Spinoza Past and Present: Essays on Spinoza, Spinozism, and Spinoza Scholarship

'Spinoza Past and Present' consists of twelve essays on Benedictus de Spinoza s Jewish background, his views on metaphysics, mathematics, religion and society. Special attention is paid to the various ways in which Spinoza s works have been interpreted from the late seventeenth century to the present day. In particular, Spinoza s recent popularity among advocates of the Radical Enlightenment is discussed: Van Bunge proposes a new interpretation of Spinoza s role in the early Dutch Enlightenment.