Experience and Eternity in Spinoza

The first English-language translation of Pierre-Fran ois Moreau's seminal study, which fundamentally transforms our inherited understanding of Spinoza's philosophyPresents a systematic reappraisal of Spinoza's philosophical system around the enigmatic concept of experienceDemonstrates how Spinoza's concept of experience is essential to an understanding of the Ethics, including such crucial concepts as necessity, infinitude and eternityBridges the divide in contemporary scholarship between Spinoza the affect theorist and Spinoza the hyper-rationalistWhat could it mean to feel eternal? Through a detailed study of Spinoza's concept of 'experience', Moreau shows how Spinoza extends the power of reason to domains frequently seen as irrational, from common life to history, language to the passions. Where previously Spinoza's thought was identified exclusively with the geometrical method, Moreau demonstrates that by mobilising his unique account of 'experience', Spinoza is able to capture the singularity of individuals, their lives, languages, passions and societies. With readings of each of Spinoza's most famous works, from the Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect to the Ethics, but also unprecedented studies of minor writings such as the Hebrew Grammar, Moreau renews our understanding of Spinoza's philosophy by showing us how his geometrical and experiential methods operate simultaneously. Finally, this new vision of Spinoza's philosophy illuminates the enigmatic experience of eternity mentioned in Book V of Spinoza's Ethics.