The power of reason

Benedict Spinoza is a Dutch philosopher, naturalist, one of the Ottsov European Enlightenment. However, to contemporaries he was remembered as a radical freedom - Spinoza is at the origins of scientific criticism of the Bible. Being a native of the family of Portuguese Jews, the philosopher did not deny the existence of God, but he felt and understood the spiritual path differently. For his bold and too rational views, he was expelled from the Jewish community. The co -religionists accused him of denying the immortality of the soul. Spinoza did not renounce his views, but he had to move to another city due to an attempt on his life. The main works and indisputable masterpieces of the philosopher are “ethics” and “a treatise on the improvement of the mind” are presented in this publication. In these works, Spinoza reflects on such important philosophical themes as the nature of man, our freedom and meaning of life, the structure of the universe and the method of knowing the truth. The texts are equipped with detailed comments and clarifications of Andrei Maidansky