Spinoza's Philosophy of Ratio

Abstract

Discover Spinoza's philosophy of ratio, from geometry and reason to bodies, affects and architectureFrom his geometrical method to his theory of mind and body and from his account of the emotions to his doctrine of how to live well, 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.Key FeaturesThe first major work to explore ratio as a key concept of Spinoza's thoughtReveals that ratio is a multi-faceted concept that connects geometry, minds, reason, bodies, social relations and the cosmos in Spinoza's philosophyShows how ratio can be used to address enduring questions in Spinoza's thought and take his philosophy in exciting new directionsOffers new applications of Spinoza's thinking to architecture, design and urban studies ContributorsSimon B. Duffy, Yale-NUS College, Singapore. Hélène Frichot, KTH, Stockholm, Sweden.Gökhan Kodalak, Cornell University, USA. Michael LeBuffe, University of Otago, Canada. Beth Lord, University of Aberdeen, UK. Heidi M. Ravven, Hamilton College, New York, USA. Peg Rawes, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, UK. Anthony Uhlmann, Western Sydney University, Australia. Valtteri Viljanen, University of Turku, Finland. Stefan White, Manchester School of Architecture, UK.Timothy Yenter, University of Mississippi, USA