{"product_id":"maimonides-and-spinoza-by-joshua-parens-9780226645742","title":"Maimonides and Spinoza","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUntil the last century, it was generally agreed that Maimonides was a great defender of Judaism, and Spinoza—as an Enlightenment advocate for secularisation—was among its key opponents. However, a new scholarly consensus has recently emerged suggesting that the teachings of the two philosophers were, in fact, much closer than was previously thought.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn his perceptive new book, \u003ci\u003eMaimonides and Spinoza\u003c\/i\u003e, Joshua Parens sets out to challenge the now predominant view of Maimonides as a protomodern forerunner to Spinoza. Parens aims to show that a chief reason to read Maimonides is to gain distance from our progressively secularised worldview.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTurning the focus from Spinoza’s oft-analysed \u003ci\u003eTheologico-Political Treatise\u003c\/i\u003e, this book centres on a nuanced analysis of his theory of human nature in the \u003ci\u003eEthics\u003c\/i\u003e. Viewing this work in contrast to Maimonides’s \u003ci\u003eGuide of the Perplexed\u003c\/i\u003e, it becomes clear that Spinoza can no longer be thought of as the founder of modern Jewish identity, nor should Maimonides be thought of as having paved the way for a modern secular worldview.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eMaimonides and Spinoza\u003c\/i\u003e dramatically revises our understanding of both philosophers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000678629612,"sku":"9780226645742","price":93.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/18685703482268.jpg?v=1763295882","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/maimonides-and-spinoza-by-joshua-parens-9780226645742","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}