Commentary

[in chronological order]

Spinoza’s Metaphysics by Itzhak Melamed

- Melamed, Yitzhak Y. Spinoza’s Metaphysics: Substance and Thought. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.
From the Publisher: Yitzhak Melamed here offers a new and systematic interpretation of the core of Spinoza’s metaphysics. In the first part of the book, he proposes a new reading of the metaphysics of substance in Spinoza: he argues that for Spinoza… More

“Spinoza on the Ethics of Courage and the Jewish Tradition” by Alexander Green

- Green, Alexander. “Spinoza on the Ethics of Courage and the Jewish Tradition.” Modern Judaism 33, no. 2 (May 1, 2013): 199–225. doi:10.1093/mj/kjt002.
Excerpt: Baruch Spinoza’s elusive statement at the end of the third chapter of hisTheological-Political Treatise has served as a source of inspiration for numerous thinkers, many of whom have used it in order to support their own disparate… More

Leo Strauss on Moses Mendelssohn by Martin Yaffe

- Strauss, Leo. Leo Strauss on Moses Mendelssohn, ed. Martin D. Yaffe. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2012.
From the Publisher: “Moses Mendelssohn (1729–86) was the leading Jewish thinker of the German Enlightenment and the founder of modern Jewish philosophy. His writings, especially his attempt during the Pantheism Controversy to defend the philosophical… More

“Why Spinoza Is Intolerant of Atheists” by Michael Rosenthal

- Rosenthal, Michael A. “Why Spinoza Is Intolerant of Atheists: God and the Limits of Early Modern Liberalism.” The Review of Metaphysics 65, no. 4 (June 2012): 813+.
Excerpt: SPINOZA IS OFTEN LAUDED as a founder of modern liberalism. Most recently, Jonathan Israel has argued that Spinoza was a central figure in what he calls the “Radical Enlightenment.” In particular, he claims that Spinoza’s focus on… More

Maimonides and Spinoza by Joshua Parens

- Parens, Joshua. Maimonides and Spinoza: Their Conflicting Views of Human Nature. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 2012.
From the Publisher: Until the last century, it was generally agreed that Maimonides was a great defender of Judaism, and Spinoza—as an Enlightenment advocate for secularization—among its key opponents. However, a new scholarly consensus has recently… More

Spinoza on Philosophy, Religion, and Politics: The Theologico-Political Treatise

- James, Susan. Spinoza on Philosophy, Religion, and Politics: The Theologico-Political Treatise. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.
From the Publisher: “Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise is simultaneously a work of philosophy and a piece of practical politics. It defends religious pluralism, a republican form of political organisation, and the freedom to philosophise,… More

Spinoza’s Revolutions in Natural Law

- Campos, Andre Santos. Spinoza’s Revolutions in Natural Law. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
From the Publisher: “This very first analysis of Spinoza’s philosophy of law from the viewpoint of his deterministic ontology shows that he revolutionized modern philosophy from within by developing an entirely new natural law theory connecting… More

“Benedict Spinoza on the Naturalness of Democracy”

- Ward, Lee. “Benedict Spinoza on the Naturalness of Democracy.” Canadian Political Science Review 5, no. 1 (April 6, 2011): 55–73.
Abstract: “Benedict Spinoza is arguably the first important political philosopher to endorse democracy as the best government. He does so primarily on the basis of the claim that it is the most natural regime. However, there are features of Spinoza’s… More

Conflict, Power, and Multitude in Machiavelli and Spinoza: Tumult and Indignation

- Lucchese, Filippo Del. Conflict, Power, and Multitude in Machiavelli and Spinoza: Tumult and Indignation. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2011.
From the Publisher: “Conflict, Power and Multitude in Machiavelli and Spinoza explores Spinoza’s political philosophy by confronting it with that of Niccolò Machiavelli. Filippo Del Lucchese conducts a study of the relationship between… More

The Trials of Spinoza

- Ali, Tariq. The Trials of Spinoza. Har/DVD. Seagull Books, 2011.
From the Publisher: Baruch Spinoza (1632–77) is considered one of the great rationalist thinkers of the seventeenth century. His magnum opus, Ethics, in which he criticized the dualism of Descartes, solidified his reputation and greatly influenced the… More

