Download or read book Spinoza: A Very Short Introduction written by Roger Scruton and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2002-05-30 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Benedict de Spinoza (1632-77) was at once the father of the Enlightenment and the last sad guardian of the medieval world. In his brilliant synthesis of geometrical method, religious sentiment, and secular science, he attempted to reconcile the conflicting moral and intellectual demands of his epoch, and to present a vision of humanity as simultaneously bound by necessity and eternally free. In this book Roger Scruton presents a clear and systematic analysis of Spinoza's thought, and shows its relevance to today's intellectual preoccupations.