Review of 'Spinoza In 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes)' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I think this audiobook comes in at a little under the ninety minutes advertised, but then again, its subject died at a relatively early age. I knew only the bare minimum about this philosopher and haven't read his work, so it was nice to have some idea of a few of the main ideas and the daring innovations he is associated with. It was clear that he didn't fit in with the time and place he occupied, and that the only way he could make his ideas known was to do what he did and have the bulk of it released only after his death. How much easier and more conducive it would have been for him to live in modern Western society! But then the rational approach he was after would not have been out there to influence the Enlightenment and it's anyone's guess where we would be by …
I think this audiobook comes in at a little under the ninety minutes advertised, but then again, its subject died at a relatively early age. I knew only the bare minimum about this philosopher and haven't read his work, so it was nice to have some idea of a few of the main ideas and the daring innovations he is associated with. It was clear that he didn't fit in with the time and place he occupied, and that the only way he could make his ideas known was to do what he did and have the bulk of it released only after his death. How much easier and more conducive it would have been for him to live in modern Western society! But then the rational approach he was after would not have been out there to influence the Enlightenment and it's anyone's guess where we would be by now. I'm not sure I can quite agree with Spinoza's pantheistic identification of the cosmos as a whole with anything I would call God, which puts the main argument in favor of existence the medieval Ontological Argument which never seemed sound to me anyhow.
There were a couple of times while listening to the narration I had to laugh out loud at some of the little jokes the author put in about his subject. I hadn't read any of his other books before but I expect this to be sort of a calling card of his style. Overall this gave just a bit more than a taste of what Spinoza's life and thinking were about, and I think anyone wondering whether they want to find out more would be able to make up their mind from such an introduction.