Spinoza’s “Theological-Political Treatise”: A Critical Guide

- Melamed, Yitzhak Y., and Michael A. Rosenthal, eds. Spinoza’s “Theological-Political Treatise”: A Critical Guide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
From the Publisher: “Spinoza’s Theological-Political Treatise was published anonymously in 1670 and immediately provoked huge debate. Its main goal was to claim that the freedom of philosophizing can be allowed in a free republic and that it… More

From Bondage to Freedom: Spinoza on Human Excellence

- LeBuffe, Michael. From Bondage to Freedom: Spinoza on Human Excellence. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
From the Publisher: “Spinoza rejects fundamental tenets of received morality, including the notions of Providence and free will. Yet he retains rich theories of good and evil, virtue, perfection, and freedom. Building interconnected readings of… More

“The Immortality of the Soul in Descartes and Spinoza”

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Curley, Edwin M. “The Immortality of the Soul in Descartes and Spinoza.” Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association 75 (August 23, 2010): 27–41.
Abstract: “In this paper, I examine the thought of Descartes and Spinoza regarding the immortality of the soul. I conclude that Descartes’s argument(s) for the immortality of the soul—or at least the argument(s) that one can construct based on… More

“Castellio Vs. Spinoza on Religious Toleration”

- Curley, Edwin. “Castellio Vs. Spinoza on Religious Toleration.” In The Proceedings of the Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy, 7:89–110, 2010.
Abstract: “The central thesis of Spinoza’s Theological-Political Treatise is that the state not only can permit freedom of philosophizing without endangering piety or the public peace, but that it must do so if it is not to destroy piety and the… More

Staring Into the Void: Spinoza, the Master of Nihilism

- Skulsky, Harold. Staring Into the Void: Spinoza, the Master of Nihilism. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2009.
From the Publisher: “Drawing extensively on the whole range of Spinoza’s philosophical writing, Staring into the Void devotes twelve chapters to showing in detail how the architecture of reality as Spinoza saw it rises in stages from a theory of… More

“The Jewish Spinoza”

- Nadler, Steven. “The Jewish Spinoza.” Journal of the History of Ideas 70, no. 3 (2009): 491–510. doi:10.1353/jhi.0.0044.
Examines Spinoza’s relationship to Judiasm and the Jewish philosohpical and theological traditions.

Spinoza’s Revelation: Religion, Democracy, and Reason

- Levene, Nancy K. Spinoza’s Revelation: Religion, Democracy, and Reason. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
From the Publisher: “Nancy Levene reinterprets a major early-modern philosopher, Benedict de Spinoza – a Jew who was rejected by the Jewish community of his day but whose thought contains, and critiques, both Jewish and Christian ideas. It… More

The Cambridge Companion to Spinoza’s Ethics

- Koistinen, Olli, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Spinoza’s Ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
From the Publisher: “Since its publication in 1677, Spinoza’s Ethics has fascinated philosophers, novelists, and scientists alike. It is undoubtedly one of the most exciting and contested works of Western philosophy. Written in an austere,… More

Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity

- Goldstein, Rebecca. Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity. New York: Schocken, 2009.
From the Publisher: “In 1656, Amsterdam’s Jewish community excommunicated Baruch Spinoza, and, at the age of twenty–three, he became the most famous heretic in Judaism. He was already germinating a secularist challenge to religion that would be as… More

Maimonides, Spinoza and Us: Toward an Intellectually Vibrant Judaism

- Angel, Marc D. Maimonides, Spinoza and Us: Toward an Intellectually Vibrant Judaism. Woodstock: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2009.
From the Publisher: “A challenging look at two great Jewish philosophers, and what their thinking means to our understanding of God, truth, revelation and reason. Moses Maimonides (1138-1204) is Jewish history’s greatest exponent of a rational,… More

“Recent Work on Spinoza”

- Seeskin, Kenneth. “Recent Work on Spinoza.” Jewish Quarterly Review 98, no. 4 (2008): 553–558.
Excerpt: “More than any other thinker of his time, Spinoza continues to interest philosophers. This may be related to his variety of guises. There is Spinoza the atheist and Spinoza the “God intoxicated” philosopher so much loved by German… More

Spinoza (Routledge Introduction)

- Rocca, Michael Della. Spinoza. New York: Routledge, 2008.
From the Publisher: “Renowned for his metaphysics, Spinoza made significant contributions to understanding the human mind, the emotions, moral philosophy, and political philosophy. Beginning with an overview of Spinoza’s life, Michael Della Rocca… More

