Feminist Interpretations of Benedict Spinoza (Re-Reading the Canon) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0271035161 ISBN 13: 9780271035161

Publisher: Penn State University Press, 2009

Synopsis

This volume brings together international scholars working at the intersection of Spinoza studies and critical and feminist philosophy. It is the first book-length study dedicated to the re-reading of Spinoza’s ethical and theologico-political works from a feminist perspective. The twelve outstanding chapters range over the entire field of Spinoza’s writings—metaphysical, political, theological, ethical, and psychological—drawing out the ways in which his philosophy presents a rich resource for the reconceptualization of friendship, sexuality, politics, and ethics in contemporary life.

The clear and accessible Introduction offers a historical sketch of Spinoza’s life and intellectual context and indicates how Spinoza’s philosophy might be seen as a rich cultural resource today. Topics treated here include the mind-body problem and its relation to the sex-gender distinction; relational autonomy; the nature of love and friendship; sexuality and normative morality; free will and determinism and their relation to Christian theology; imagination and recognition between the sexes; emotion and the body; and power, imagination, and political sovereignty. The essays engage in a rich and challenging conversation that opens new paths for feminist research.

Contributors, besides the editor, are Aurelia Armstrong, Sarah Donovan, Paola Grassi, Luce Irigaray, Susan James, Genevieve Lloyd, Alexandre Matheron, Heidi Ravven, Amelie Rorty, and David West.

About this title

About the Author

Moira Gatens is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sydney in Australia. Among her previous books is Collective Imaginings: Spinoza, Past and Present (1999).

Review

“This volume makes a significant contribution, both to Spinoza studies and to feminist theory. This stimulating collection of essays offers readers in both fields some provocative, and sometimes controversial, new interpretations of the classic rationalist philosopher.”

—Michael Rosenthal, University of Washington

“This volume is an excellent contribution to Spinoza scholarship. Spinoza scholars will find that this book offers new angles from which to think through questions about Spinoza’s metaphysics, ethics, and politics. Feminist researchers will find it provides additional, perhaps surprising resources for considering a range of issues, such as autonomy, individuality, political organization, ethics, and sexuality and gender.”

—Deborah Boyle, Philosophy in Review

Edition details

• Publisher: Penn State University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0271035161
• ISBN 13: 9780271035161
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256
• Editor: Gatens Moira