Think Least of Death

“Aiming to extract life lessons from the philosophy of Spinoza, this vibrant study focusses on the concept of ‘homo liber,’ or the free person, a supremely rational figure continually striving for power and virtue… . Spinoza’s work serves as a hopeful, timely statement of what the truth-seeking individual can accomplish.” * New Yorker *“As an accessible introduction to the complex thought of Spinoza, it is a success.”—Jeffrey Collins, Wall Street Journal“If you want to become a better person, you ought to study the philosophy of Baruch Spinoza. That at least is the message of Steven Nadler’s delightful new book.”—Jonathan Rée, Literary Review“A helpful explication of [Spinoza’s] ideas about ethics, the afterlife, and human nature.” * Kirkus Reviews *“If you want the clearest and most sympathetic introduction as exists to Spinoza’s ideas … then Nadler’s your man. This, his latest book, is a must-read for our present, troubled times.”—David Conway, Jewish Chronicle

Steven Nadler is Vilas Research Professor and the William H. Hay II Professor of Philosophy at the University of WisconsinMadison. His many books include Rembrandt’s Jews, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Spinoza: A Life, and (with Lawrence Shapiro) When Bad Thinking Happens to Good People: How Philosophy Can Save Us from Ourselves (Princeton).