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Speech And Power Of Expression
by M. Fethullah GülenEmphasizing the esthetic concerns of the Islamic civilization as well as underlining the true nature of the religion, this insightful opus contains a collection of essays on the art of language from a revered contemporary scholar of Islam. Written separately as lead articles for the Turkish literary magazine, Yagmur, the volume eloquently articulates the author&’s approach to speech as well as his definitions of poetry, history, and beauty, all of which are deeply embroidered around the lacework of Islam. With powerful emphasis on belief in God, each essay addresses an important matter of language that aptly relates to the current state of affairs in the Muslim world and the nature of human existence in the 21st century as a whole.
Speech Begins after Death
by Michel FoucaultIn 1968, Michel Foucault agreed to a series of interviews with critic Claude Bonnefoy, which were to be published in book form. Bonnefoy wanted a dialogue with Foucault about his relationship to writing rather than about the content of his books. The project was abandoned, but a transcript of the initial interview survived and is now being published for the first time in English. In this brief and lively exchange, Foucault reflects on how he approached the written word throughout his life, from his school days to his discovery of the pleasure of writing.Wide ranging, characteristically insightful, and unexpectedly autobiographical, the discussion is revelatory of Foucault&’s intellectual development, his aims as a writer, his clinical methodology (&“let&’s say I&’m a diagnostician&”), and his interest in other authors, including Raymond Roussel and Antonin Artaud. Foucault discloses, in ways he never had previously, details about his home life, his family history, and the profound sense of obligation he feels to the act of writing. In his Introduction, Philippe Artières investigates Foucault&’s engagement in various forms of oral discourse—lectures, speeches, debates, press conferences, and interviews—and their place in his work.Speech Begins after Death shows Foucault adopting a new language, an innovative autobiographical communication that is neither conversation nor monologue, and is one of his most personal statements about his life and writing.
Speech Matters: On Lying, Morality, and the Law (Carl G. Hempel Lecture Series #4)
by Seana Valentine ShiffrinTo understand one another as individuals and to fulfill the moral duties that require such understanding, we must communicate with each other. We must also maintain protected channels that render reliable communication possible, a demand that, Seana Shiffrin argues, yields a prohibition against lying and requires protection for free speech. This book makes a distinctive philosophical argument for the wrong of the lie and provides an original account of its difference from the wrong of deception.Drawing on legal as well as philosophical arguments, the book defends a series of notable claims—that you may not lie about everything to the "murderer at the door," that you have reasons to keep promises offered under duress, that lies are not protected by free speech, that police subvert their mission when they lie to suspects, and that scholars undermine their goals when they lie to research subjects.Many philosophers start to craft moral exceptions to demands for sincerity and fidelity when they confront wrongdoers, the pressures of non-ideal circumstances, or the achievement of morally substantial ends. But Shiffrin consistently resists this sort of exceptionalism, arguing that maintaining a strong basis for trust and reliable communication through practices of sincerity, fidelity, and respecting free speech is an essential aspect of ensuring the conditions for moral progress, including our rehabilitation of and moral reconciliation with wrongdoers.
Speechwriting in Theory and Practice (Rhetoric, Politics and Society)
by Jens E. Kjeldsen Amos Kiewe Marie Lund Jette Barnholdt Hansen (Deceased)This book provides students, researchers, and practitioners of speechwriting with a unique insight in the theory, history, and practice of speechwriting. The combination of theory and practice with case studies from the United States and Europe makes this volume the first of its kind. The book offers an overview of the existing research and theory, analysing how speeches are written in political and public life, and paying attention to three central subjects of contemporary speechwriting: convincing characterization of the speaker, writing for the ear, and appealing with words to the eye. Chapters address the ethics and the functions of speechwriting in contemporary society and also deliver general instructions for the speechwriting process. This book is recommended reading for professional speechwriters wishing to expand their knowledge of the rhetorical and theoretical underpinnings of speechwriting, and enables students and aspiring speechwriters to gain an understanding of speechwriting as a profession.
