philosophers.Of particular interest is the glossary-index which provides extensive commentary on Spinoza's technical vocabulary. A milestone of scholarship more than forty-five years in the making The Collected Works of Spinoza is an essential edition for anyone with a serious interest in Spinoza or the history of philosophy.
