When many scientists, including Albert Einstein, say that they believe in Spinoza’s God, they are referring to a conception of God that is very different from the traditional theistic view found in ...

The Hague, November 1676 -- Bento -- Gottfried -- A life of the mind -- God's attorney -- The hero of the people -- The many faces of Leibniz -- Friends of friends -- Leibniz in love -- A secret ...

40 pages into Ian Buruma’s fascinating biography of the 17th-century philosopher Baruch Spinoza, some very modern language leaps from the page. “When people are banished from their community,” Buruma ...

Baruch Spinoza’s life was a product of paradox. The 17th century, in Europe, was a time of both barbarous sectarianism and unprecedented human achievement. It was an era of new ideas — ideas that ...

The beginning of Baruch Spinoza’s heresy may have begun with his uncircumcised grandfather. As a child in the 17th century, Spinoza visited the Beth Haim cemetery on the outskirts of Amsterdam, ...