Spinoza and Politics

- Balibar, Etienne. Spinoza and Politics. Translated by Peter Snowden. Brooklyn: Verso, 1998.
From the Publisher: “With Hobbes and Locke, Spinoza is arguably one of the most important political philosophers of the modern era, a premier theoretician of democracy and mass politics. In this revised and augmented English translation of his 1985… More

Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography

- Tanguay, Daniel. Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography. 1st English ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007.
From the Publisher: “Since political theorist Leo Strauss’ death in 1973, American interpreters have heatedly debated his intellectual legacy. Daniel Tanguay recovers Strauss from the atmosphere of partisan debate that has dominated American… More

The Courtier and the Heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza, and the Fate of God in the Modern World

- Stewart, Matthew. The Courtier and the Heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza, and the Fate of God in the Modern World. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007.
From the Publisher: “Philosophy in the late seventeenth century was a dangerous business. No careerist could afford to know the reclusive, controversial philosopher Baruch de Spinoza. Yet the wildly ambitious genius Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who… More

Spinoza Dictionary

- Runes, Dagobert D. Spinoza Dictionary. New York: Philosophical Library, 2007.
From the Publisher: “In this work Baruch Spinoza, one of the cardinal thinkers of all time, answers the eternal questions of man and his passions, God and nature. In the deepest sense, this dictionary of Spinoza’s philosophy is a veritable treasury of… More

Spinoza: A Guide for the Perplexed

- Jarrett, Charles. Spinoza: A Guide for the Perplexed. New York: Continuum, 2007.
From the Publisher: “Continuum’s Guides for the Perplexed are clear, concise and accessible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that students and readers can find especially challenging. Concentrating specifically on what it is that… More

Spinoza and the Rise of Historical Criticism of the Bible

- Frampton, Travis L. Spinoza and the Rise of Historical Criticism of the Bible. New York: Continuum, 2006.
From the Publisher: “Studies tracing the rise of historical criticism of the Bible often consider Benedict de Spinoza (1632-1677) the progenitor of this approach, presenting him as a quintessentially modern, rationalaist thinker who developed a… More

Spinoza and the Stoics: Power, Politics and the Passions

- DeBrabander, Firmin. Spinoza and the Stoics: Power, Politics and the Passions. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2010.
From the Publisher: “This important book examines Spinoza’s moral and political philosophy. Specifically it considers Spinoza’s engagement with the themes of Stoicism and his significant contribution to the origins of the European… More

Radical Protestantism In Spinoza’s Thought

- Hunter, Graeme. Radical Protestantism In Spinoza’s Thought. London: Ashgate Pub Ltd, 2005.
From the Publisher: “Spinoza is praised as a father of atheism, a precursor of the Enlightenment, an ‘anti-theologian’ and a father of political liberalism. When the religious dimension of Spinoza’s thought cannot be ignored, it is… More

Spinoza and Spinozism

- Hampshire, Stuart. Spinoza and Spinozism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
From the Publisher: “Stuart Hampshire, one of the most eminent British philosophers of the twentieth century, will be perhaps best remembered for his work on the seventeenth-century philosopher Spinoza, all of which is gathered now in this volume. Among… More

“I Durst Not Write So Boldly’ or, How to Read Hobbes’s Theological-political Treatise”

- Curley, Edwin. “‘I Durst Not Write So Boldly’ or, How to Read Hobbes’s Theological-political Treatise.” Hobbes e Spinoza, Scienza e Politica, Pp497–593 (1992).
Excerpt: “One of the most tantalizing anecdotes in Aubrey’s not so brief life of Hobbes concerns Hobbes’ (alleged) reaction to Spinoza’s Theological-Political Trea­tise (TTP).  As recently emended, the entire passage runs as follows:… More

“Strauss and Schmitt as Readers of Hobbes and Spinoza: On the Relation Between Political Theology and Liberalism”

- Vatter, Miguel E. “Strauss and Schmitt as Readers of Hobbes and Spinoza: On the Relation Between Political Theology and Liberalism.” CR: The New Centennial Review 4, no. 3 (2004): 161–214. doi:10.1353/ncr.2005.0025.
Excerpt: “Among those thinkers who experienced the emergence of totalitarian regimes and lived to offer a theoretical analysis of them, it is not infrequent to notice the absence of what in our times is presented as unquestionable evidence: the… More

Spinoza and Dutch Republicanism

- Prokhovnik, Raia. Spinoza and Dutch Republicanism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
From the Publisher: “In this book, Spinoza’s political theory is examined through an analysis of his engagement with the practical politics of his day in the United Provinces. 17th-century Dutch history, political life and political thought, and… More

Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise: Exploring “The Will of God.”

