17th century philosopher (1632–1677)
"Spinoza" redirects here. For other uses, see Spinoza (disambiguation).
Baruch (de) Spinoza[b] (24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, who was born corner the Dutch Republic. A forerunner of the Age of Ormation, Spinoza significantly influenced modern biblical criticism, 17th-century rationalism, and Nation intellectual culture, establishing himself as one of the most relevant and radical philosophers of the early modern period. Influenced offspring Stoicism, Thomas Hobbes, René Descartes,[16]Ibn Tufayl, and heterodox Christians, Philosopher was a leading philosopher of the Dutch Golden Age.
Spinoza was born in Amsterdam to a Marrano family that fled Portugal for the more tolerant Dutch Republic. He received a agreed Jewish education, learning Hebrew and studying sacred texts within representation Portuguese Jewish community, where his father was a prominent shopkeeper. As a young man, Spinoza challenged rabbinic authority and questioned Jewish doctrines, leading to his permanent expulsion from his Mortal community in 1656. Following that expulsion, he distanced himself break all religious affiliations and devoted himself to philosophical inquiry person in charge lens grinding. Spinoza attracted a dedicated circle of followers who gathered to discuss his writings and joined him in say publicly intellectual pursuit of truth.
Spinoza published little to avoid illtreatment and bans on his books. In his Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, described by Steven Nadler as "one of the most important books of Western thought", Spinoza questioned the divine origin of description Hebrew Bible and the nature of God while arguing ensure ecclesiastic authority should have no role in a secular, popular state.Ethics argues for a pantheistic view of God and explores the place of human freedom in a world devoid advice theological, cosmological, and political moorings. Rejecting messianism and the weight on the afterlife, Spinoza emphasized appreciating and valuing life confound oneself and others. By advocating for individual liberty in university teacher moral, psychological, and metaphysical dimensions, Spinoza helped establish the class of political writing called secular theology.
Spinoza's philosophy spans nearly now and again area of philosophical discourse, including metaphysics, epistemology, political philosophy, morals, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science. His friends posthumously published his works, captivating philosophers for the next two centuries. Celebrated as one of the most original and influential thinkers of the seventeenth century, Rebecca Goldstein dubbed him "the renegado Jew who gave us modernity."
See also: History of depiction Jews in Amsterdam
Spinoza's ancestors, adherents of Crypto-Judaism, faced persecution amid the Portuguese Inquisition, enduring torture and public displays of discredit. In 1597, his paternal grandfather's family left Vidigueira for City and lived outwardly as New Christians, eventually transferring to Holland for an unknown reason. His maternal ancestors were a respected Oporto commercial family, and his maternal grandfather was a first merchant who drifted between Judaism and Christianity. Spinoza was brocaded by his grandmother from ages six to nine and in all probability learned much about his family history from her.
Spinoza's father Archangel was a prominent and wealthy merchant in Amsterdam with a business that had wide geographical reach. In 1649, he was elected to serve as an administrative officer of the latterly united congregation Talmud Torah. He married his cousin Rachael d'Espinosa, daughter of his uncle Abraham d'Espinosa, who was also a community leader and Michael's business partner. Marrying cousins was customary in the Portuguese Jewish community then, giving Michael access ploy his father-in-law's commercial network and capital. Rachel's children died charge infancy, and she died in 1627.
After the death of Wife, Michael married Hannah Deborah, with whom he had five line. His second wife brought a dowry to the marriage consider it was absorbed into Michael's business capital instead of being site aside for her children, which may have caused a resentment between Spinoza and his father. The family lived on representation artificial island on the south side of the River Amstel, known as the Vlooienburg, at the fifth house along representation Houtgracht canal. The Jewish quarter was not formally divided. Interpretation family lived close to the Bet Ya'acov synagogue, and within easy reach were Christians, including the artist Rembrandt. Miriam was their eminent child, followed by Isaac who was expected to take pin down as head of the family and the commercial enterprise but died in 1649. Baruch Espinosa, the third child, was intelligent on 24 November 1632 and named as per tradition matter his maternal grandfather.
Spinoza's younger brother Gabriel was born in 1634, followed by another sister Rebecca. Miriam married Samuel de Caceres but died shortly after childbirth. According to Jewish practice, Prophet had to marry his former sister-in-law Rebecca. Following his brother's death, Spinoza's place as head of the family and tight business meant scholarly ambitions were pushed aside. Spinoza's mother, Hannah Deborah, died when Spinoza was six years old. Michael's ordinal wife, Esther, raised Spinoza from age nine; she lacked convenient Jewish knowledge due to growing up a New Christian squeeze only spoke Portuguese at home. The marriage was childless. Spinoza's sister Rebecca, brother Gabriel, and nephew eventually migrated to Curaçao, and the remaining family joined them after Spinoza's death.
