Spinoza: The Philosophy of Human Freedom

2022/05/24

This is the first book I have written from scratch in Japanese. Before I knew it, I was over 50 years old. Exactly 30 years had passed since I first encountered Spinoza's work in the spring semester of my junior year of university.

I have long wanted to write an introductory book about Spinoza, the philosopher who lived in the 17th-century Netherlands, that general readers could easily pick up. And if I was going to write it, I wanted to make it a book that not only deciphers Spinoza's major works and introduces an outline of his thought (which is an essential task in itself) but also retraces his entire life.

There are direct and indirect reasons for this. The direct reason is quite simple: Spinoza is a philosopher whose life and thought are interesting as a whole. Spinoza's life, commonly said to be "44 years, 2 months, and 27 days," was short but turbulent and full of various episodes. Not a single one of those episodes is un-Spinoza-like, and conversely, I feel that if even one of them were missing, Spinoza would not be the Spinoza we know.

The indirect reason is that there are simply very few introductory books that provide a well-balanced introduction to Spinoza's life and thought. Most introductory books on Spinoza written in Japan and abroad have been specialized in introducing his thought, treating his life only briefly. Of course, there are works that tackle Spinoza's life head-on, but as a result of focusing on overly detailed historical research, they are all as thick as telephone books and are clearly not suitable for beginners.

When I began writing, the ideal balance I had in mind was Kisaku Kudo's "Spinoza" (Shimizu Shoin). However, more than 40 years have passed since its publication, and when reviewed from today's research standards, errors can be found here and there, especially in the descriptions of his life. This book is the result of my efforts to inherit Mr. Kudo's sense of balance while appropriately reflecting 21st-century research standards. I hope you enjoy it.

Spinoza: The Philosophy of Human Freedom

Kazuhiko Yoshida

Kodansha Gendai Shinsho

416 pages, 1,320 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.