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Western Philosophy
17th-century philosophy
Name
Baruch de Spinoza
Birth November 24, 1632 (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Death February 21, 1677 (The Hague, Netherlands) (age 44)
School/tradition Rationalism, founder of Spinozism
Main interests Ethics, Epistemology, Metaphysics
Notable ideas Pantheism, Deism, neutral monism, intellectual and religious freedom / separation of church and state, Criticism of Mosaic authorship of certain books of the Hebrew Bible, Political society derived from power, not contract
Influenced by Hobbes, Descartes, Stoics, Avicenna, Maimonides, Nicholas of Cusa, Aristotle, Bacon, Plato
Influenced Hegel, Marx, Davidson, Schopenhauer, Deleuze, Einstein, Fichte, Leibniz, Goethe, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Althusser, Hardt, Negri, Fromm, Santayana, Schelling, Bookchin, Kant

Baruch or Benedict de Spinoza (Hebrew: ברוך שפינוזה‎, Portuguese: Bento de Espinosa, Latin: Benedictus de Spinoza) (November 24, 1632 – February 21, 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Jewish origin. 17th century philosophy in the Western world is generally regarded as being the start of Modern philosophy, and a departure from the medieval approach Events 380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal Amsterdam (pronounced) is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Events 362 - Athanasius returns to Alexandria. 1245 - Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands In Epistemology and in its broadest sense rationalism is "any view appealing to Reason as a source of knowledge or justification" (Lacey 286 Spinozism is the pantheistic philosophical system of Baruch Spinoza which defines " God " as a singular self-subsistent Substance Ethics is a major branch of Philosophy, encompassing right conduct and good life Epistemology (from Greek επιστήμη - episteme, "knowledge" + λόγος, " Logos " or theory of knowledge Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science Pantheism ( Greek: πάν ( 'pan') = all and θεός ( 'theos') = God it literally means " God is All Deism is the belief that a supreme God exists and created the physical universe and that religious truths can be arrived at by the application of reason alone without dependence on revelation Neutral monism, in Philosophy, is the metaphysical view that Existence consists of one (hence Monism) primal substance which in itself is Intellectual freedom is a human right as defined by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Freedom of religion is the freedom of an individual or community in public or private to manifest religion or belief in teaching practice worship and observance Separation of church and state is a Political and Legal Doctrine that Government and religious institutions are to be kept separate Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written in Biblical Hebrew (and the related Biblical Aramaic For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. Power is a measure of a person's ability to control the environment around them including the behavior of other people Social contract describes a broad class of republican theories whose subjects are implied agreements by which people form Nations and maintain a Social order Thomas Hobbes (born 5 April 1588died 4 December 1679 was an English philosopher, whose famous 1651 book Leviathan established the foundation Stoicism, a school of Hellenistic philosophy, was founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early third century BC TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> ( Persian /ابو علی الحسین ابن عبدالله ابن سینا (born Moses Maimonides ( March 30 1135 – December 13 1204) also known as the Rambam, was a Rabbi, Physician, and Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Francis Bacon 1st Viscount St Alban KC QC (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626 was an English Philosopher, Statesman, and author Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece Donald Herbert Davidson ( March 6, 1917  &ndash August 30, 2003) was an American Philosopher, who served as Slusser Gilles Deleuze ( (January 18 1925 &ndash November 4 1995 was a French philosopher of the late 20th century Albert Einstein ( German: ˈalbɐt ˈaɪ̯nʃtaɪ̯n; English: ˈælbɝt ˈaɪnstaɪn (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955 was a German -born theoretical Johann Gottlieb Fichte ( May 19, 1762 – January 27, 1814) was a German philosopher ˈjoːhan ˈvɔlfgaŋ fɔn ˈgøːtə (in English generally ˈgɝːtə 28 August 1749 22 March 1832 was a German writer Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15 1844 August 25 1900 ( was a nineteenth-century German philosopher and classical philologist Louis Pierre Althusser (Pronunciation altuˡseʁ ( October 16, 1918 – October 22, 1990) was a Marxist philosopher. Michael Hardt (born 1960 is an American literary theorist and political philosopher based at Duke University. Antonio ("Toni" Negri (born August 1, 1933) is an Italian Marxist political philosopher. Erich Pinchas Fromm ( March 23, 1900 &ndash March 18, 1980) was an internationally renowned social psychologist, psychoanalyst George Santayana ( December 16, 1863, Madrid &ndash September 26, 1952, Rome) was a Philosopher, Essayist Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling ( January 27, 1775 – August 20, 1854) later von Schelling, was a German Philosopher Murray Bookchin ( January 14, 1921 – July 30, 2006) was an American libertarian socialist, political and social Immanuel Kant (ɪmanuəl kant 22 April 1724 12 February 1804 was an 18th-century German Philosopher from the Prussian city of Königsberg Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Events 380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal Events 362 - Athanasius returns to Alexandria. 1245 - Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language Jews had lived in the Iberian peninsula since the Dark Ages experiencing a Golden Age under Muslim rule Revealing considerable scientific aptitude, the breadth and importance of Spinoza's work was not fully realized until years after his death. Today, he is considered one of the great rationalists of 17th-century philosophy, laying the groundwork for the 18th-century Enlightenment and modern biblical criticism. In Epistemology and in its broadest sense rationalism is "any view appealing to Reason as a source of knowledge or justification" (Lacey 286 17th century philosophy in the Western world is generally regarded as being the start of Modern philosophy, and a departure from the medieval approach The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a phase in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century This article is about the academic treatment of the bible as a historical document By virtue of his magnum opus, the posthumous Ethics, Spinoza is also considered one of Western philosophy's definitive ethicists. Magnum opus (sometimes Opus magnum, plural magna opera) from the Latin meaning great work, refers to the best the greatest Ethics is a philosophical book written by Baruch Spinoza. It was written in Latin. Western philosophy is a term that refers to philosophical thinking in the Western or Occidental world, as distinct from Eastern or Oriental philosophies