- Verbeek, Theo. Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise: Exploring “The Will of God.” London: Ashgate, 2003.
From the Publisher: “Presents an accessible analysis of Spinoza’s “Tractatus Theologico-politicus”, situating the work in the context of Spinoza’s general philosophy and its 17th-century historical background. According to… More

Spinoza’s Book of Life: Freedom and Redemption in the Ethics

- Smith, Steven B. Spinoza’s Book of Life: Freedom and Redemption in the Ethics. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003.
From the Publisher: “Most readers of Spinoza treat him as a pure metaphysician, a grim determinist or a stoic moralist, but none of these descriptions captures the author of the “Ethics”, argues Steven Smith in this book. Offering a new… More

“On Leo Strauss’s Critique of Spinoza”

- Smith, Steven B. “On Leo Strauss’s Critique of Spinoza.” Cardozo Law Review 25 (2003-2004): 741.
Excerpt: ” In an essay from 1932 entitled Das Testament Spinozas, Leo Strauss observed that the reception of Spinoza has undergone various stages from condemnation as a soulless atheist and materialist, to canonization by the German romantics who saw… More

“Spinoza’s Argument for Political Freedom”

- Rosen, Stanley. “Spinoza’s Argument for Political Freedom.” Cardozo L. Rev. 25 (2003): 729-741.
Excerpt: “It is a striking fact in the history of philosophy that one of the most notorious advocates of metaphysical determinism should have been the first great philosopher to present a systematic defense of political freedom. This defense occurs in… More

“Autonomous Autonomy: Spinoza on Autonomy, Perfectionism, and Politics”

- Den Uyl, Douglas. “Autonomous Autonomy: Spinoza on Autonomy, Perfectionism, and Politics.” Social Philosophy and Policy 20, no. 02 (2003): 30–69. doi:10.1017/S0265052503202028.
Abstract: “These epigraphs present us with part of the problem that is to be discussed in this essay. For Spinoza (1632–1677) there is no metaphysical freedom, except for God/Substance/Nature. The behavior of individual things, or modes, is… More

“Spinoza’s Critique of Miracles”

- Batnitzky, Leora. “Spinoza’s Critique of Miracles.” Cardozo Law Review 25 (2004 2003): 507.
Excerpt: “It is well known that central to Spinoza’s critique of religious authority is his critique of prophecy. Spinoza’s understanding of prophecy builds on and criticizes Maimonides’ defense of prophecy in his Guide of the… More

The Spinoza Conversations Between Lessing and Jacobi

- Vallee, Gerard. The Spinoza Conversations Between Lessing and Jacobi. Lanham: University Press Of America, 2002.
From the Publisher: “Lessing’s Spinozism looms up out of the numerous intellectual riddles of the past. Almost everything has been tried in an effort to sound and weigh the exact amount of Spinozism Lessing betrayed in his conversations with… More

Leo Strauss: The Early Writings (1921-1932)

- Strauss, Leo. Leo Strauss: The Early Writings (1921-1932). SUNY Series in the Jewish Writings of Leo Strauss. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002.
From the Publisher: “This translation of eighteen virtually unknown early publications provides access for the first time to the origins of Leo Strauss’s thought in the intellectual life of the German Jewish ‘renaissance’ in the 1920s.… More

Spinoza: A Very Short Introduction

- Scruton, Roger. Spinoza: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
From the Publisher: Father of the Enlightenment and the last guardian of the medieval world, Spinoza made a brilliant attempt to reconcile the conflicting moral and intellectual demands of his epoch and to present a vision of man as simultaneously bound by… More

Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity 1650-1750

- Israel, Jonathan I. Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity 1650-1750. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
From the Publisher: “In the wake of the Scientific Revolution, the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw the complete demolition of traditional structures of authority, scientific thought, and belief by the new philosophy and the philosophers,… More

“Spinoza’s Conception of Sovereignty”

- Prokhovnik, Raia. “Spinoza’s Conception of Sovereignty.” History of European Ideas 27, no. 3 (2001): 289–306. doi:10.1016/S0191-6599(01)00051-1.
Abstract: “The article argues that Spinoza’s principle of political order represents a conception of sovereignty which is both historically intelligible and analytically coherent. The appropriateness of four meanings of sovereignty to… More

