/lit/ - Literature

Does anyone have any book recommendations that personally improved their lives. I am looking for a book that will make me less insecure, more sociable, more authentic, more conversational, less anxious.

Here's a book I found helpful.

>>9790818
I think Spinoza could prove useful for you. It combines world-view, theology, philosophy but more importantly it deals directly with emotions or passions which I suspect are a large part of the problems you're having.

In the ethics his most famous works he does talk a lot about God but simulataneously it is not completely a theistic perspective. Spinoza leaves ample space in his views for varying belief, although he does himself believe in a god he has an extremely abstract view of god, one revolving around understanding and reason.

You may find the ethics off-putting or difficult at first, especially if you are averse to theism. It's important to remember that although he talks of god many of his opponents would consider his beliefs at the time heretical and atheistic.

Strongly recommend reading this, more than once, keeping an open but not too open mind. It can be a bit difficult in places especially because it is a translation, but if you are familiar with philosophy it is not difficult. If you are not enjoying the heavy god philsophy at the beggining skip to parts III, IV and V which I think offer a lot more immediate help and relief.

Spinoza himself struggled and wrote this likely as a guide intended for others which helped him and it has also helped me.

I found the Elwes translation to be pretty good. Good luck and I hope you read it.

I really want to read Spinoza's Ethics because its format (Proposition - Proof) is appealing to me as a mathematician. Which philosophical works should I be familiar with beforehand? And which translation would be best for this?

>>8953552

How is what Spinoza is basically saying in Ethics different from Plato's Theory of Forms? Is Spinoza just taking the scenic route to prove this out, or are there other implications, especially w/r/t their definition of god?

What does /lit/ think of >pic related
Just picked it up