Spinoza lived quietly as a lens grinder, turning down rewards and honors throughout his life, including prestigious teaching positions, and gave his family inheritance to his sister. A lens is an optical device with perfect or approximate Axial symmetry which transmits and refracts Light, converging or diverging Spinoza's moral character and philosophical accomplishments prompted 20th-century philosopher Gilles Deleuze to name him "the absolute philosopher. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on Gilles Deleuze ( (January 18 1925 &ndash November 4 1995 was a French philosopher of the late 20th century "[1] Spinoza died in February 1677 of a lung illness, perhaps tuberculosis or silicosis caused by fine glass dust inhaled while tending to his trade. Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for tubercle bacillus or T u' b' erculosis Bacillus --> is a common Silicosis (also known as Grinder's disease and Potter's rot) is a form of Occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline Silica Glass in the common sense refers to a Hard, Brittle, transparent Solid, such as that used for Windows many

Contents

Biography

Family origins

Spinoza's ancestors were of Sephardic Jewish descent, and were a part of the community of Portuguese Jews that grew in the city after the Alhambra Decree in Spain (1492) and the Portuguese Inquisition (1536) had led to forced conversions and expulsions from the Iberian peninsula. Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural Spanish and Portuguese Jews are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardim who have their main ethnic origins within the crypto-Jewish communities of the Iberian The Alhambra Decree (also known as the Edict of Expulsion) was an edict issued on 31 March, 1492 by the joint Catholic Monarchs of The Portuguese Inquisition was formally established in Portugal in 1536 at the request of the King of Portugal, João III. Conversos ( Spanish and Portuguese for "a convert" from Latin conversus, "converted turned around" and its feminine form The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra [2] Some historians argue the Spinoza family had its remote origins in Spain; others claim they were Portuguese Jews who had moved to Spain and then returned to their home country in 1492, only to be forcibly converted to Catholicism in 1498. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Spinoza's father was born roughly a century after this forced conversion in the small Portuguese city of Vidigueira, near Beja in Alentejo. Vidigueira ( pron vidi'gɐjɾɐ or) is a municipality in Portugal, with a total area of 316 Alentejo (ɐlẽˈtɛʒu is a south-central region of Portugal. When Spinoza's father was still a child, Spinoza's grandfather, Isaac de Spinoza (who was from Lisbon), took his family to Nantes in France. Lisbon (Lisboa liʒˈboɐ is the Capital and largest city of Portugal. Nantes (Naoned Gallo: Naunnt) is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. They were expelled in 1615 and moved to Rotterdam, where Isaac died in 1627. Rotterdam (pronounced) is the 2nd-largest City by population in the Netherlands, located in the province of Spinoza's father, Miguel, and his uncle, Manuel, then moved to Amsterdam where they assumed their Judaism. Manuel changed his name to Abraão de Spinoza, though his "commercial" name was still the same.

Early life and career

Baruch Spinoza was born in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. Amsterdam (pronounced) is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands His mother Ana Débora, Miguel's second wife, died when Baruch was only six years old. Miguel was a successful importer/merchant and Baruch had a traditional Jewish upbringing; however, his critical, curious nature would soon come into conflict with the Jewish community. After wars with England and France took the life of his father and decimated his family's fortune, he was eventually able to relinquish responsibility for the business and its debts to his brother, Gabriel, and devote himself to philosophy and optics.