Spinoza’s Heresy: Immortality and the Jewish Mind

- Nadler, Steven. Spinoza’s Heresy: Immortality and the Jewish Mind. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
From the Publisher: “Why was the great philosopher Spinoza expelled from his Portuguese-Jewish community in Amsterdam? Nadler’s investigation of this simple question gives fascinating new perspectives on Spinoza’s thought and the Jewish… More

Spinoza: A Life

- Nadler, Steven. Spinoza: A Life. reprint. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
From the Publisher: “Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) was one of the most important philosophers of all time; he was also arguably the most radical and controversial. This was the first complete biography of Spinoza in any language and is based on detailed… More

“The Invention of Liberal Theology: Spinoza’s Theological-Political Analysis of Moses and Jesus”

- Frankel, Steven. “The Invention of Liberal Theology: Spinoza’s Theological-Political Analysis of Moses and Jesus.” The Review of Politics 63, no. 2 (April 1, 2001): 287–315. doi:10.2307/1408669.
Abtract: “In his “Tractatus Theologico-Politicus”, Spinoza attempts to establish a Scriptural basis for liberal democracy by showing that the Gospels, when understood correctly, assert the need for freedom, toleration, and equality. He does… More

“Notes on a Neglected Masterpiece: Spinoza and the Science of Hermeneutics”

- Curley, Edwin. “Notes on a Neglected Masterpiece: Spinoza and the Science of Hermeneutics.” Spinoza: The Enduring Questions (2001): 64–97.
Excerpt: “In “Spinoza: Scientist and Theorist of Scientific Method,”[1] David Savan has raised two very important questions: 1) what is the place and importance of Spinoza’s work as a practising scientist? and 2) what did Spinoza think… More

Toleration in Enlightenment Europe

- Grell, Ole Peter, and Roy Porter. Toleration in Enlightenment Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
From the Publisher: “The Enlightenment is often seen as the great age of religious and intellectual toleration, and this volume is the first systematic pan-European survey of the theory, practice, and very real limits to toleration in eighteenth century… More

Savage Anomaly: The Power of Spinoza’s Metaphysics and Politics

- Negri, Antonio. Savage Anomaly: The Power of Spinoza’s Metaphysics and Politics. Minneapolis: Univ Of Minnesota Press, 1999.
From the Publisher: “In this essential rereading of Spinoza’s (1632-1677) philosophical and political writings, Negri positions this thinker within the historical context of the development of the modern state and its attendant political economy.… More

The God of Spinoza: A Philosophical Study

- Mason, Richard. The God of Spinoza: A Philosophical Study. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
From the publisher: “This book brings together Spinoza’s fundamental philosophical thinking with his conclusions about God and religion. Spinoza was born a Jew but chose to live outside any religious community. He was deeply engaged both in… More

Spinoza In English, A Bibliography

- Boucher, Wayne. Spinoza In English, A Bibliography. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 1999.
From the Publisher: “Spinoza in English,/i is the first bibliography to document the entire 300-year record of books, monographs, dissertations and articles in English on Benedict Spinoza, as well as all translations of his works into English. Arranged… More

Piety, Peace and the Freedom to Philosophize

- Bagley, P. J. Piety, Peace and the Freedom to Philosophize. New York: Springer, 1999.
From the Publisher: “The 11 essays collected here have been composed by members of the North American Spinoza Society. They exhibit the fruits of the research, investigation and erudition of an array of established scholars and newer students whose… More

“The Absurdity of Spinozism: Spinoza and His First Dutch Critics”

- Van Bunge, Wiep. “The Absurdity of Spinozism: Spinoza and His First Dutch Critics.” Intellectual News 2, no. 1 (1997): 18–26. doi:10.1080/15615324.1997.10429233.
Abstract: “Over the last thirty years, few early-modem philosophers have been studied as closely as the seventeenth-century Dutchman Baruch, or Benedict de, Spinoza (1631–1677). At the close of the 1960s, a number of important studies appeared which… More

Spinoza’s Critique of Religion

- Strauss, Leo. Spinoza’s Critique of Religion. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 1997.
From the Publisher: “Leo Strauss articulates the conflict between reason and revelation as he explores Spinoza’s scientific, comparative, and textual treatment of the Bible. Strauss compares Spinoza’sTheologico-political Treatise and the… More

