Steven M. Nadler
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"The seventeenth-century Dutch-Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza has long been known - and vilified - for his heretical view of God and for the radical determinism he sees governing the cosmos and human freedom. Only recently, however, has he begun to be considered seriously as a moral philosopher. In his philosophical masterpiece, the Ethics, after establishing some metaphysical and epistemological foundations, he turns to the "big questions" that...
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A unique combination of philosophy, biography, and art history. The philosopher, the priest, and the painter investigates the remarkable individuals and the circumstances behind a small portrait.
"In the Louvre museum hangs a portrait of a middle-aged man with long dark hair, a mustache, and heavy-lidded eyes, and he is dressed in the starched white collar and black coat of the typical Dutch burgher. The painting is now the iconic image of René...
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"Often called 'the father of modern philosophy', René Descartes' contributions to philosophy, mathematics and natural science set the intellectual agenda for the seventeenth century. In this biography and assessment of his works, based on the most up-to-date research, Steven Nadler follows Descartes from his early years and education in France to the Dutch Republic, where he lived most of his adult life, to his final months as tutor to Queen Christina...
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"Baruch Spinoza (1632-77) was one of the most important philosophers of all time; he was also, arguably, the most radical and controversial. Born into a Portuguese Jewish merchant family living in Amsterdam, Spinoza was banished from the Sephardic community as a young man, apparently for his heretical views." "This is the first complete biography of Spinoza in any language and is based on detailed archival research. More than simply recounting the...