That's great to hear! And interestingly enough, I own that exact same book and I have enjoyed it very much, especially the 3rd chapter on metaphysics. I like how they organize the whole survey in more of a conceptual history rather than an actual history-history, as in making Leibniz follow Spinoza and so on. You got a very good introductory book.

As for Spinoza, he is one of my favorite modern philosophers. If you like On the Improvement of the Understanding, you most certainly will like The Ethics, which in many senses is a misleading title because above all a metaphysical treatise (although "ethics" is used as a metaphysical notion though). The cool thing about Essay in particular is that Spinoza lays everything out in isolated axioms, definitions, and propositions. So as you go through the text, what you are doing is basically following how Spinoza adds axiom 1, definition 2, and proposition 3 together to infer some really neat thing. But even better yet, you can actually find ways to cut down and simplify the logic and come up with your own inferences using Spinoza's propositions, etc. My mid-term paper for modern philosophy was on Spinoza's logical reasoning that there was only one substance in the universe.. God. It really is neat stuff? and very enjoyable to boot.

And you may find this little tidbit (and short biography) on Spinoza interesting (it took me a few years to come across this, so I impart it gladly). Spinoza grew up in Amsterdam, the son of Murano jews. As he immersed himself in the philosophy of Rene Descartes, the community in Amsterdam became uneasy at the thought of alienating the conservative majority in the town. The jewish community offered him 1000 florins, which Spinoza subsequently turned down (and for which he was excommunicated from the community and almost murdered on several occasions). In his excommunication, he stayed with a friend and learned optics (grinding lenses), thus we get a good deal of his scientific works. Anyway, his excommunication continues and so on, but at one point, his father dies. His sisters are in such a rage that his father left everything to the their brother, that they actually sued Spinoza for rights of survivorship. Spinoza, the awesome dude that he is, personally fought his sisters in the courts and won a hard fought victory. Immediately after the verdict, he turned around and gave all the money he inherited to his sisters, except for a small bed (which he later died on in 1677? which I believe was consumption, or tuberculosis).

These is a very interesting recent title on the relationship between Spinoza and Liebniz called The Courtier and the Heretic by Matthew Stewart.

It is interesting that Spinoza is regarded by many as one of the founding fathers of secular humanism, especially when the pinnacle of his thought was the 'intellectual love of God'.

Anyone who had surgery without anesthetic in the 17th century, could say how science has improved life since. Or indeed, who lived without modern sanitation, or who had to use horses rather than cars to travel any distance. It is simply nonsense to say that science has not vastly improved life.

Of course it has, but you can be rich, healthy, and damned.

Yes. But what has that to do with it? What has science to do with damnation?

The OP asked if there is a 'higher purpose'. Your response was that they should seek 'improvement'. By this, I understand material improvement, a better standard of living, science, and the rest. To which I would say, seek these by all means, but if the higher purpose is neglected and one's spiritual progress imperiled then you may well end up rich, healthy and damned.

I was only responding (as you were) to the nonsense that science has not improved the lot of people immeasurably.

well of course I agree that it has. But I was also agreeing with the OP, that there are higher purposes than money and power (but then he added 'well being' which is a bit unfortunate.) Anyway, I was commending the sentiment.

Well think of war; whatever it is we are searching to achieve through fighting, it ALWAYS comes with consequences. (even if it means thousands must die) I believe that the atomic bombing of japan would be a better example. Thousands died that day but a thousand more lives were spared. I believe that if we give up some of our well being which comes from things like fame and money (which are not infinite) we will come across a new form of well being which comes from the understanding of life itself. (which is infinite)