Controversial ideas and Jewish reaction

Spinoza became known in the Jewish community for positions contrary to normative Jewish belief, with critical positions towards the Talmud and other religious texts. The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history In the summer of 1656, he was issued the writ of cherem (Hebrew: חרם, a kind of excommunication) from the Jewish community, perhaps for the apostasy of how he conceived God, although the reason is not stated in the cherem. Cherem (or Herem חרם is the highest ecclesiastical censure in the Jewish community Excommunication is a religious Censure used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. Righteous indignation on the part of the synagogue elders at Spinoza's heresies was probably not the sole cause for the excommunication; there was also the practical concern that his ideas, which disagree equally well with the orthodoxies of other religions as with Judaism, would not sit well with the Christian leaders of Amsterdam and would reflect badly on the whole Jewish community, endangering the limited freedoms that the Jews had already achieved in that city. Amsterdam (pronounced) is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west The terms of his cherem were severe. [3] He was, in Bertrand Russell's words, "cursed with all the curses in Deuteronomy and with the curse that Elisha pronounced on the children who, in consequence, were torn to pieces by the she-bears. Bertrand Arthur William Russell 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970 was a British Philosopher, Historian Deuteronomy (Greek deuteronomion, Δευτερονόμιον "second law" is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament Elisha ( Greek el Ελισσαίος Elisaios) is a Biblical prophet "[4] It was never revoked. Following his excommunication, he adopted the first name Benedictus, the Latin equivalent of his given name, Baruch; they both mean "blessed". Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. In his native Amsterdam he was also known as Bento (Portuguese for Benedict or blessed) de Spinoza, which was the informal form of his name.

After his cherem, it is reported that Spinoza lived and worked in the school of Franciscus van den Enden, who taught him Latin in his youth and may have introduced him to modern philosophy, although Spinoza never mentions Van den Enden anywhere in his books or letters. Franciscus van den Enden ( Antwerp ca 5 February 1602 - Paris, 27 November 1674) is mainly known as the teacher of Van den Enden was a Cartesian and atheist who was forbidden by the city government to propagate his doctrines publicly. In Philosophy of mind, dualism is a set of views about the relationship between mind and matter which begins with the claim that mental phenomena are in some Atheism Spinoza, having dedicated himself completely to philosophy after 1656, fervently desired to change the world through establishing a clandestine philosophical sect. Because of public censure this was only eventually realized after his death through the dedicated intercession of his friends.

During this period Spinoza also became acquainted with several Collegiants, members of an eclectic sect with tendencies towards rationalism. In Christian theology, the Collegiants ( Latin: Collegiani; Dutch: Collegianten) also called Collegians, were an eclectic In the Sociology of religion a sect is generally a smaller religious or political group that has broken off from a larger group for example from a In Epistemology and in its broadest sense rationalism is "any view appealing to Reason as a source of knowledge or justification" (Lacey 286 Spinoza also corresponded with Peter Serrarius, a radical Protestant and millennarian merchant. Petrus Serrarius (born London 1600-1669 was a Dutch Millennarian theologian Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Millenarianism (sometimes spelled millenarism or millennarism) is the belief by a religious social or political group or movement in a coming major transformation Serrarius is believed to have been a patron of Spinoza at some point. By the beginning of the 1660s, Spinoza's name became more widely known, and eventually Gottfried Leibniz and Henry Oldenburg paid him visits, as stated in Matthew Stewart's "The Courtier and the Heretic. Henry Oldenburg (c 1619 - September 1677 worked as a Diplomat and a Natural philosopher. ". He corresponded with Oldenburg for the rest of his short life. Spinoza's first publication was his Tractatus de intellectus emendatione. From December 1664 to June 1665, Spinoza engaged in correspondence with Blyenbergh, an amateur Calvinist theologian, who questioned Spinoza on the definition of evil. Guillaume de Blyenbergh (Blijenbergh was a Danish grain broker and amateur Calvinist theologian who engaged in philosophical correspondence with Spinoza regarding Calvinism (sometimes called the Reformed tradition, the Reformed faith, or Reformed theology) is a theological system and an approach to the Evil, in many cultures is used to describe acts or thoughts which are contrary to some particular religion Later in 1665, he notified Oldenburg that he had started to work on a new book, the Theologico-Political Treatise, published in 1670. Written by the philosopher and Pantheist Baruch Spinoza, the Theologico-Political Treatise or Tractatus Theologico-Politicus Leibniz disagreed harshly with Spinoza in Leibniz's own published Refutation of Spinoza, but is also known to have met with Spinoza on at least one occasion, and whose own work bears certain striking resemblances to certain key parts of Spinoza's philosophy (see: Monadology). The Monadology ( Monadologie, 1714 is one of Gottfried Leibniz ’s works that best define his philosophy monadism.

When the public reactions to the anonymously published Theologico-Political Treatise were extremely unfavourable to his brand of Cartesianism, Spinoza was compelled to abstain from publishing more of his works. Wary and independent, he wore a signet ring engraved with his initials, a rose and the word "caute" (Latin for "cautiously"). A seal can mean a wax seal bearing an impressed figure or an embossed figure in paper with the purpose of authenticating a document but the term can also mean any device for The Ethics and all other works, apart from the Principles of Cartesian Philosophy and the Theologico-Political Treatise, were published after his death in the Opera Posthuma edited by his friends in secrecy to avoid confiscation and destruction of manuscripts. The final work of Baruch Spinoza 's Opera Posthuma is a Grammar of the Hebrew language, Compendium Grammaticus Lingua Hebraeae.

Later life and career

Spinoza's house in Rijnsburg from 1661-3, now a museum
Spinoza's house in Rijnsburg from 1661-3, now a museum

Spinoza relocated from Amsterdam to Rijnsburg (near Leiden) around 1661 and later lived in Voorburg and The Hague respectively. Rijnsburg (population 14941 in 2004 is a community in the eastern part of the city Katwijk, in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Rijnsburg (population 14941 in 2004 is a community in the eastern part of the city Katwijk, in the western Netherlands, in the province of South "Leyden" redirects here For other uses see Leyden (disambiguation. Voorburg is a Dutch town and former municipality of approximately 39000 inhabitants in the western part of the province of South Holland, the Netherlands He earned a comfortable living from lens-grinding. A lens is an optical device with perfect or approximate Axial symmetry which transmits and refracts Light, converging or diverging While the lens-grinding aspect of Spinoza's work is uncontested, the type of lenses he made is in question. Many have said he produced excellent magnifying glasses, and some historians credit him with being an optician (in the sense of making lenses for eyeglasses). Scientific Equipment OpticianAn optician is an Eye care professional who provides corrective lenses based on a prescription for the correction of a Refractive He was also supported by small, but regular, donations from close friends. He died in 1677 while still working on a political thesis. His premature death was due to lung illness, possibly the result of breathing in glass dust from the lenses he ground. Only a year earlier, Spinoza had met with Leibniz at The Hague for a discussion of his principal philosophical work, Ethics, which had been completed in 1676. Ethics is a philosophical book written by Baruch Spinoza. It was written in Latin. This meeting was described in Matthew Stewart's The Courtier and the Heretic. [5] Spinoza never married, nor did he father any children. When he died, he was considered a heathen anti-religionist by the general population, and when Boerhaave wrote his dissertation in 1688 he attacked the doctrines of Spinoza. Herman Boerhaave ( Voorhout, December 31, 1668 - Leiden, September 23, 1738) was a Dutch botanist humanist He claimed later that defense of Spinoza's lifestyle cost him his reputation in Leiden and a post as minister. "Leyden" redirects here For other uses see Leyden (disambiguation. In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform clergy functions such as teaching of beliefs

Dutch Port cities as sites of free thought

Amsterdam and Rotterdam were important cosmopolitan centers where merchant ships from many parts of the world brought people of various customs and beliefs. It is this hustle and bustle which ensured, as in the Mediterranean region during the Renaissance, some possibility of free thought and shelter from the crushing hand of ecclesiastical authority. Thus Spinoza no doubt had access to a circle of friends who were basically heretics in the eyes of tradition. One of the people he must have known was Niels Stensen, a brilliant Danish student in Leiden; others were Coenraad van Beuningen and his cousin Albert Burgh, with whom Spinoza is known to have corresponded. Nicolas Steno ( Danish: Niels Stensen; Latinized to Nicolaus Stenonis) ( January 10, 1638 - November 25, Coenraad van Beuningen (1622 - Amsterdam 26 October 1693 was the Republic's most experienced diplomat burgemeester of Amsterdam in 1669 1672 1680 1681 1683 and 1684 Albert Coenraadsz Burgh (1593 &ndash December 24 1647 was a Dutch physician who was mayor of Amsterdam and a councillor in the Admiralty of Amsterdam

Philosophy

The opening page of Spinoza's magnum opus, Ethics
The opening page of Spinoza's magnum opus, Ethics
Substance, Attribute and Mode

"These are the fundamental concepts with which Spinoza sets forth a vision of Being, illuminated by his awareness of God. They may seem strange at first sight. To the question "What is?" he replies: "Substance, its attributes and modes". Spinoza, Carl Jaspers p. 9

Spinoza's system imparted order and unity to the tradition of radical thought, offering powerful weapons for prevailing against "received authority. " As a youth he first subscribed to Descartes's dualistic belief that body and mind are two separate substances, but later changed his view and asserted that they were not separate, being a single identity. In Philosophy of mind, dualism is a set of views about the relationship between mind and matter which begins with the claim that mental phenomena are in some He contended that everything that exists in Nature/Universe is one Reality (substance) and there is only one set of rules governing the whole of the reality which surrounds us and of which we are part. Spinoza viewed God and Nature as two names for the same reality, namely the single substance (meaning "that which stands beneath" rather than "matter") that is the basis of the universe and of which all lesser "entities" are actually modes or modifications, that all things are determined by Nature to exist and cause effects, and that the complex chain of cause and effect is only understood in part. Substance theory, or substance attribute theory, is an ontological theory about objecthood, positing that a substance is distinct from its That humans presume themselves to have free will, he argues, is a result of their awareness of appetites while being unable to understand the reasons why they want and act as they do. The question of free will The argument for the single substance runs as follows:

  1. Substance exists and cannot be dependent on anything else for its existence.
  2. No two substances can share the same nature or attribute.
    Proof: Two distinct substances can be differentiated either by some difference in their natures or by some difference in one of their alterable states of being. If they have different natures, then the original proposition is granted and the proof is complete. If, however, they are distinguished only by their states of being, then, considering the substances in themselves, there is no difference between the substances and they are identical. "That is, there cannot be several such substances but only one. "[6]
  3. A substance can only be caused by something similar to itself (something that shares its attribute).
  4. Substance cannot be caused.
    Proof: Something can only be caused by something which is similar to itself, in other words something that shares its attribute. But according to premise 2, no two substances can share an attribute. Therefore substance cannot be caused.
  5. Substance is infinite.
    Proof: If substance were not infinite, it would be finite and limited by something. But to be limited by something is to be dependent on it. However, substance cannot be dependent on anything else (premise 1), therefore substance is infinite.
Conclusion: There can only be one substance.
Proof: If there were two infinite substances, they would limit each other. But this would act as a restraint, and they would be dependent on each other. But they cannot be dependent on each other (premise 1), therefore there cannot be two substances.

Spinoza contended that "Deus sive Natura" ("God or Nature") was a being of infinitely many attributes, of which extension and thought were two. DeuS (Brut Des Flandres is a premium Belgian beer manufactured in Buggenhout, Belgium. His account of the nature of reality, then, seems to treat the physical and mental worlds as one and the same. The universal substance consists of both body and mind, there being no difference between these aspects. This formulation is a historically significant solution to the mind-body problem known as neutral monism. Philosophy of mind is the branch of Philosophy that studies the nature of the Mind, Mental events Mental functions mental properties Neutral monism, in Philosophy, is the metaphysical view that Existence consists of one (hence Monism) primal substance which in itself is The consequences of Spinoza's system also envisage a God that does not rule over the universe by providence, but a God which itself is the deterministic system of which everything in nature is a part. Thus, God is the natural world and He has no personality.

In addition to substance, the other two fundamental concepts Spinoza presents, and develops in the Ethics are

Attribute:

By attribute, I mean that which the intellect perceives as constituting the essence of substance.

and Mode:

By mode, I mean the modifications of substance, or that which exists in, and is conceived through, something other than itself.

Spinoza was a thoroughgoing determinist who held that absolutely everything that happens occurs through the operation of necessity. Determinism is the philosophical Proposition that every event including human cognition and behaviour decision and action is causally determined In Criminal law, necessity may be either a possible justification or an exculpation for breaking the Law. For him, even human behaviour is fully determined, with freedom being our capacity to know we are determined and to understand why we act as we do. So freedom is not the possibility to say "no" to what happens to us but the possibility to say "yes" and fully understand why things should necessarily happen that way. By forming more "adequate" ideas about what we do and our emotions or affections, we become the adequate cause of our effects (internal or external), which entails an increase in activity (versus passivity). " Affect " ( Latin affectus or adfectus) is a Concept used in Philosophy by Spinoza, Deleuze and This means that we become both more free and more like God, as Spinoza argues in the Scholium to Prop. 49, Part II. However, Spinoza also held that everything must necessarily happen the way that it does. Therefore, there is no free will.

Spinoza's philosophy has much in common with Stoicism in as much as both philosophies sought to fulfill a therapeutic role by instructing people how to attain happiness (or eudaimonia, for the Stoics). Stoicism, a school of Hellenistic philosophy, was founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early third century BC Happiness is an Emotion associated with feelings ranging from contentment and satisfaction to Bliss and intense Joy. Eudaimonia ( Greek:) is a classical Greek word commonly translated as ' Happiness ' However, Spinoza differed sharply from the Stoics in one important respect: he utterly rejected their contention that reason could defeat emotion. Reason involves the ability to think understand and draw Conclusions in an Abstract way as in Human thinking On the contrary, he contended, an emotion can only be displaced or overcome by a stronger emotion. For him, the crucial distinction was between active and passive emotions, the former being those that are rationally understood and the latter those that are not. He also held that knowledge of true causes of passive emotion can transform it to an active emotion, thus anticipating one of the key ideas of Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis. Sigmund Freud (ˈziːkmʊnt ˈfʁɔʏt born Sigismund Shlomo Freud (May 6 1856 &ndash September 23 1939 was an Austrian Psychiatrist who founded Psychoanalysis is a body of ideas developed by Austrian physician Sigmund Freud and his followers which is devoted to the study of human psychological functioning and behavior

Spinoza's philosophy seems to have also some traits in common with that of Advaita Vedanta, a sampradhya or school of thought in Hinduism, especially as expounded by Adi Shankara. Advaita Vedanta ( IAST Advaita Vedānta; Sanskrit अद्वैत वेदान्त əd̪vait̪ə veːd̪ɑːnt̪ə is a sub-school of the Adi Shankara ( Malayalam: ആദി ശങ്കരന്‍ Devanāgarī: आदि शङ्कर Ādi Śaṅkara, aːd̪i ɕaŋkərə (see below These Indian philosophers from the 8th and 11th centuries respectively emphasize the notion of one reality (substance here), Brahman and the notion of attributes (which could be construed as an interpretation that is similar to that of Spinoza). Brahman ( bráhman-, Nominative bráhma sa ब्रह्म is a concept of Hinduism. Although Schopenhauer was the first European to have access to Hindu scripture, the question arises as to whether Spinoza may have had access to Indian philosophical texts.

Some of Spinoza's philosophical positions are:

Ethical philosophy

Encapsulated at the start in his Treatise on the Improvement of the Understanding (Tractatus de intellectus emendatione) is the core of Spinoza's ethical philosophy, what he held to be the true and final good. Spinoza held a relativist's position, that nothing is intrinsically good or bad, except to the extent that it is subjectively perceived to be by the individual. Compare Moral relativism, Aesthetic relativism, Social constructionism, Cultural relativism, and Cognitive relativism. Things are only good or evil in respect that humanity sees it desirable to apply these conceptions to matters. Instead, Spinoza believes in his deterministic universe that, "All things in nature proceed from certain necessity and with the utmost perfection. " Therefore, nothing happens by chance in Spinoza's world, and reason does not work in terms of contingency.

In the universe anything that happens comes from the essential nature of objects, or of God/Nature. According to Spinoza, reality is perfection. If circumstances are seen as unfortunate it is only because of our inadequate conception of reality. While elements of the chain of cause and effect are not beyond the understanding of human reason, our grasp of the infinitely complex whole is limited because of the limits of science to empirically take account of the whole sequence. Spinoza also asserted that sense perception, though practical and useful for rhetoric, is inadequate for discovering universal truth; Spinoza's mathematical and logical approach to metaphysics, and therefore ethics, concluded that emotion is formed from inadequate understanding. His concept of "conatus" states that human beings' natural inclination is to strive toward preserving an essential being and an assertion that virtue/human power is defined by success in this preservation of being by the guidance of reason as one's central ethical doctrine. Conatus ( Latin for effort endeavor impulse inclination tendency undertaking striving) is a term used in early philosophies According to Spinoza, the highest virtue is the intellectual love or knowledge of God/Nature/Universe.

In the final part of the "Ethics" his concern with the meaning of "true blessedness" and his unique approach to and explanation of how emotions must be detached from external cause in order to master them presages 20th-century psychological techniques. Ethics is a philosophical book written by Baruch Spinoza. It was written in Latin. His concept of three types of knowledge - opinion, reason, intuition - and assertion that intuitive knowledge provides the greatest satisfaction of mind, leads to his proposition that the more we are conscious of ourselves and Nature/Universe, the more perfect and blessed we are (in reality) and that only intuitive knowledge is eternal. His unique contribution to understanding the workings of mind is extraordinary, even during this time of radical philosophical developments, in that his views provide a bridge between religions' mystical past and psychology of the present day.

Given Spinoza's insistence on a completely ordered world where "necessity" reigns, Good and Evil have no absolute meaning. In Religion, Ethics, and Philosophy, the phrase good and evil refers to the location of objects desires and Behaviors on a two-way Human catastrophes, social injustices, etc. are merely apparent. The world as it exists looks imperfect only because of our limited perception.

Pantheism controversy

Main article: Pantheism controversy

In 1785, Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi published a condemnation of Spinoza's pantheism, after Lessing was thought to have confessed on his deathbed to being a "Spinozist", which was the equivalent in his time of being called an atheist. The pantheism controversy was an event in German cultural history which had an impact throughout Europe Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi ( 25 January, 1743 - 10 March, 1819) was a German Philosopher notable for coining the term Pantheism ( Greek: πάν ( 'pan') = all and θεός ( 'theos') = God it literally means " God is All Gotthold Ephraim Lessing ( 22 January, 1729 15 February, 1781) was a German Writer, Philosopher, Dramatist Jacobi claimed that Spinoza's doctrine was pure materialism, because all Nature and God are said to be nothing but extended substance. Substance theory, or substance attribute theory, is an ontological theory about objecthood, positing that a substance is distinct from its This, for Jacobi, was the result of Enlightenment rationalism and it would finally end in absolute atheism. Atheism Moses Mendelssohn disagreed with Jacobi, saying that there is no actual difference between theism and pantheism. Moses Mendelssohn ( Dessau, 6 September 1729 4 January 1786 in Berlin) was a German Jewish Philosopher Theism, in its most inclusive usage is the belief in at least one Deity. The entire issue became a major intellectual and religious concern for European civilization at the time, which Immanuel Kant rejected, as he thought that attempts to conceive of transcendent reality would lead to antinomies (statements that could be proven both right and wrong) in thought. Immanuel Kant (ɪmanuəl kant 22 April 1724 12 February 1804 was an 18th-century German Philosopher from the Prussian city of Königsberg

The attraction of Spinoza's philosophy to late eighteenth-century Europeans was that it provided an alternative to materialism, atheism, and deism. Three of Spinoza's ideas strongly appealed to them:

Spinoza's "God or Nature" provided a living, natural God, in contrast to the Newtonian mechanical "First Cause" or the dead mechanism of the French "Man Machine. "

Modern relevance

Tractus Theologico-Politicus, a name Wittgenstein later paid homage to in his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
Tractus Theologico-Politicus, a name Wittgenstein later paid homage to in his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus

Late 20th-century Europe demonstrated a greater philosophical interest in Spinoza, often from a left-wing or Marxist perspective. Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus is the only book-length work published by Austrian Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Notable philosophers Gilles Deleuze, Antonio Negri, Étienne Balibar and the Brazilian philosopher Marilena Chauí have each written books on Spinoza. Gilles Deleuze ( (January 18 1925 &ndash November 4 1995 was a French philosopher of the late 20th century Antonio ("Toni" Negri (born August 1, 1933) is an Italian Marxist political philosopher. Étienne Balibar (born April 23, 1942 in Avallon, Bourgogne, France) is a French Marxist Philosopher Marilena de Souza Chauí (born September 4, 1941) is a Brazilian philosopher Deleuze's doctoral thesis, published in 1968, refers to him as "the prince of philosophers. "[8] Other philosophers heavily influenced by Spinoza include Constantin Brunner and John David Garcia. Constantin Brunner ( 27 August 1862 –1937 was the Pen-name John David Garcia (b c 1936-d November 23 2001, Springfield Oregon) - founder of the Society for Evolutionary Ethics (SEE taught an Stuart Hampshire wrote a major English language study of Spinoza, though H. H. Joachim's work is equally valuable. Sir Stuart Newton Hampshire ( 1 October 1914 - 13 June 2004) was an Oxford University Philosopher, Literary critic This page is not about the American art critic of the same name Harold Henry Joachim ( May 28, 1868 - July 30, 1938 Unlike most philosophers, Spinoza and his work were highly regarded by Nietzsche. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15 1844 August 25 1900 ( was a nineteenth-century German philosopher and classical philologist

Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein evoked Spinoza with the title (suggested to him by G. E. Moore) of the English translation of his first definitive philosophical work, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, an allusion to Spinoza's Tractatus Theologico-Politicus. "GE Moore" redirects here For the cofounder of Intel see Gordon Moore. Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus is the only book-length work published by Austrian Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Written by the philosopher and Pantheist Baruch Spinoza, the Theologico-Political Treatise or Tractatus Theologico-Politicus Elsewhere, Wittgenstein deliberately borrowed the expression sub specie aeternitatis from Spinoza (Notebooks, 1914-16, p. 83). The structure of his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus does have certain structural affinities with Spinoza's Ethics (though, admittedly, not with the latter's own Tractatus) in erecting complex philosophical arguments upon basic logical assertions and principles. Furthermore, in propositions 6. 4311 and 6. 45 he alludes to a Spinozian understanding of eternity and interpretation of the religious concept of eternal life, stating that "If by eternity is understood not eternal temporal duration, but timelessness, then he lives eternally who lives in the present. " (6. 4311) "The contemplation of the world sub specie aeterni is its contemplation as a limited whole. " (6. 45) Furthermore, Wittgenstein's interpretation of religious language, in both his early and later career, may be said to bear a family resemblance to Spinoza's pantheism.

Spinoza has had influence beyond the confines of philosophy. The nineteenth century novelist, George Eliot, produced her own translation of the Ethics, the first known English translation thereof. Mary Ann (Marian Evans ( 22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880) better known by her Pen name George Eliot, was an The twentieth century novelist, W. Somerset Maugham, alluded to one of Spinoza's central concepts with the title of his novel, Of Human Bondage. William Somerset Maugham, CH ( January 25 1874 &ndash December 16 1965) was an English Playwright, Of Human Bondage ( 1915) is a Novel by William Somerset Maugham. Albert Einstein named Spinoza as the philosopher who exerted the most influence on his world view (Weltanschauung). Albert Einstein ( German: ˈalbɐt ˈaɪ̯nʃtaɪ̯n; English: ˈælbɝt ˈaɪnstaɪn (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955 was a German -born theoretical A comprehensive world view (or worldview) is a term Calqued from the German word Weltanschauung ( Welt is the German Spinoza equated God (infinite substance) with Nature, consistent with Einstein's belief in an impersonal deity. In 1929, Einstein was asked in a telegram by Rabbi Herbert S. Goldstein whether he believed in God. Rabbi Dr Herbert S Goldstein, (b New York February 8, 1890 -January 1970 was a prominent Jewish leader in the United States. Einstein responded by telegram: "I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings. "[1] Spinoza's pantheism has also influenced environmental theory. Arne Næss, the father of the deep ecology movement, acknowledged Spinoza as an important inspiration. Arne Dekke Eide Næss (born January 27, 1912) is widely regarded as the foremost Norwegian Philosopher of the 20th century and is the founder Deep ecology is a recent branch of ecological Philosophy ( Ecosophy) that considers Humankind an integral part of its environment. Moreover, the Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges was greatly influenced by Spinoza's world view. In many of his poems and short stories, Borges makes constant allusions to the philosopher's work, though not necessarily as a partisan of his doctrines, but merely in order to use these for aesthetic purposes--a common tactic in Borges's work.

Spinoza is an important historical figure in the Netherlands, where his portrait was featured prominently on the Dutch 1000-guilder banknote, legal tender until the euro was introduced in 2002. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands A banknote (often known as a bill, paper money or simply a note) is a kind of Negotiable instrument, a Promissory note made by a Legal tender or forced tender is Payment that by Law, cannot be refused in settlement of a Debt ( Debtor cannot successfully be sued Please update other articles as well to avoid contradiction within Wikipedia e The highest and most prestigious scientific award of the Netherlands is named the Spinoza prijs (Spinoza prize). Spinoza's work is also mentioned as the favourite reading material for Bertie Wooster's valet Jeeves in the P. G. Wodehouse novels. Bertram Wilberforce "Bertie" Wooster is a recurring Fictional character in the Jeeves novels of British Author Reginald Jeeves is a Fictional character in the short stories and novels of P Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE (15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975 (ˈwʊdhaʊs was an English Comic novelist who enjoyed enormous popular success

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Deleuze, 1990. Plane of immanence is a founding concept in the Metaphysics or Ontology of French philosopher Gilles Deleuze.
  2. ^ Magnusson, M (ed. ), Spinoza, Baruch, Chambers Biographical Dictionary, Chambers 1990, ISBN 0550160418
  3. ^ Tel Aviv University: "Why Was Baruch De Spinoza Excommunicated?", by Asa Kasher and Shlomo Biderman
  4. ^ Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy Allen & Unwin (1946) New Ed. 1961 p. 552
  5. ^ Lucas, 1960.
  6. ^ Ethics, Pt. I, Prop. V, Proof.
  7. ^ Ethics, Pt. IV, Prop. XXXVII, Note I. : "Still I do not deny that beasts feel: what I deny is, that we may not consult our own advantage and use them as we please, treating them in a way which best suits us; for their nature is not like ours. . . . " (Emphasis added to quotation. )
  8. ^ Deleuze, 1968.

References

Bibliography

By Spinoza

Project Gutenberg: Part 1;Part 2;Part 3;Part 4

About Spinoza

External links

Works:

Persondata
NAME Spinoza, Baruch
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Spinoza, Benedictus de; Espinosa, Bento de; d'Espiñoza, Bento
SHORT DESCRIPTION Dutch philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH November 24, 1632(1632-11-24) – February 21, 1677
PLACE OF BIRTH Amsterdam
DATE OF DEATH November 24, 1632 – February 21, 1677
PLACE OF DEATH
In Our Time is a discussion programme hosted by Melvyn Bragg on BBC Radio 4 in the United Kingdom. Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works Events 380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal Events 362 - Athanasius returns to Alexandria. 1245 - Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland Amsterdam (pronounced) is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west Events 380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal Events 362 - Athanasius returns to Alexandria. 1245 - Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland
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