Ethics

A profoundly beautiful and uniquely insightful description of the universe, Benedict de Spinoza's "Ethics" is one of the masterpieces of Enlightenment-era philosophy. This "Penguin Classics" edition is edited and translated from the Latin by Edwin Curley, with an introduction by Stuart Hampshire. Published shortly after his death, the "Ethics" is undoubtedly Spinoza's greatest work - an elegant, fully cohesive cosmology derived from first principles, providing a coherent picture of reality, and a guide to the meaning of an ethical life. Following a logical step-by-step format, it defines in turn the nature of God, the mind, the emotions, human bondage to the emotions, and the power of understanding - moving from a consideration of the eternal, to speculate upon humanity's place in the natural order, the nature of freedom and the path to attainable happiness. A powerful work of elegant simplicity, the "Ethics" is a brilliantly insightful consideration of the possibility of redemption through intense thought and philosophical reflection. "The Ethics" is presented in the standard translation of the work by Edwin Curley.