If you find yourself having an interest in betraying Spinoza, and going so far as to stretch your mind in an attempt to fully encompass both his life and his profound philosophy, then you are indeed rather strange. However, this interesting and well-written book is precisely for you. It delves into the complex world of Spinoza, exploring the various aspects of his existence and the revolutionary ideas he put forth. Whether you are a scholar seeking a deeper understanding or simply someone with a curious mind, this book offers a unique perspective on Spinoza. It presents his life story in a captivating manner, highlighting the events and experiences that shaped his philosophical views. At the same time, it carefully analyzes his philosophical concepts, making them accessible to a wider audience. So, if you are willing to embrace the strangeness and embark on this intellectual journey, this book awaits you.

Rebecca Goldstein, an Ivy League educated Professor of Philosophy, holds a special place in my intellectual journey. She introduced me to Gödel, sparking an infatuation that endured for years. I've long intended to explore more of her work.

I knew of Spinoza due to Einstein. I was aware that Spinoza influenced Einstein's determinism and his skepticism towards the emerging quantum physics. I also knew that whenever Einstein mentioned "God," he was referring to "Spinoza's God." However, that was the extent of my knowledge.

After being deeply impressed by Rebecca's book on Gödel, I was determined to be better prepared this time. Then there was my coworker from the helpdesk, who held Spinoza in the highest regard. My coworker had even learned Latin to translate "Ethics" by Baruch Spinoza for himself. So, I delved into "The Ethics" and now felt somewhat familiar with the subject before hearing Rebecca's perspective.

Spinoza was indeed a great philosopher who inspired Einstein. But he was also Jewish, or at least born Jewish. However, he was excommunicated for his philosophizing. Spinoza erected various walls and disguises, rejecting his Jewish heritage as it had rejected him. He did all this seemingly with kindness, calmness, admirability, stoicism, idealism, and rationality. But despite his passionate pursuit of the Holy Grail of objectivity, was there truly no trace of Jewishness left in him? Rebecca perceives his work as intertwined with his Jewish heritage.

Rebecca herself, now an atheist and a philosopher, was raised in Orthodox Judaism. So, is this Spinoza's story or Rebecca's? Perhaps it is meant to be the story of all (modern) Jews and of anyone who sacrifices heritage for the sake of modernity.

The "betraying" in the title holds a significant meaning. It represents the author's endeavor to delve into the personal aspects of Spinoza within the context of his era and culture. This attempt to understand the individual is considered a "betrayal" because Spinoza himself eschewed the focus on his own individuality. Instead, he strived to establish a connection that unified everyone and everything into a oneness with the universe, which he termed "god."

Spinoza's concept of "god" was radically different from that of the Jews or Christians of his time, or indeed any traditional concept of god. Unsurprisingly, he was excommunicated for atheism. The author's account of the historical circumstances surrounding the Jews in Amsterdam and their painful global history, which might have influenced Spinoza's thoughts, is both fascinating and appropriately interwoven with excerpts from his writings.

Tragically, Spinoza's life was cut short by tuberculosis. At that point, I had to close my Kindle on the metro to prevent myself from shedding tears in public. His early demise serves as a poignant reminder of the brevity of life and the profound impact his ideas have had despite his untimely departure.

Baruch Spinoza is a renowned philosopher.

However, his life was also intertwined with the Spanish/Portuguese Inquisition. This inquisition had a profound impact on many, including those who were exiled to Amsterdam.

Spinoza's Jewish identity played a significant role in his experiences.

The brilliant Rebecca Goldstein has also explored these aspects in her work.

She delves into the complex relationship between Spinoza and the Inquisition, as well as the implications of his Jewish identity.

Goldstein's insights offer a deeper understanding of Spinoza's life and philosophy, and how they were shaped by the historical and cultural context in which he lived.

Her work not only sheds light on Spinoza but also on the broader themes of religious persecution, exile, and identity.

Overall, the story of Spinoza, the Inquisition, and Jewish identity is a fascinating and important one, and Rebecca Goldstein's contributions have added to our knowledge and understanding of this complex topic.

It was not at all easy to read. We were looking for a biography of Spinoza, but we came across a combination of biographical fragments and an introductory course in Spinozist philosophy: radical objectivity.

Rebecca Goldstein was in 2006, the year the book was published, a fellow professor at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Teaching since the beginning of her academic career a course on 17th-century rationalism: Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz and marked by her own Jewish education received in childhood at the synagogue, she tries to make all of us understand Spinoza, not just her philosophy students. And she does a good job of putting this brilliant man, a pioneer of the age of rationalism, the age opened not long before Descartes, into context.