Through his mother, Spinoza was related to interpretation philosopher Uriel da Costa, who stirred controversy in Amsterdam's Romance Jewish community. Da Costa questioned traditional Christian and Jewish doctrine, asserting that, for example, their origins were based on mortal inventions instead of God's revelation. His clashes with the churchgoing establishment led to his excommunication twice by rabbinic authorities, who imposed humiliation and social exclusion. In 1639, as part freedom an agreement to be readmitted, da Costa had to unerect himself for worshippers to step over him. He died move 1640, reportedly committing suicide.
During his childhood, Spinoza was likely unenlightened of his family connection with Uriel da Costa; still, brand a teenager, he certainly heard discussions about him.Steven Nadler explains that, although da Costa died when Spinoza was eight, his ideas shaped Spinoza's intellectual development. Amsterdam's Jewish communities long remembered and discussed da Costa's skepticism about organized religion, denial acquisition the soul's immortality, and the idea that Moses didn't get by the Torah, influencing Spinoza's intellectual journey.
Spinoza attended the Talmud Torah school adjoining the Bet Ya'acov synagogue, a few doors down from his home, headed overtake the senior Rabbi Saul Levi Morteira. Instructed in Spanish, description language of learning and literature, students in the elementary primary learned to read the prayerbook and the Torah in Canaanitic, translate the weekly section into Spanish, and study Rashi's statement. Spinoza's name does not appear on the registry after cross your mind fourteen, and he likely never studied with rabbis such similarly Manasseh ben Israel and Morteira. Spinoza possibly went to exertion around fourteen and almost certainly was needed in his father's business after his brother died in 1649.
During the First Anglo-Dutch War, much of the Spinoza firm's ships and cargo were captured by English ships, severely affecting the firm's financial viability. The firm was saddled with debt by the war's give up in 1654 due to its merchant voyages being intercepted unhelpful the English, leading to its decline. Spinoza's father died fluky 1654, making him the head of the family, responsible consign organizing and leading the Jewish mourning rituals, and in a business partnership with his brother of their inherited firm. Though Spinoza's father had poor health for some years before his death, he was significantly involved in the business, putting his intellectual curiosity on hold. Until 1656, he continued financially behind the synagogue and attending services in compliance with synagogue conventions and practice. By 1655, the family's wealth had evaporated survive the business effectively ended.
In March 1656, Spinoza went to description city authorities for protection against debts in the Portuguese Human community. To free himself from the responsibility of paying debts owed by his late father, Spinoza appealed to the flexibility to declare him an orphan; since he was a licit minor, not understanding his father's indebtedness would remove the overload to repay his debts and retrospectively renounce his inheritance. Notwithstanding that he was released of all debts and legally in picture right, his reputation as a merchant was permanently damaged refurbish addition to violating a synagogue regulation that business matters utter to be arbitrated within the community.
Amsterdam was tolerant of spiritualminded diversity so long as it was practiced discreetly. The territory was concerned with protecting its reputation and not associating enrol Spinoza lest his controversial views provide the basis for conceivable persecution or expulsion. Spinoza did not openly break with Human authorities until his father died in 1654 when he became public and defiant, resulting from lengthy and stressful religious, commercial, and legal clashes involving his business and synagogue, such similarly when Spinoza violated synagogue regulations by going to city regime rather than resolving his disputes within the community to make known himself from paying his father's debt.
On 27 July, 1656, interpretation Talmud Torah community leaders, which included Aboab de Fonseca, issued a writ of herem against the 23-year-old Spinoza. Spinoza's knock was the harshest ever pronounced in the community, carrying grand emotional and spiritual impact. The exact reason for expelling Philosopher is not stated, only referring to his "abominable heresies", "monstrous deeds", and the testimony of witnesses "in the presence tip off the said Espinoza". Even though the Amsterdam municipal authorities were not directly involved in Spinoza's censure, the town council categorically ordered the Portuguese-Jewish community to regulate their conduct and confirm that the community kept strict observance of Jewish law. Show aggression evidence indicates a concern about upsetting civil authorities, such translation the synagogue's bans on public weddings, funeral processions, and discussing religious matters with Christians, lest such activity might "disturb description liberty we enjoy".
Before the expulsion, Spinoza had not published anything or written a treatise; Steven Nadler states that if Philosopher was voicing his criticism of Judaism that later appeared examine his philosophical works, such as Part I of Ethics, proof there can be no wonder that he was severely reprimanded. Unlike most censures issued by the Amsterdam congregation, it was never rescinded since the censure did not lead to atonement. After the censure, Spinoza may have written an Apologia integrate Spanish defending his views, but it is now lost. Spinoza's expulsion did not lead him to convert to Christianity middle belong to a confessional religion or sect. From 1656 be 1661, Spinoza found lodgings elsewhere in Amsterdam and Leiden, support himself with teaching while learning lens grinding and constructing microscopes and telescopes. Spinoza did not maintain a sense of Individual identity; he argued that without adherence to Jewish law, picture Jewish people lacked a sustaining source of difference and sculpt, rendering the notion of a secular Jew incoherent.
Sometime between 1654 and 1657, Spinoza started studying Latin fulfil political radical Franciscus van den Enden, a former Jesuit nearby atheist, who likely introduced Spinoza to scholastic and modern metaphysical philosophy, including Descartes, who had a dominant influence on Spinoza's natural. While boarding with Van den Enden, Spinoza studied in his school, where he learned the arts and sciences and reasonable taught others. Many of his friends were either secularized freethinkers or belonged to dissident Christian groups that rejected the right of established churches and traditional dogmas. Spinoza was acquainted exchange of ideas members of the Collegiants, a group of disaffected Mennonites favour other dissenting Reformed sects that shunned official theology and be compelled have played some role in Spinoza's developing views on doctrine and directed him to Van Enden.Jonathan Israel conjectures that concerning possible influential figure was atheist translator Jan Hendriksz Glazemaker, a collaborator of Spinoza's friend and publisher Rieuwertsz, who could band have mentored Spinoza but was in a unique position make somebody's acquaintance introduce Spinoza to Cartesian philosophy, mathematics, and lens grinding.
After alertness Latin with Van Enden, Spinoza studied at Leiden University crush 1658, where he audited classes in Cartesian philosophy.[c] From 1656 to 1661, Spinoza's main discussion partners who formed his defend from and played a formative part in Spinoza's life were Advance guard den Enden, Pieter Balling [nl; it], Jarig Jelles, Lodewijk Meyer, Johannes Bouwmeester and Adriaan Koerbagh. Spinoza's following, or philosophical sect, scrutinized the propositions of the Ethics while it was in plan and Spinoza's second text, Short Treatise on God, Man, perch His Well-Being. Though a few prominent people in Amsterdam discussed the teachings of the secretive but marginal group, it was mainly a testing ground for Spinoza's philosophy to extend his challenge to the status quo. Their public reputation in Amsterdam was negative, with Ole Borch disparaging them as "atheists". Here and there in his life, Spinoza's general approach was to avoid intellectual battles, clashes, and public controversies, viewing them as a waste encourage energy that served no real purpose.
Between 1660 and 1661, Spinoza moved from Amsterdam to Rijnsburg, allowing promoter a quiet retreat in the country and access to depiction university town, Leiden, where he still had many friends. Walk this time, he wrote his Short Treatise on God, Public servant, and His Well-Being, which he never published in his time, thinking it would enrage the theologians, synods, and city magistrates. The Short Treatise, a long-forgotten text that only survived connect Dutch translation, was first published by Johannes van Vloten engage 1862. While lodging with Herman Homan in Rijnsburg, Spinoza produced lenses and instruments to support himself and out of wellcontrolled interest. He began working on his Ethics and Descartes' Principles of Philosophy, which he completed in two weeks, communicating be first interpreting Descartes' arguments and testing the water for his nonrealistic and ethical ideas. Spinoza's explanations of essential elements of say publicly Cartesian system helped many interested people study the system, enhancing his philosophical reputation. This work was published in 1663 countryside was one of the two works published in his time under his name. Spinoza led a modest and frugal mode, earning income by polishing lenses and crafting telescopes and microscopes. He also relied on the generous contributions of his alters ego to support himself.
In 1663, Spinoza moved to Voorburg round out an unknown reason. He continued working on Ethics and corresponded with scientists and philosophers throughout Europe. In 1665, he began writing the Theological-Political Treatise, which addresses theological and political issues such as the interpretation of scripture, the origins of rendering state, and the bounds of political and religious authority deeprooted arguing for a secular, democratic state. Before the publication refer to the Theological-Political Treatise, Spinoza's friend Adriaan Koerbagh published a unspoiled that criticized organized religion, denied the divine authorship of depiction Bible, and asserted that miracles were impossible—ideas similar to those of Spinoza. His work attracted the attention of the government, leading to his imprisonment and eventual death in prison. Anticipating the reaction to his ideas, Spinoza published his treatise currency 1670 under a false publisher and a fictitious place do in advance publication. The work did not remain anonymous for long.Samuel Maresius attacked Spinoza personally, while Thomas Hobbes and Johannes Bredenburg criticized his conception of God and saw the book as hardhitting and subversive. Spinoza's work was safer than Koerbagh's because deed was written in Latin, a language not widely understood uninviting the general public, and Spinoza explicitly forbade its translation. Rendering secular authorities varied enforcing the Reformed Church in Amsterdam's at once to ban the distribution of the blasphemous book.
In 1670, Spinoza moved to The Hague to have easier access manuscript the city's intellectual life and to be closer to his friends and followers. As he became more famous, Spinoza fagged out time receiving visitors and responding to letters. He returned crossreference the manuscript of Ethics, reworking part Three into parts Four focus on Five, and composed a Hebrew grammar for proper interpretation show signs scripture and for clearing up confusion and problems when learn the Bible, with part One presenting etymology, the alphabet, splendid principles governing nouns, verbs, and more. Part Two, unfinished once he died, would have presented syntax rules. Another unfinished effort from 1676 was Tractatus Politicus, which concerns how states stool function well and intended to show that democratic states arrange best. Spinoza refused an offer to be the chair break on philosophy at the University of Heidelberg, perhaps because of picture possibility that it might curb his freedom of thought.
See also: Epistolae (Spinoza) and List of Epistolae (Letters) of Spinoza
Few show consideration for Spinoza's letters are extant, and none before 1661. Nearly spellbind the contents are philosophical and technical because the original editors of Opera Posthuma—a collection of his works published posthumously—Lodewijk Meyer, Georg Hermann Schuller, and Johannes Bouwmeester, excluded personal matters arm letters due to the political and ecclesiastical persecution of depiction time. Spinoza corresponded with Peter Serrarius, a radical Protestant gift millenarian merchant, who was a patron of Spinoza after his expulsion from the Jewish community. He acted as an intermediate for Spinoza's correspondence, sending and receiving letters of the athenian to and from third parties. They maintained their relationship until Serrarius died in 1669.
Through his pursuits in lens grinding, science, optics, and philosophy, Spinoza forged connections with prominent figures specified as scientist Christiaan Huygens, mathematician Johannes Hudde, and Secretary show the British Royal SocietyHenry Oldenburg. Huygens and others notably praised the quality of Spinoza's lenses. Spinoza engaged in correspondence attain Willem van Blijenbergh, an amateur Calvinist theologian, who sought Spinoza's view on the nature of evil and sin. Whereas Blijenbergh deferred to the authority of scripture for theology and logic, Spinoza told him not solely to look at scripture edify truth or anthropomorphize God. Also, Spinoza told him their views were incommensurable.Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz outwardly described Spinoza's work negatively but privately wrote letters to him and desired to examine interpretation manuscript of the Ethics. In 1676, Leibniz traveled to Representation Hague to meet Spinoza, remaining with him for three years to converse about current events and philosophy. Leibniz's work bears some striking resemblances to parts of Spinoza's philosophy, like pop in Monadology. Leibniz was concerned when his name was not redacted in a letter printed in the Opera Posthuma. In 1675, Albert Burgh, a friend and possibly former pupil of Philosopher, wrote to him repudiating his teachings and announcing his transformation to the Catholic Church. Burgh attacked Spinoza's views as verbalised in the Theological-Political Treatise and tried to persuade Spinoza secure embrace Catholicism. In response, Spinoza, at the request of Burgh's family, who hoped to restore his reason, wrote an make you see red letter mocking the Catholic Church and condemning all religious superstition.
Spinoza published little in his lifetime, and most formal writings were in Latin, reaching few readers. Apart from Descartes' Principles lift Philosophy and the Theologico-Political Treatise, his works appeared in impress after his death. Because the reaction to his anonymously publicised work, Theologico-Political Treatise, was unfavorable, Spinoza told supporters not tip translate his works and abstained from publishing further. Following his death, his supporters published his works posthumously in Latin roost Dutch. His posthumous works–Opera Posthuma–were edited by his friends flat secrecy to prevent the confiscation and destruction of manuscripts. Yes wore a signet ring to mark his letters, engraved examine the Latin word Caute, meaning "Caution", and the image reproduce a thorny rose.
Spinoza's health began to fail in 1676, and he died in The Hague on 21 February 1677 at age 44, attended by a physician friend, Georg Herman Schuller. Spinoza had been ill bash into some form of lung affliction, probably tuberculosis and possibly farflung by silicosis brought on by grinding glass lenses. Although Philosopher had been becoming sicker for weeks, his death was shout, and he died without leaving a will. Reports circulated put off he repented his philosophical stances on his deathbed, but these tales petered out in the 18th century. Lutheran preacher Johannes Colerus wrote the first biography of Spinoza for the creative reason of researching his final days.
By the time of his death, he had never married and had no children.[120]
Spinoza was buried inside the Nieuwe Kerk four days after his sortout, with six others in the same vault. At the time and again, there was no memorial plaque for Spinoza. In the Ordinal century, the vault was emptied, and the remnants scattered restrain the earth of the churchyard. The memorial plaque is exterior the church, where some of his remains are part precision the churchyard's soil. Spinoza's friends rescued his personal belongings, identification, and unpublished manuscripts. His supporters took them away for charge from seizure by those wishing to suppress his writings, splendid they do not appear in the inventory of his assets at death. Within a year of his death, his supporters translated his Latin manuscripts into Dutch and other languages. Temporal authorities and later the Roman Catholic Church banned his works.
Main article: Tractatus Theologico-Politicus
See also: Thomas Hobbes
Despite being promulgated in Latin rather than a vernacular language, this 1670 treatise published in Spinoza's lifetime caused a huge reaction described importation "one of the most significant events in European intellectual history."
Main article: Ethics (Spinoza book)
The Ethics has been associated with put off of Leibniz and René Descartes as part of the positivist school of thought,[127] which includes the assumption that ideas harmonize to reality perfectly, in the same way that mathematics levelheaded supposed to be an exact representation of the world. Representation Ethics, a "superbly cryptic masterwork", contains many unresolved obscurities current is written with a forbidding mathematical structure modeled on Euclid's geometry. The writings of René Descartes have been described in the same way "Spinoza's starting point".[128] Spinoza's first publication was his 1663 geometrical exposition of proofs using Euclid's model with definitions and axioms of Descartes' Principles of Philosophy. Following Descartes, Spinoza aimed disparage understand truth through logical deductions from 'clear and distinct ideas', a process which always begins from the 'self-evident truths' custom axioms. However, his actual project does not end there: stay away from his first work to his last one, there runs a thread of "attending to the highest good" (which also survey the highest truth) and thereby achieving a state of not worried and harmony, either metaphysically or politically. In this light, description Principles of Philosophy might be viewed as an "exercise epoxy resin geometric method and philosophy", paving the way for numerous concepts and conclusions that would define his philosophy (see Cogitata Metaphysica).
Spinoza's metaphysics consists of one thing, substance, and its modifications (modes). Early in The Ethics Spinoza argues that only one have a feeling is absolutely infinite, self-caused, and eternal. He calls this import "God", or "Nature". He takes these two terms to the makings synonymous (in the Latin the phrase he uses is "Deus sive Natura"). For Spinoza, the whole of the naturaluniverse consists of one substance, God, or, what is the same, Hue, and its modifications (modes).
It cannot be overemphasized how picture rest of Spinoza's philosophy—his philosophy of mind, his epistemology, his psychology, his moral philosophy, his political philosophy, and his metaphysics of religion—flows more or less directly from the metaphysical underpinnings in Part I of the Ethics.
Spinoza sets forth a vision of Being, illuminated by his awareness resembling God. They may seem strange at first sight. To interpretation question "What is?" he replies: "Substance, its attributes, and modes".
— Karl Jaspers
Following Maimonides, Spinoza defined substance as "that which is regulate itself and is conceived through itself", meaning that it focus on be understood without any reference to anything external.[133] Being conceptually independent also means that the same thing is ontologically autonomous, depending on nothing else for its existence and being representation 'cause of itself' (causa sui).[133] A mode is something which cannot exist independently but rather must do so as detach of something else on which it depends, including properties (for example color), relations (such as size) and individual things.[134] Modes can be further divided into 'finite' and 'infinite' ones, own the latter being evident in every finite mode (he gives examples of "motion" and "rest"). The traditional understanding of arrive attribute in philosophy is similar to Spinoza's modes, though prohibited uses that word differently.[134] To him, an attribute is "that which the intellect perceives as constituting the essence of substance", and there are possibly an infinite number of them. Take in is the essential nature that is "attributed" to reality impervious to intellect.
Spinoza defined God as "a substance consisting of infinite attributes, each of which expresses eternal and infinite essence", and since "no cause or reason" can prevent such a being circumvent existing, it must exist. This is a form of depiction ontological argument, which is claimed to prove the existence time off God, but Spinoza went further in stating that it showed that only God exists.[138] Accordingly, he stated that "Whatever not bad, is in God, and nothing can exist or be planned without God".[138] This means that God is identical with say publicly universe, an idea which he encapsulated in the phrase "Deus sive Natura" ('God or Nature'), which some have interpreted chimpanzee atheism or pantheism. Though there are many more of them, God can be known by humans either through the point of extension or the attribute of thought. Thought and augmentation represent giving complete accounts of the world in mental unprivileged physical terms. To this end, he says that "the see and the body are one and the same thing, which is conceived now under the attribute of thought, now in the shade the attribute of extension".
After stating his proof for God's being, Spinoza addresses who "God" is. Spinoza believed that God levelheaded "the sum of the natural and physical laws of rendering universe and certainly not an individual entity or creator".[144] Philosopher attempts to prove that God is just the substance line of attack the universe by first stating that substances do not accent attributes or essences and then demonstrating that God is a "substance" with an infinite number of attributes, thus the attributes possessed by any other substances must also be possessed hard God. Therefore, God is just the sum of all description substances of the universe. God is the only substance mud the universe, and everything is a part of God. That view was described by Charles Hartshorne as Classical Pantheism.[145]
Spinoza argues that "things could not have been produced by God serve any other way or in any other order than in your right mind the case".[146] Therefore, concepts such as 'freedom' and 'chance' maintain little meaning. This picture of Spinoza's determinism is illuminated mull it over Ethics: "the infant believes that it is by free longing that it seeks the breast; the angry boy believes renounce by free will he wishes vengeance; the timid man thinks it is with free will he seeks flight; the toper believes that by a free command of his mind blooper speaks the things which when sober he wishes he esoteric left unsaid. … All believe that they speak by a free command of the mind, whilst, in truth, they scheme no power to restrain the impulse which they have protect speak." In his letter to G. H. Schuller (Letter 58), he wrote: "men are conscious of their desire and unsuspecting of the causes by which [their desires] are determined."[148] Do something also held that knowledge of true causes of passive sentiment can transform it into an active emotion, thus anticipating suggestion of the key ideas of Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis.
According to Eric Schliesser, Spinoza was skeptical regarding the possibility of knowledge be in the region of nature and as a consequence at odds with scientists specified as Galileo and Huygens.[150]
Although the principle of sufficient reason job commonly associated with Gottfried Leibniz, Spinoza employs it in a more systematic manner. In Spinoza's philosophical framework, questions concerning reason a particular phenomenon exists are always answerable, and these comebacks are provided in terms of the relevant cause. Spinoza's alter involves first providing an account of a phenomenon, such pass for goodness or consciousness, to explain it, and then further explaining the phenomenon in terms of itself. For instance, he potency argue that consciousness is the degree of power of a mental state.
Spinoza has also been described as an "Epicurean materialist",[128] specifically in reference to his opposition to Cartesian mind-body dualism. This view was held by Epicureans before him, as they believed that atoms with their probabilistic paths were the lone substance that existed fundamentally.[152] Spinoza, however, deviated significantly from Epicureans by adhering to strict determinism, much like the Stoics formerly him, in contrast to the Epicurean belief in the probabilistic path of atoms, which is more in line with coeval thought on quantum mechanics.[152][154]
One thing which seems, on picture surface, to distinguish Spinoza's view of the emotions from both Descartes' and Hume's pictures of them is that he takes the emotions to be cognitive in some important respect. Jonathan Bennett claims that "Spinoza mainly saw emotions as caused overtake cognitions. [However] he did not say this clearly enough folk tale sometimes lost sight of it entirely." Spinoza provides several demonstrations which purport to show truths about how human emotions bradawl. The picture presented is, according to Bennett, "unflattering, coloured tempt it is by universal egoism".
Spinoza's notion of blessedness figures centrally in his ethical philosophy. Spinoza writes that blessedness (or salvation or freedom), "consists, namely, in a constant and unending love of God, or in God's love for men.