Spinoza on Learning to Live Together

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Susan James (Professor Emerita of Philosophy, Professor Emerita of Philosophy, Birkbeck College London)

Spinoza on Learning to Live Together

Susan James (Professor Emerita of Philosophy, Professor Emerita of Philosophy, Birkbeck College London)

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English

Oxford University Press
29 August 2025

Western philosophy: c 1600 to c 1900; Ethics & moral philosophy; Social & political philosophy

Philosophising, as Spinoza conceives it, is the project of learning to live joyfully. Yet this is also a matter of learning to live together, and the surest manifestation of philosophical insight is the capacity to sustain a harmonious way of life.

Here, Susan James defends this overall interpretation of Spinoza's philosophy and explores its bearing on contemporary philosophical debates about issues such as religious toleration, how we use our knowledge, and the environmental emergency. Part I focuses on Spinoza's epistemology. Philosophical understanding empowers us by giving us access to truths about the world and ourselves, and by motivating us to act on them. It gives us reasons for living together and enhances our ability to cooperate. Part II takes up Spinoza's claim that, to cultivate this kind of understanding, we need to live in political communities. It explores his analysis of how states can develop a co-operative ethos. Finally, living joyfully compels us to look beyond the state to our relationship with the rest of nature. The concluding section of this book focuses on some of the overarching virtues this requires.

By: Susan James (Professor Emerita of Philosophy Professor Emerita of Philosophy Birkbeck College London)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 154mm, Spine: 15mm
Weight: 361g
ISBN: 9780198966296
ISBN 10: 0198966296
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 29 August 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction: Philosophy as the Art of Living Together Part I. Learning to Live Together Creating Rational Understanding: Spinoza as a Social Epistemologist When Does Truth Matter? The Relation Between Theology and Philosophy Spinoza on Superstition: Coming to Terms with Fear Narrative as a Means to Freedom: Spinoza on the Uses of Imagination Responding Emotionally to Fiction: A Spinozist Approach Part II. The Politics of Living Together Law and Sovereignty in Spinoza's Politics Natural Rights as Powers to Act Democracy and the Good Life in Spinoza's Philosophy Freedom, Slavery and the Passions Freedom of Conscience and Civic Peace: Spinoza on Piety Part III. Philosophical Communities Freedom and Nature: A Spinozist Invitation The Affective Cost of Philosophical Self-Transformation Fortitude: Living in the Light of our Knowledge

Susan James is Professor Emerita at Birkbeck College London and Visiting Professor of Philosophy at King's College London. She has written on a range of themes in early modern philosophy, including political philosophy, philosophical psychology and the philosophy of art. Among her publications are Passion and Action: The Emotions in Early Modern Philosophy (Oxford, 1997) and Spinoza on Philosophy Religion and Politics: The Theologico-Political Treatise (Oxford 2012).

Reviews for Spinoza on Learning to Live Together

[O]ne looking for an account of Spinoza's views on the ethics of ordinary life could hardly ask for a better guide than Susan James. Spinoza on Learning to Live Together makes the case for regarding Spinoza, for all of his rarefied intellectualism, as a theorist who is deeply attuned to the challenges to, and importance of, living cooperatively with others. * Justin Steinberg, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews * James's volume has much to add to our understanding of Spinoza's ethics, politics, and their interconnection, and will be an indispensable volume for scholars and casual readers of Spinoza alike. * Hadley Marie Cooney, Central Michigan University, Journal of the History of Philosophy * The essays are informed by deep scholarship, but the exemplary clarity and elegance of their composition make this volume an excellent introduction to Spinoza for those new to philosophy. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers. * M. Latzer, CHOICE * This is a wonderful collection of essays. They offer sophisticated and unexpected insights into aspects of Spinoza's philosophical system—and especially the unity of that system in its metaphysical, epistemological, moral, and political dimensions—that have largely been unexplored by scholars. . . . James is an astute political thinker in her own right, and her commentaries on Spinoza's political, religious, and ethical views are of general philosophical interest. Moreover, James is an elegant writer, and these essays are a pleasure to read. It is a great benefit to have them published together in one place. * Steven Nadler, European Journal of Philosophy *