To understand where the ideas on which he bases his philosophical system originated, one must understand the history of Judaism, especially the importance of the events in the Iberian Peninsula during the period of the Inquisition. These led to the massive migration of Sephardic Jews (Sepharad is the Hebrew name for Spain) from Spain and later Portugal to the Netherlands, especially to the tolerant Amsterdam, decisively influencing the subsequent history of Judaism.

Very superficially, Spinozist philosophy can be explained as follows: To reason means to empty your mind, and by emptying your mind, you empty yourself. This expansion of the self represents for Spinoza the essence of pleasure (rational pleasure); in opposition to the contraction of the self (when we accept the reasoning of others without investigating them ourselves), which represents pain (rational). Even if a reasoning that we offer ourselves does not please us because we want the world to be otherwise than it is, this still represents an expansion of the self, so rational pleasure.

It is the responsibility of each to expand their own understanding. It is the deepest responsibility we have because the moral progress of an individual is equal to the intellectual progress.

Or, in another form, that of the infamous PowerPoint:

• The Torah does not have divine revelation as its source, but was written by man/men;

• God is identical with Nature;

• The fundamental intuition behind his system of thought is simple: all things have explanations, all explanations can be deduced through logic/reason, which is self-evident and which overlaps the concept of God, or Nature. In other words, God is reason itself!

Well, it's not that simple. Here comes the headache that we had almost constantly during the reading.

Besides his writings, very few other things are known about this brilliant Sephardic Jew, born in Amsterdam in 1632, the same year that John Locke was born in England and three years after the Frenchman Descartes moved to Amsterdam, this wonderful city, a symbol of freedom of expression and tolerance, a republican experiment of that time. I am absolutely fascinated by this city, by the fact that it was the place where so many impressive people of European culture found the right environment to express their creativity.

If it seems interesting to you, I leave you to discover it on your own. The last thing I'll say is that Spinoza seems to have been the inspiration for Locke's secularism, as well as for the constitutional system created by the founding fathers of the United States, especially Thomas Jefferson.

As the title implies, this is a personal narrative, presented at least in part in a memoir style, emerging from years of studying and teaching Spinoza's world view.

I became intrigued by this world view when I read Einstein's assertion that his God was Spinoza's God. So, who exactly is Spinoza's God? It turns out that Spinoza believed the world to be self-aware logic. The world, or the universe that he termed Nature, is self-aware God. Its awareness and its existence are one and the same, forming the infinite God.

Where do we fit into this? We are part of it, yet we have a limited understanding of it. The world is completely rational, with explanations for all facts, but our comprehension is merely the lowest rung on the cognitive ladder. Religion is nothing more than superstition we embrace to ease our fear of death. True immortality comes from relinquishing one's personal identity, emotions, and all the burdens they carry, in favor of universalized pure reason.

I wonder what Spinoza would think of Buddhism? I believe he would sense a kinship with it.

Yes, Spinoza's world is undoubtedly Einstein's world when I consider what we know Einstein said about it.

"Betraying Spinoza" is an interesting title that can be interpreted in various ways. It could mean that by regarding him as part of the Jewish culture, thought, and religion, seeing him as essentially Jewish, Goldstein is betraying his absolute and irrevocable break from it. It might also mean that by succumbing to love and emotion, and allowing herself to be smitten by it, "despite Spinoza to Steve" (whom I assume is Steven Pinker), and her dedication to her two daughters, she is betraying his ultra-rational, emotionless approach. It could even mean looking at Spinoza as an individual, something he himself vehemently opposed. As she herself states, "I have insisted on speaking in personal terms of the philosopher who insisted most on impersonality."

I found Goldstein's analysis enlightening as it not only examines Spinoza's Ethics but also draws on his life and correspondence with various contemporary luminaries and provides the historical context of the Jewish community at that time. And, in fact, since the book is part of a series on Jewish thinkers, a significant amount of space is dedicated to Judaism and how Spinoza related to the development of critical thinking in that area during that era. That, although helpful, I found less personally engaging. Nevertheless, it contributed to a coherent whole.

I came to this book after thoroughly enjoying Goldstein's "Plato at the Googleplex." This book, though quite different, has the same sharp and witty style. It took me some time to read, but it was well worth it.

3.75/5

In this charming little book, Goldstein betrays Spinoza. She employs her novelist's imagination to attempt to uncover the man hidden behind a philosopher who exerted such great effort to abstract himself from the personal.

Some parts of the book are more effective than others. I sense that I have indeed achieved a better comprehension of how Spinoza's ideas connect to living. The history of the Jews that she utilizes to endeavor to understand Spinoza's origin is also rather fascinating.

Her attempt to envision his life without imposing ideas onto his character is not entirely convincing. However, she did make a sincere effort to work with the meager materials he left behind. Overall, I do feel that I know Spinoza better. Therefore, I am glad Goldstein chose to betray him.