Spinoza, Liberalism, and the Question of Jewish Identity

- Smith, Steven B. Spinoza, Liberalism, and the Question of Jewish Identity. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997.
From the Publisher: “Baruch de Spinoza (1632-1677)—often recognized as the first modern Jewish thinker—was also a founder of modern liberal political philosophy. This book is the first to connect systematically these two aspects of Spinoza’s… More

“From Democracy to Aristocracy: Spinoza, Reason and Politics”

- Prokhovnik, Raia. “From Democracy to Aristocracy: Spinoza, Reason and Politics.” History of European Ideas 23, no. 2–4 (1997): 105–115. doi:10.1016/S0191-6599(96)00012-5.
Excerpt: “Several commentators on Spinoza take his famous pronouncements in the Theologico-Political Treatise I of 1670, that, democracy is ‘the most natural form of government’ (TTP 263), and ‘of all forms of government the most… More

“Power and Difference: Spinoza’s Conception of Freedom”

- James, Susan. “Power and Difference: Spinoza’s Conception of Freedom.” Journal of Political Philosophy 4, no. 3 (1996): 207–228. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9760.1996.tb00050.x.
Excerpt: “During the last two decades, an established though contested alliance between liberty and equality has been profoundly challenged by reassessments of the view that, when States impose the same rights and obligations on all their citizens,… More

Spinoza: The Way to Wisdom

- Dijn, Herman de. Spinoza: The Way to Wisdom. West Lafayette: Purdue University Press, 1996.
From the Publisher: “De Dijn’s comprehensive introduction to Spinoza’s philosophy is based on two key texts. He first provides an in-depth analysis of Spinoza’s Treatise on the Improvement of the Understanding, which De Dijn… More

“The Histories and Successes of the Hebrews”: The Demise of the Biblical Polity in Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise’”

- Yaffe, Martin D. “The Histories and Successes of the Hebrews": The Demise of the Biblical Polity in Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise’.” Jewish Political Studies Review 7 (1995): 57–75.
Abstract: “This essay examines Spinoza’s account of political history of the Israelites (in chapter Seventeen of the Theologico-Political Treatise) in light of the standards which, he maintains, govern the writing of histories in general.”

“Anthropomorphism and Spinoza’s Innovations”

- Preus, Samuel J. “Anthropomorphism and Spinoza’s Innovations.” Religion 25, no. 1 (January 1995): 1–8. doi:10.1006/reli.1995.0001.
Abstract: “The first and most rigorous early modern discussion of anthropomorphism in religion was produced by Benedict Spinoza. The intellectual context for his consideration was the problem posed by biblical anthropomorphism for the philosophical… More

“A Hidden Opponent in Spinoza’s ‘Tractatus’”

- Preus, Samuel J. “A Hidden Opponent in Spinoza’s ‘Tractatus’.” The Harvard Theological Review 88, no. 3 (July 1, 1995): 361–388. doi:10.2307/1510089.
Examines the importance of Spinoza’s Christian interlocutors, paying particular attention to Spinoza’s relationship with contemporary Protestant theologians.

Spinoza: New Perspectives

- Shahan, Robert W., and John Ivan Biro. Spinoza: New Perspectives. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.
Contents: Truth and adequacy in Spinozistic ideas / Thomas Carson Mark — “Truth is its own standard”: aspects of Spinoza’s theory of truth / G.H.R. Parkinson — Spinoza’s use of “idea” / S. Paul Kashap —… More

Spinoza’s Philosophy: An Outline

- Harris, Errol E. Spinoza's Philosophy. Amherst: Humanity Books, 1993.
From the Publisher: “Spinoza’s writings on metaphysics, ethics, and politics have had a remarkably diverse reception in recent times and have contributed to the current dialogue among philosophers, intellectual historians, and literary theorists.… More

Spinoza and Other Heretics: The Marrano of Reason

- Yovel, Yirmiahu. Spinoza and Other Heretics: The Marrano of Reason. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992.
From the Publisher: “The Marrano of Reason The Marrano of Reason finds the origins of the idea of immanence in the culture of Spinoza’s Marrano ancestors, Jews in Spain and Portugal who had been forcibly converted to Christianity. Yovel uses their… More

Spinoza and Other Heretics: The Adventures of Immanence

- Yovel, Yirmiahu. Spinoza and Other Heretics: The Adventures of Immanence. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992.
From the Publisher: “This ambitious study presents Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) as the most outstanding and influential thinker of modernity–and examines the question of whether he was the “first secular Jew.” A number-one bestseller in… More

“Why Spinoza Had No Aesthetics”

- Morrison, James. “Why Spinoza Had No Aesthetics.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 47, no. 4 (1989): 359–365.
Argues that “Spinoza’s philosophy represents a certain type of philosophy and “cast of mind” which is fundamentally alien to, even hostile towards, art and beauty.”

