Della Rocca concentrates on two problems crucial to Spinoza's philosophy of mind: the requirements for having a thought about a particular object, and the problem of the mind's relation to the body. He contends that for Spinoza these two problems are linked and thus part of a systematic philosophy of mind.

This first extensive study of Spinoza's philosophy of mind concentrates on two problems crucial to the philosopher's thoughts on the matter: the requirements for having a thought about a particular object, and the problem of the mind's relation to the body. Della Rocca contends that Spinoza's positions are systematically connected with each other and with a principle at the heart of his metaphysical system: his denial of causal or explanatory relations between the mental and the physical. In this way, Della Rocca's exploration of these two problems provides a new and illuminating perspective on Spinoza's philosophy as a system.

"It will be a classic--'must' reading for Spinoza scholars, historians of philosophy in general, advanced students of the history of philosophy, and anyone interested in early modern cognitive psychology. It is one of the most exciting works in the history of philosophy that I have read in a long time....It deserves the widest possible readership."--Don Garrett, University of Utah