The Living Thoughts of Spinoza

by Arnold Zweig

Genres: Philosophy

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

German writer and anti-war, anti-fascist activist.

He is best known for his six-part cycle on World War I Der große Krieg der weißen Männer

In 1934 he settled in Mandatory Palestine where he wrote a novel based on the assassination of Jacob Israël de Haan.

In 1948 he settled in the Soviet occupation zone in East-Germany. From 1949 - 1967 he was a member of the parliament of the German Democratic Republic.

Reviews

[Animal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great intro.

So many little wisdoms and hard hitting lines. Even in this sparse collection you get a feel of what deep thinker he was. His thoughts on religion, emotions and ethics are penetrating.

“those who do not understand the nature of things do not verify phenomena in any way, but merely imagine them after a fashion, and mistake their imagination for understanding”

Boom.

[Nick Backas · Rating 4 out of 5]

a nice slim little intro, very accessible.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whatever one thinks of determinist understandings of our universe, one cannot fail to be staggered by the fact that Spinoza formulated these ideas hundreds of years before the emergence of the science of genetics, that underpins deterministic philosophies and deterministic sociologies (for better or for worse) in modern times.