Speechwriting in Theory and Practice (Rhetoric, Politics and Society)
by Jens E. Kjeldsen Amos Kiewe Marie Lund Jette Barnholdt HansenThis book provides students, researchers, and practitioners of speechwriting with a unique insight in the theory, history, and practice of speechwriting. The combination of theory and practice with case studies from the United States and Europe makes this volume the first of its kind. The book offers an overview of the existing research and theory, analysing how speeches are written in political and public life, and paying attention to three central subjects of contemporary speechwriting: convincing characterization of the speaker, writing for the ear, and appealing with words to the eye. Chapters address the ethics and the functions of speechwriting in contemporary society and also deliver general instructions for the speechwriting process. This book is recommended reading for professional speechwriters wishing to expand their knowledge of the rhetorical and theoretical underpinnings of speechwriting, and enables students and aspiring speechwriters to gain an understanding of speechwriting as a profession.
Speed Limits: Where Time Went and Why We Have So Little Left
by Mark C. TaylorA contemplation on &“the durability of our fast-tracked, multitasked modern world . . . a stimulating cautionary report for the digital age.&”—Kirkus Reviews We live in an ever-accelerating world: faster computers, markets, food, fashion, product cycles, minds, bodies, kids, lives. When did everything start moving so fast? Why does speed seem so inevitable? Is faster always better? Drawing together developments in religion, philosophy, art, technology, fashion, and finance, Mark C. Taylor presents an original and rich account of a great paradox of our times: how the very forces and technologies that were supposed to free us by saving time and labor now trap us in a race we can never win. The faster we go, the less time we have, and the more we try to catch up, the farther behind we fall. Connecting our speed-obsession with today&’s global capitalism, he composes a grand narrative showing how commitments to economic growth and extreme competition, combined with accelerating technological innovation, have brought us close to disaster. Psychologically, environmentally, economically, and culturally, speed is taking a profound toll on our lives. By showing how the phenomenon of speed has emerged, Taylor offers us a chance to see our pace of life as the product of specific ideas, practices, and policies. It&’s not inevitable or irreversible. He courageously and movingly invites us to imagine how we might patiently work towards a more deliberative life and sustainable world. &“With panache and flashes of brilliance, Taylor, a Columbia University religion professor and cultural critic, offers a philosophically astute analysis of how time works in our era.&” —Publishers Weekly
Speed and Micropolitics: Bodies, Minds, and Perceptions in an Accelerating World
by Simon GlezosThis book provides a theoretical framework for understanding the micropolitics of speed; a rich, nuanced, and embodied account of life in an accelerating world. What does it feel like to live in an era of profound social acceleration? What kinds of affects, perceptions, and identities does an accelerating world produce? The answers to these questions mean more than simply understanding the psychology of speed; they also mean understanding issues in contemporary politics as diverse as xenophobia and anti-immigration policies, patterns of transnational identification and solidarity, social isolation and alienation, and the ability of new media to coordinate social movements. While drawing extensively on the work of contemporary theorists, Simon Glezos recognizes that social acceleration is not a purely recent phenomenon. He therefore turns to thinkers such as Nietzsche, Spinoza, Bergson, and Merleau-Ponty, to ask how they sought to understand, and respond to, the rapid changes and unsettling temporalities of their eras, and how their insights can be applied to our own. Advancing theoretical understanding and offering a useful way to analytically conceptualize the nature of time, Speed and Micropolitics will be of interest to students and scholars studying affect theory, theories of the body, new materialism, phenomenology, as well as the history of political thought.
Speusippus: A Forgotten Voice of Platonism (Issues in Ancient Philosophy)
by Giulia De CesarisThis volume, the first devoted specifically to Speusippus in English, offers a new picture of Speusippus’ philosophy via an in-depth analysis of the testimonia preserved by Aristotle.The book develops a new methodology for understanding the evidence concerning authors of the Early Academy, Speusippus in particular, providing a fresh assessment of the initial phase of Platonism, which calls into question the long-held view that Speusippus was a distinct outlier among Platonists. By reconstructing discussions within the Academy, looking at Aristotle especially, we can better understand the presence of Speusippus’ doctrinal deviation from or preservation of Plato’s doctrine as the effort of a genuine Platonist – the first – to re-shape his Platonic credentials in the backdrop of Aristotle’s critiques. In offering a new reconstruction of the philosophical views of Speusippus, the book provides new points of departure for research on the Early Academy and challenges previous ideas regarding the early development of Platonism.Speusippus: A Forgotten Voice of Platonism is of interest to students and scholars of Speusippus, as well as those working on Platonism, the Academy, and ancient philosophy more broadly.
