Spinoza vol 2 ebook Part 2: The Soul in Spinoza's Short Treatise upon God, Man, and His Well-Being: Introduction

Part 2: The Soul in Spinoza’s Short Treatise upon God, Man, and His Well-Being: Introduction

Introduction

In section 2, I shall examine the topic of the soul and its immortality in Spinoza’s philosophy. Over the course of this section, I suggest that Spinoza did not deny the immortality of the soul and that his view of the soul is in keeping with his Orthodox Judaism. Moreover, Spinoza explicitly argues for it and wishes to logically prove its existence in his works. In chapter 6, I will examine in detail Spinoza’s proof of the immortality of the soul in chapter 23 of his earliest work, ‘Short Treatise upon God, Man, and His Well-Being’[i]. Chapters 7 and 8 focus on Spinoza's preface to part 2 of his Short Treatise. Chapter 7 brings out the logical framework of his main argument and his sub-argument given in his footnotes which expands on the main text of the preface. I discuss Spinoza's mathematical thinking in his passage on mathematical proportions and their role in life and death.  Chapter 8 evaluates Spinoza's preface. I shed light on his philosophy through drawing out his scientific thinking and vocabulary before situating his philosophical arguments in the context of Jewish Philosophy down the ages. I discuss how his scientific mind and Jewish philosophical concepts inform my Analytic-Jewish Interpretation of Spinoza. In chapter 9, I analyse Spinoza's Appendix 2 concerning the essence of the human soul very specifically. I concentrate on definitions, metaphysical concepts and arguments in his appendix 2 and related ones elsewhere in Spinoza's Short Treatise to show how the appendix can deepen our understanding  of Spinoza on life, death and the immortality of the soul. In chapter 10, I relate the two parts of this volume together and explain how volume 2  continues my Analytic-Jewish interpretation and contributes to furthering Spinoza scholarship. 

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[i] Benedict de Spinoza, Spinoza’s Short Treatise on God, Man & His Wellbeing, ed. and trans. Abraham Wolf (London: A. & C. Black, 1910), https://archive.org/details/spinozasshorttre00spinuoft/page/n7.