Spinoza and the Case for Philosophy

This Book Analyzes Three Often-Debated Questions Of Spinoza''S Legacy: Was Spinoza A Religious Thinker? How Should We Understand Spinoza''S Mind-Body Doctrine? What Meaning Can Be Given To Spinoza''S Notions Such As Salvation Beatitude And Freedom Which Are Seemingly Incompatible With His Determinism His Secularism And His Critique Of Religion. Through A Close Reading Of Often-Overlooked Sections From Spinoza''S Ethics Elhanan Yakira Argues That These Seemingly Conflicting Elements Are Indeed Compatible Despite Spinoza''S Iconoclastic Meanings. Yakira Argues That Ethics Is An Attempt At Providing A Purely Philosophical As Opposed To Theological Foundation For The Theory Of Value And Normativity.