We are delighted to announce the publication of Spinoza’s Philosophy of Ratio, edited by Beth Lord and published by Edinburgh University Press. The book brings together essays on Spinoza, ratio, architecture, and wellbeing from the Equalities of Wellbeing project.
30% Discount on book purchases available until 31 Dec. 2018: Lord_Worldwide Flyer
Readers will learn from this book that a philosophy of ratio is not to be conflated with a rationalist philosophy. The authors draw on the three senses of ratio – reason, relation and proportion – to explore their interdependence and, crucially, the emergent and constructed conatus towards equality and wellbeing. This valuable book demonstrates that empiricism and rationalism need not be opposed. – Andrej Radman, Delft University of Technology
This volume represents an important collective re-thinking of Spinoza’s key concept of ratio. Along with new interpretations of his treatment of the relations between reason and emotion, it offers fascinating insights into the relevance of his philosophy for understanding contemporary issues in relation to artistic practice, architecture and the built environment.- Genevieve Lloyd, Emeritus Professor in Philosophy, University of New South Wales
From his geometrical method to his geometrical examples; from his doctrine of reason to his explanation of bodies in motion; and from his account of the affects to his understanding of social relations, ratio is of prime importance in Spinoza’s philosophy.
These essays explore the surprisingly varied dimensions of this unacknowledged keystone of Spinoza’s thought. They take you from Spinoza’s geometrical diagrams to his concepts of mind, body, the emotions, and the cosmos. It shows how Spinoza’s thinking about ratio influences the concept of proportion in Gulliver’s Travels, the differential ontology of Deleuze, egalitarian design for wellbeing, and the notion of an affective architecture.
Contents:
Introduction, Beth Lord
Spinoza’s Ontology Geometrically Illustrated: A Reading of Ethics IIP8S, Valtteri Viljanen
Reason and Body in Spinoza’s Metaphysics, Michael LeBuffe
Ratio and Activity: Spinoza’s Biologizing of the Mind in an Aristotelian Key, Heidi M. Ravven
Harmony in Spinoza and His Critics, Timothy Yenter
Ratio as the basis of Spinoza’s concept of equality, Beth Lord
Proportion as a barometer of the affective life in Spinoza, Simon B. Duffy
Spinoza, Heterarchical Ontology and Affective Architecture, Gökhan Kodalak
Dissimilarity: Spinoza’s ethical ratios and housing welfare, Peg Rawes
The greater part: How intuition forms better worlds, Stefan White
Slownesses and Speeds, Latitudes and Longitudes: In the Vicinity of Beatitude, Hélène Frichot
The Eyes of the Mind: Proportion in Spinoza, Swift, Ibn Tufayl, Anthony Uhlmann
For more information and to order, please visit the EUP website. To get a 30% Discount, use the information on this flyer: Lord_Worldwide Flyer
Equalities of Wellbeing in Philosophy and Architecture 