Experience and Eternity in Spinoza

The first English-language translation of Pierre-François Moreau's seminal study What could it mean to feel eternal? In Experience and Eternity in Spinoza, Moreau fundamentally transforms our inherited understanding of Spinoza's philosophy. Through a detailed study of Spinoza's concept of 'experience', Moreau shows how Spinoza extends the power of reason to domains frequently seen as irrational, from common life to history, language to the passions. Where previously Spinoza's thought was identified exclusively with the geometrical method, Moreau demonstrates that by mobilising his unique account of 'experience', Spinoza is able to capture the singularity of individuals, their lives, languages, passions and societies. With readings of each of Spinoza's most famous works, from the Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect to the Ethics, but also unprecedented studies of minor writings such as the Hebrew Grammar, Moreau renews our understanding of Spinoza's philosophy by showing the simultaneous operation of the geometrical and experiential methods. Finally, this new vision of Spinoza's philosophy illuminates the enigmatic experience of eternity mentioned in Book V of Spinoza's Ethics. Pierre-François Moreau is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon and the director of the Institut d'histoire de la pensée classique at the CNRS. Robert Boncardo is a Tutor in European Studies and International and Global Studies at Sydney University.