Spheres of Global Justice: Volume 1 Global Challenges to Liberal Democracy. Political Participation, Minorities and Migrations; Volume 2 Fair Distribution - Global Economic, Social and Intergenerational Justice
by Jean-Christophe MerleSpheres of Global Justice analyzes six of the most important and controversial spheres of global justice, each concerning a specific global social good. These spheres are democratic participation, migrations, cultural minorities, economic justice, social justice, and intergenerational justice. Together they constitute two constellations dealt with, in this collection of essays by leading scholars, in two different volumes: Global Challenges to Liberal Democracy and Fair Distribution. These essays illustrate each of the spheres, delving into their differences, commonalities, collisions and interconnections. Unlike many writings on global justice, Spheres of Global Justice does not content itself with describing the painful and advantageous effects of the globalization process as being ipso facto a global injustice or a just global order. Rather, this multidisciplinary collection of essays, from a pluralist inspiration, combines empirical analysis with theoretical approaches and ethical principles, paying close attention to two aspects of the effects of the globalization process. These aspects are the causal relationships that lead to such effects and the kinds of obligations, or of normative relationships between global rights and correlative duties, that applies to each specific individual case. This volume illustrates how diverse global obligations are, and how they can be, grounded in diverse relationships (identity, ability to provide help, causal responsibility, past injustices, protection of agency and promotion of independence, etc.). These essays also demonstrate that an ethical global approach has not only international or transnational, but also domestic, local and interpersonal dimensions.
Spheres of Insurrection: Notes on Decolonizing the Unconscious (Critical South)
by Suely RolnikAs the globalized regime of neoliberal capitalism consolidates its grip on the world, it refines the micropolitics proper to the capitalist system and makes it more perverse. This micropolitics involves the appropriation – what Suely Rolnik calls the “pimping” – of life, as it turns the life drive itself away from creation and cooperation and towards the deadening, destructive practice necessary for capital accumulation. This dynamic is the engine of what Rolnik calls the colonial-capitalistic unconscious regime. She also identifies the conditions necessary to fight against this regime – namely, a reappropriation of the life drive, the energetic basis at the heart of all life forms, human life included, and the principal source of extraction for capitalism. Drawing on examples from across the Americas, including Brazil and the United States, Rolnik examines the circumstances that have given rise to regressive, reactionary governments throughout the world. These circumstances include, at the macro level, an alliance between neoliberalism and extreme conservatism and, at the micro level, a crisis of the hegemonic subject in the face of the emergent empowerment of marginalized communities that practice other modes of subjectivation. This crucial book by one of the most prominent intellectuals in Latin America today will be of great value to anyone interested in contemporary politics and social struggles.
Spheres: Bubbles Microspherology (Semiotext(E) Foreign Agents Series #Vol I)
by Peter Sloterdijk Wieland HobanSloterdijk describes as a general theory of the structures that allow couplings or as the book's original intended subtitle put it, an "archeology of the intimate." Bubbles includes a wide array of images, not to illustrate Sloterdijk's discourse, but to offer a spatial and visual "parallel narrative" to his exploration of bubbles.
Spider-Man and Philosophy
by William Irwin Jonathan J. SanfordUntangle the complex web of philosophical dilemmas of Spidey and his world--in time for the release of The Amazing Spider-Man movieSince Stan Lee and Marvel introduced Spider-Man in Amazing Fantasy #15 in 1962, everyone's favorite webslinger has had a long career in comics, graphic novels, cartoons, movies, and even on Broadway. In this book some of history's most powerful philosophers help us explore the enduring questions and issues surrounding this beloved superhero: Is Peter Parker to blame for the death of his uncle? Does great power really bring great responsibility? Can Spidey champion justice and be with Mary Jane at the same time? Finding your way through this web of inquiry, you'll discover answers to these and many other thought-provoking questions.Gives you a fresh perspective and insights on Peter Parker and Spider-Man's story lines and ideasExamines important philosophical issues and questions, such as: What is it to live a good life? Do our particular talents come with obligations? What role should friendship play in life? Is there any meaning to life?Views Spider-Man through the lens of some of history's most influential thinkers, from Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and Immanuel Kant to Nietszche, William James, Ayn Rand, and Alasdair MacIntyre
Spin This!
by Bill PressWe're all familiar with the warning, "Don't believe everything you see or hear. " Bill Press, the popular co-host of CNN's Crossfire, will have you wondering whether you should believe anything at all. Spin -- intentional manipulation of the truth -- is everywhere. It's in the White House, in the courtrooms, in headlines and advertising slogans. Even couples on dates -- not to mention book jackets -- are guilty of spin. Now, analyst Bill Press freeze-frames the culture of spin to investigate what exactly spin is, who does it and why, and its impact on American society as a whole. Depending upon who is doing it, spinning can mean anything from portraying a difficult situation in the best possible light to completely disregarding the facts with the intent of averting embarrassment or scandal. Using examples drawn from recent history -- the Clinton presidency, the Florida recount, and the Bush White House -- Press first probes spin's favorite haunt: politics. In addition to surveying the incarnations of spin in the fields of journalism, law, and advertising, Press also chews on the spin of sex and "dating," a word that has become the very embodiment of spin. Perhaps surprisingly, however, Press argues that spin isn't all bad, and that without it the harsh truths of our times might be too tough to swallow. With the same keen sense of humor that helped make CNN's Crossfire television's premier debate show and the limited run of The Spin Room so popular, Press turns the tables on the prime purveyors of spin -- called spin doctors -- noting some of their biggest guffaws and blunders. As Press notes, it has become abundantly clear that the twenty-first century, beginning as it has with a president who was "spun into office," will be a fertile stomping ground for spin.
Spinal Catastrophism: A Secret History
by Thomas MoynihanThe historical continuity of spinal catastrophism, traced across multiform encounters between philosophy, psychology, biology, and geology. Drawing on cryptic intimations in the work of J. G. Ballard, Georges Bataille, William Burroughs, André Leroi-Gourhan, Elaine Morgan, and Friedrich Nietzsche, in the late twentieth century Daniel Barker formulated the axioms of spinal catastrophism: If human morphology, upright posture, and the possibility of language are the ramified accidents of natural history, then psychic ailments are ultimately afflictions of the spine, which itself is a scale model of biogenetic trauma, a portable map of the catastrophic events that shaped that atrocity exhibition of evolutionary traumata, the sick orthograde talking mammal. Tracing its provenance through the biological notions of phylogeny and “organic memory” that fueled early psychoanalysis, back into idealism, nature philosophy, and romanticism, and across multiform encounters between philosophy, psychology, biology, and geology, Thomas Moynihan reveals the historical continuity of spinal catastrophism. From psychoanalysis and myth to geology and neuroanatomy, from bioanalysis to chronopathy, from spinal colonies of proto-minds to the retroparasitism of the CNS, from “railway spine” to Elizabeth Taylor's lost gill-slits, this extravagantly comprehensive philosophical adventure uses the spinal cord as a guiding thread to rediscover forgotten pathways in modern thought. Moynihan demonstrates that, far from being an fanciful notion rendered obsolete by advances in biology, spinal catastrophism dramatizes fundamental philosophical problematics of time, identity, continuity, and the transcendental that remain central to any attempt to reconcile human experience with natural history.
Spinning the Cosmos: Volvelles in the Early Modern Commentary Tradition of Johannes de Sacrobosco’s De Sphaera (SpringerBriefs in History of Science and Technology)
by Alica-Nana CitronThis open access book investigates the epistemological concept of and the knowledge transfer interwoven with the moveable paper wheels found in medieval and early modern books—the so-called &“volvelles.&” The earliest known volvelles emerged in the mid-thirteenth century and were cut out and installed by the reader, often appearing in books dealing with astronomical subjects. The brain processes and remembers images more easily than words—the so-called &“picture superiority effect&”—especially if the images move, making volvelles a useful method to help students of the Quadrivium memorizing the heavenly movements, thus the composition of a device embedded within a text promises a comprehensive insight into the didactic concepts of early modern knowledge transfer. The Tractatus de Sphaera by Johannes de Sacrobosco (1195–1256), the standard university textbook for astronomy from the thirteenth until the seventeenth century, was particularly noted as containing volvelles of different kinds. The project &“The Sphere,&” located at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, has collected a corpus of 359 printed De sphaera editions, building a promising basis for examining different volvelles and placing the results in a cultural context. These volumes had never been analyzed in detail before, nor was there such a large corpus that could provide a quantitative database for such an investigation. The results of the book show that a book and knowledge tradition as widespread as that of the Sphaera contained more than one third of volvelles and was used in university teaching in the early modern period. For historians, this sheds light on a new aspect of movable paper instruments in university didactics and book history in the early modern period.