Persecution and the Art of Writing

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Strauss, Leo. Persecution and the Art of Writing. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 1988.
From the Publisher: “The essays collected in Persecution and the Art of Writing all deal with one problem—the relation between philosophy and politics. Here, Strauss sets forth the thesis that many philosophers, especially political philosophers,… More

Spinoza: Practical Philosophy

- Deleuze, Gilles. Spinoza: Practical Philosophy. Translated by Robert Hurley. San Francisco: City Lights Publishers, 2001.
From the Publisher: “Spinoza’s theoretical philosophy is one of the most radical attempts to construct a pure ontology with a single infinite substance. This book, which presents Spinoza’s main ideas in dictionary form, has as its subject… More

Behind the Geometrical Method

- Curley, Edwin M. Behind the Geometrical Method. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988.
From the Publisher: “This book is the fruit of twenty-five years of study of Spinoza by the editor and translator of a new and widely acclaimed edition of Spinoza’s collected works. Based on three lectures delivered at the Hebrew University of… More

Spinoza and the Rise of Liberalism

- Feuer, Lewis S. Spinoza and the Rise of Liberalism. Piscataway: Transaction Publishers, 1987.
From the Publisher: “In this classic work the author undertakes to show how Spinoza’s philosophical ideas, particularly his political ideas, were influenced by his underlying emotional responses to the conflicts of his time. It thus differs form… More

Spinoza and the Sciences

- Grene, Marjorie, and Debra Nails, eds. Spinoza and the Sciences. New York: Springer, 1986.
 

“The ‘Separation’ of Religion and Politics: The Paradoxes of Spinoza”

- Fradkin, Hillel G. “The ‘Separation’ of Religion and Politics: The Paradoxes of Spinoza.” The Review of Politics 50, no. 4 (October 1, 1988): 603–627. doi:10.2307/1407356.
Abstract: “Benedict Spinoza is the first philosophical proponent of liberal democracy. In his Theologico-Political Tractate he calls for the liberation of philosophy from theology and for the subordination of religion to politics. Though Spinoza may… More

The Radical Enlightenment: Pantheists, Freemasons and Republicans

- Jacob, Margaret C. The Radical Enlightenment: Pantheists, Freemasons and Republicans. New Orleans: Cornerstone Book Publishers, 2006.
From the Publisher: “When first published in 1981, “The Radical Enlightenment” encountered both praise and blame. In the course of time it became a classic. In the era after 1945 the book was perhaps the first English language scholarly work… More

“Vico and Spinoza”

- Morrison, James. “Vico and Spinoza.” Journal of the History of Ideas 41, no. 1 (1980): 49–68.
A comparative study of Vico’s New Science with Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise.

“Spinoza and History”

- Morrison, James. “Spinoza and History" in The Philosophy of Baruch Spinoza, ed. Richard Kennington. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1980: 173–95.

“Notes on Spinoza’s Critique of Religion”

- Gildin, Hilail. "Notes on Spinoza's Critique of Religion," in The Philosophy of Baruch Spinoza, ed. Richard Kennington, The Catholic University of America Press, Washington (DC), 1980, 155-171.

Spinoza, a Collection of Critical Essays

- Grene, Marjorie Glicksman. Spinoza, a Collection of Critical Essays. Vol. 20. Harpswell: Anchor, 1973.
Broad collection of English language Spinoza scholarship.

“Spinoza and the Political Problem”

- Gildin, Hilail. "Spinoza and the Political Problem" in Spinoza. A collection of critical Essays, edited by Marjorie Grene, University of Notre Dame Press (Ind.), 2nd ed., 1979 (1st ed. : Anchor Books, New York, 1973), p. 377-387.

“How to Study Spinoza’s ‘Theologico-Political Treatise’”

- Strauss, Leo. “How to Study Spinoza’s ‘Theologico-Political Treatise’.” Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research 17 (January 1, 1947): 69–131. doi:10.2307/3622164.
A pathbreaking study of the question of how to read Spinoza’s masterwork, the Theologico-Political Treatise.