The Courtier and the Heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza, and the Fate of God in the Modern World by Matthew Stewart
A drama of ideas as urgent and compelling as Copenhagena dance of personalities as colorful as in Wittgenstein's Poker. Philosophy in the late seventeenth century was a dangerous business. No careerist could afford to know the reclusive philosopher known as an "atheist Jew," Baruch de Spinoza. Yet the wildly ambitious young genius Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz became obsessed with Spinoza's writings, wrote him clandestine letters, and ultimately called on Spinoza in person at his home in The Hague. Both men were at the center of the intense religious, political, and personal battles that gave birth to the modern age. One was a hermit with many friends; the other, a socialite no one trusted. One believed in a God whom almost nobody thought divine; the other defended a God in whom he probably did not believe. Their characters and ways of life defined their philosophies. In this exquisitely written philosophical romance of attraction and repulsion, greed and virtue, religion and heresy, Matthew Stewart dramatizes a titanic clash of beliefs that still continues today.
Matthew Stewart is an independent philosopher and historian. He is the author of seven books, including National Book Award–longlisted Nature’s God, and his work has also appeared in the Atlantic, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal, among other publications. He lives in London.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780393058987 |
| ISBN 10 | 0393058980 |
| Title | The Courtier and the Heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza, and the Fate of God in the Modern World |
| Author | Matthew Stewart |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | WW Norton & Co |
| Year published | 2006-01-17 |
| Number of pages | 352 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |