STUART HAMPSHIRE (1914-2004) British philosopher and literary critique taught philosophy at University College, London, Wadham College, Oxford, Princeton and Stanford.

Spinoza and Spinozism
by Stuart Hampshire
Oxford University Press, 2005

This book, published posthumously, is an updated version of Hampshire's first book on Spinoza*. It includes his most important revision on his view of Spinoza, arguing that Spinoza's metaphysics is close to modern biology, unlike Descartes philosophy that reflects closely on a physical view of the world (see also Ernst Mayr 'What makes biology unique?'). The biological view puts the individual and his/her self-interest at the center of nature, while physics views the world as a complex machine guided by universal laws.

* The age of reason; the seventeenth century philosophers, selected, with introd. and interpretive commentary; Published New York, G. Braziller, 1956, 1951 (out of print; find a used copy)

October 8, 2005 /  © 2005 Lukas K. Buehler / go back to Book Review Home