Spinoza
by Steven NadlerBaruch 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 archival research. More than simply recounting the story of Spinoza's life, the book takes the reader right into the heart of Jewish Amsterdam in the seventeenth century and, with Spinoza's exile from Judaism, right into the midst of the tumultuous political, social, intellectual and religious world of the young Dutch Republic. Though the book will be an invaluable resource for philosophers, historians, and scholars of Jewish thought, it has been written for any member of the general reading public with a serious interest in philosophy, Jewish history, seventeenth-century European history, and the culture of the Dutch Golden Age. Spinoza: A Life has recently been awarded the Koret Jewish Book Award.
Spinoza (Classic Thinkers)
by Justin SteinbergBenedict de Spinoza is one of the most controversial and enigmatic thinkers in the history of philosophy. His greatest work, Ethics (1677), developed a comprehensive philosophical system and argued that God and Nature are identical. His scandalous Theological-Political Treatise (1670) provoked outrage during his lifetime due to its biblical criticism, anticlericalism, and defense of the freedom to philosophize. Together, these works earned Spinoza a reputation as a singularly radical thinker. In this book, Steinberg and Viljanen offer a concise and up-to-date account of Spinoza’s thought and its philosophical legacy. They explore the full range of Spinoza’s ideas, from politics and theology to ontology and epistemology. Drawing broadly on Spinoza’s impressive oeuvre, they have crafted a lucid introduction for readers unfamiliar with this important philosopher, as well as a nuanced and enlightening study for more experienced readers. Accessible and compelling, Spinoza is the go-to text for anyone seeking to understand the thought of one of history’s most fascinating thinkers.
Spinoza (Routledge Revivals)
by Leon RothSpinoza (1929) offers an ‘estimate’ of Spinoza – his life, philosophy and influences – while retaining, as far as possible through translation, ‘the very words Spinoza wrote’. Thereby the two essential things needed for a thorough appreciation of Spinoza are combined.
Spinoza Contra Phenomenology: French Rationalism from Cavaillès to Deleuze
by Knox PedenSpinoza Contra Phenomenology fundamentally recasts the history of postwar French thought, which is typically presumed by detractors and celebrants alike to have been driven by a critique of reason indebted above all to Nietzsche and Heidegger. Although the reception of German phenomenology gave rise to many of the most innovative developments in French philosophy, from existentialism to deconstruction, not everyone in France was pleased with this German import. The book recounts how a series of French philosophers used Spinoza's rationalism to erect a bulwark against the nominally irrationalist tendencies of Husserl's and Heidegger's thought in France. From its beginnings in the interwar years in philosophy of science and the history of philosophy, this Spinozist rationalism would prove foundational for Louis Althusser's rethinking of Marxism and Gilles Deleuze's ambitious metaphysics. There has been a renewed enthusiasm for Spinozism in various quarters of late by those who would see it as a kind of neo-vitalism or philosophy of life and affect. Peden bucks the trend by tracking a decisive and neglected aspect of Spinoza's philosophy—his rationalism—in a body of thought too often presumed to have rejected reason. In the process, he demonstrates that the critical resources of Spinoza's rationalism have yet to be.
Spinoza Dictionary
by Dagobert D. RunesIn this work, Baruch Spinoza, one of the cardinal thinkers of all times, answers the eternal questions of man and his passions, and God and nature. In the deepest sense, this dictionary of Spinoza's philosophy is a veritable treasury of sublime wisdom. In his introduction, Dagobert D. Runes, a life-long student of the philosopher, sheds new light on Spinoza's private, political and religious life, and exposes and explains the dramatic story of his apostasy. If the reader despairs of the business of finding his way through Spinoza's works, here he will find a reliable guide speaking in Spinoza's own words. "The grand ideas of Spinoza's Ethics are brought out clearly in this book: not less than the heroic illusions of this great and passionate man." --Albert Einstein
Spinoza Dictionary
by Dagobert D. RunesThis A-to-Z reference volume presents definitions, propositions, and explanations of Spinoza&’s thought—all in the philosopher&’s own words. The seventeenth-century philosopher Baruch Spinoza remains one of the most significant thinkers of our time. Yet his works, written in a rigidly geometric form of argumentation, are notoriously difficult to navigate. Expertly edited by Dagobert D. Runes, Spinoza Dictionary presents an alphabetical selection of Spinoza&’s own writings, making essential definitions, concepts, and passages immediately accessible. In his introduction, Runes sheds new light on Spinoza&’s private, political, and religious life, and exposes and explains the dramatic story of his apostasy. If the reader despairs of finding his way through Spinoza&’s works, here he will find a reliable guide speaking in Spinoza&’s own words. &“The grand ideas of Spinoza&’s Ethics are brought out clearly in this book: not less than the heroic illusions of this great and passionate man.&” —Albert Einstein
Spinoza His Life and Philosophy [2nd Edition]
by Sir Frederick Pollock Johannes ColerusSir Frederick Pollock (1845-1937), Corpus Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Oxford, is best known as the founding editor of the Law Quarterly Review, and for his correspondence with Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes of the US Supreme Court. This biography of the Dutch philosopher Spinoza (1632-1677) was designed to be accessible to the general reader as well as 'critical students of philosophy’,This second edition includes “The life of Spinoza, by Colerus”.
Spinoza and Deep Ecology: Challenging Traditional Approaches to Environmentalism (Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Philosophy)
by Eccy de JongeSpinoza and Deep Ecology explores the philosophical, psychological and political assumptions that underpin a concern for nature, offering specific suggestions how the domination of humans and nature may be overcome. It is primarily intended as an introduction to the philosophy of ecology, known as deep ecology, and to the way Spinoza's philosophy has been put to this aim. Only a self-realisation, along the lines of Spinoza's philosophy, can afford a philosophy of care which is inclusive of humans and the non-human world, which recognises the need for civil laws and democratic politics for human flourishing. In stark contrast to texts written by or on behalf of deep ecologists, Spinoza and Deep Ecology is not afraid of criticising existing versions of deep ecology which fail to accept that human concerns are integral to environmental issues.
Spinoza and Education: Freedom, understanding and empowerment (New Directions in the Philosophy of Education)
by Johan DahlbeckSpinoza and Education offers a comprehensive investigation into the educational implications of Spinoza’s moral theory. Taking Spinoza’s naturalism as its point of departure, it constructs a considered account of education, taking special care to investigate the educational implications of Spinoza’s psychological egoism. What emerges is a counterintuitive form of education grounded in the egoistic striving of the teacher to persevere and to flourish in existence while still catering to the ethical demands of the students and the greater community. In providing an educational reading of Spinoza’s moral theory, this book sets up a critical dialogue between educational theory and recent studies which highlight the centrality of ethics in Spinoza’s overall philosophy. By placing his work in a contemporary educational context, chapters explore a counterintuitive conception of education as an ethical project, aimed at overcoming the desire to seek short-term satisfaction and troubling the influential concept of the student as consumer. This book also considers how education, from a Spinozistic point of view, may be approached in terms of a kind of cognitive therapy serving to further a more scientifically adequate understanding of the world and aimed at combating prejudices and superstition. Spinoza and Education demonstrates that Spinoza’s moral theory can further an educational ideal, where notions of freedom and self-preservation provide the conceptual core of a coherent philosophy of education. As such, it will appeal to researchers, academics and postgraduate students in the fields of philosophy of education, theory of education, critical thinking, philosophy, ethics, and Spinoza studies.
Spinoza and German Idealism
by Yitzhak Y. Melamed Eckart FörsterThere can be little doubt that without Spinoza, German Idealism would have been just as impossible as it would have been without Kant. Yet the precise nature of Spinoza's influence on the German Idealists has hardly been studied in detail. This volume of essays by leading scholars sheds light on how the appropriation of Spinoza by Fichte, Schelling and Hegel grew out of the reception of his philosophy by, among others, Lessing, Mendelssohn, Jacobi, Herder, Goethe, Schleiermacher, Maimon and, of course, Kant. The volume thus not only illuminates the history of Spinoza's thought, but also initiates a genuine philosophical dialogue between the ideas of Spinoza and those of the German Idealists. The issues at stake - the value of humanity; the possibility and importance of self-negation; the nature and value of reason and imagination; human freedom; teleology; intuitive knowledge; the nature of God - remain of the highest philosophical importance today.