This work by Goldstein offers a unique perspective on Spinoza, despite its flaws. It invites readers to explore the philosopher's life and ideas in a new light, and perhaps gain a deeper appreciation for his contributions.

While the book may not be a definitive account of Spinoza, it does succeed in sparking curiosity and stimulating further thought. It is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in philosophy, history, or the human condition.

This work is not so much a detailed account of Spinoza's life as it is a comprehensive history of the Sephardic Jews in Portugal and Spain.

It delves into their persecution by the Inquisition, which led to their subsequent emigration to the Netherlands. There, they had to grapple with the challenge of finding their personal identity in a world where they were a persecuted minority.

The early part of the book focuses on the conversos and Marranos, as well as the changes in Spanish policy after the expulsion of the Muslims by Ferdinand and Isabella. This historical backdrop dates back 100 to 200 years before Spinoza's birth. The author also covers notable figures such as the kabbalists Isaac Luria and Isaac Aboab de Fonseca.

Goldstein endeavors to explain how Spinoza arrived at his extreme form of rationalism due to the tumultuous history of his suffering people. However, it remains uncertain how much Spinoza himself would have identified as a Jew, even after being excommunicated.

She devotes a significant amount of time to discussing his isolation and inner turmoil.

The title indicates her intention to individualize Spinoza rather than using his work as a guiding light, thereby betraying his "philosophy." If she had taken that approach, she might not have had a book to begin with.

So, the question remains: How does one best write a biography of a philosopher? Certainly not in this manner.

Baruch Spinoza's philosophy emerged within a specific historical context.

The 17th century was a time of great intellectual and social upheaval.

Spinoza, a Dutch-Jewish philosopher, lived in a community that was both vibrant and restrictive.

His ideas, which challenged traditional religious and philosophical beliefs, led to his excommunication from the Jewish community.

This act of excommunication,看似intellectually liberating, allowed Spinoza to pursue his philosophical inquiries without the constraints of religious orthodoxy.

The author, through her investigation of Spinoza, sublimates her own Jewish identity.

She explores the rich history and culture of the Dutch Jewish community, while also grappling with the complex issues of faith, reason, and identity.

By delving into Spinoza's life and work, the author gains a deeper understanding of her own heritage and the ways in which it has shaped her.

Overall, the study of Spinoza provides a fascinating window into the history of philosophy and the human experience.

Alex's Recommendation

Alex has some great recommendations to share.

He believes that continuous learning is essential for personal growth. Whether it's through reading books, taking online courses, or attending seminars, one should always strive to expand their knowledge and skills.

Another important aspect according to Alex is maintaining a healthy lifestyle. This includes regular exercise, a balanced diet, and sufficient sleep. By taking care of our physical health, we can have more energy and focus to pursue our goals.

In addition, Alex emphasizes the significance of building good relationships. Surrounding ourselves with positive and supportive people can have a profound impact on our well-being and success. We should invest time and effort in nurturing these relationships and being there for others.

Finally, Alex suggests that we should not be afraid to take risks and step out of our comfort zones. Growth and progress often come from facing challenges and trying new things. So, let's be brave and embrace the opportunities that come our way.

These are Alex's valuable recommendations that can help us lead a more fulfilling and successful life.

This was a truly fascinating read for a novice such as myself.

The entire piece held my attention from start to finish.

Even the section towards the end where she delved into hypothesis was captivating.

It may not have been an extremely in-depth exploration, but it was most definitely a fulfilling one.

It provided just the right amount of information and stimulation for someone new to the subject.

I found myself engaged and eager to learn more as I progressed through the article.

The way it was written made it accessible and easy to understand, yet still managed to pique my curiosity.

Overall, it was a great read that left me with a sense of satisfaction and a desire to explore further.

I would highly recommend it to anyone else who is just starting out and looking for an interesting introduction to the topic.

Not yet completed.

Got bogged down with the rabbis' disagreements around death, salvation and messiah.

It seems that these complex and often contentious issues have led to a great deal of confusion and debate among the rabbis.

The different interpretations and beliefs regarding these fundamental aspects of faith can make it difficult to reach a consensus or find clear answers.

I can see why Spinoza went rational.

In the face of such religious ambiguity and disagreement, perhaps he felt that a more rational and logical approach was needed to make sense of it all.

By relying on reason and evidence, he may have hoped to cut through the clutter of religious dogma and arrive at a more objective understanding of the world and our place in it.

However, it's important to note that while rationality can be a useful tool, it may not be able to fully capture the depth and complexity of religious experience and belief.

There is still much to be explored and understood in the realm of faith, even if it sometimes eludes our rational comprehension.