Spinoza Beyond Philosophy

Reveals Spinoza's connections to literature, politics, the environment and beyond. This book brings Spinoza out of academic philosophy, presenting him as a thinker who is relevant to contemporary problems and questions across a variety of disciplines. Discover how Spinoza's theory of bodies transforms our understanding of music, and how it grounds 'collective subjectivity' in contemporary politics. Learn how his idea of freedom was instrumental to the Haitian revolution of 1791, and how it inspired Samuel Taylor Coleridge's prose and George Eliot's novels. Find out how early modern physics, contemporary architecture, and ecological activism can be rethought through Spinoza's theory of affectivity. These 12 engaging and original essays argue that Spinoza is the interdisciplinary thinker for our times.

Key features:

- Takes Spinoza beyond the philosophy classroom and shows how his thought is deeply connected to a variety of fields of study

- Reveals the relevance of his thought to historical and present-day questions of ecology, architectures, politics, literature, history and music

- Presents Spinoza in new light: as a thinker whose ideas have always been relevant for problem-solving across disciplinary boundaries

Beth Lord is Senior Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen