heidi ravven has written extensively on the philosophy of baruch spinoza. her articles appear in a number of journals and several have been republished in anthologies. ravven believes that spinoza's philosophy is the best starting point for trying to integrate the evidence emerging from the new brain sciences into a viable model of the basic moral brain, the optimal route to its development, and the implications of such a view for how social, legal, political, and other institutions and practices might to be redesigned. ravven is now engaged in writing a book accessible to a generally educated audience on the relevance of spinoza, called "the return of spinoza."