Books Spinoza: Ethics by Matthew J. Kisner (Editor)

The book "Spinoza: Ethics," edited and translated by Matthew J. Kisner and Michael Silverthorne, is a modern English translation of Baruch Spinoza's seminal 17th-century philosophical treatise, Ethics, Demonstrated in Geometrical Order. This work lays out Spinoza's metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical philosophy using a rigorous geometrical method similar to that of Euclid, beginning from a set of definitions and axioms and deriving propositions logically.

Kisner and Silverthorne's translation is notable for being based on a critical edition of Spinoza's Ethica that is closer to the original manuscripts, including recently discovered sources, aiming to reduce layers of interpretive bias. Their edition features a useful introduction, glossary, and notes that provide context for readers, especially undergraduates or those new to Spinoza. It preserves key Latin terms alongside their English counterparts to allow readers to engage closely with the original concepts.