Steven Nadler has argued that Spinoza can, should, and does allow for the possibility of suicide committed as a free and rational action. Given that the conatus is a striving for perfection, Nadler argues, there are cases in which reason guides a person to end her life based on the principle of preferring the lesser evil. If so, Spinoza’s disparaging statements about suicide are intended to app...

Omri Boehm offers a lucid and incisive defence, supported by careful scholarship, of the compelling idea that preoccupation with Spinoza—appreciation of the force of Spinoza’s reasoning along with a concern to avoid his drastic conclusions—is at the heart of Kant’s philosophical enterprise. I have learned a great deal from Boehm’s fascinating study, and its excellence will be clearly visible to...